Stay Easy Special Report

SPECIAL REPORT: SOUTHERN SUN STAY EASY, PIETERMARITZBURG

SOUTHERN SUN AD

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STAY EASY, PIETERMARITZBURG CONTEMPORARY AFFORDABLE ACCOMMODATION IN THE MIDLANDS

By Bev Hermanson

Always pioneering better accommodation formulas for the growing hospitality industry, Southern Sun has devised a new brand that is fashioned around practical accommodation that delivers quality, yet without unnecessary frills.

Stay Easy by Southern Sun is a brand that speaks for itself – it’s a collection of budget hotels that cater specially for the business and leisure traveller in convenient locations that are vibrant, yet not necessarily high profile areas, such as central Pretoria and Eastgate in Gauteng, Rustenburg, Century City in the Western Cape, Emnotweni in Nelspruit and Emalahleni (previously Witbank) in Mpumalanga and now Pietermaritzburg. With 128 en suite rooms, facilities for small conferences, a guest swimming pool and ample parking, the Stay Easy Pietermaritzburg, the latest addition to the Stay Easy stable, has been constructed with the environment in mind.

Designed by Bentel Associates International on behalf of owners, the Liberty Group, the R40-million Stay Easy Pietermaritzburg Hotel is situated at the gateway to the central business district of the city, within the Liberty Midlands Mall complex, which was also designed by Bentel Associates International. This new addition contributes to the Liberty Group’s strategy of providing mixed use developments where retail facilities, entertainment and accommodation exist side-by-side, providing a total solution to the precinct.

As a result of the high visibility from the highway, there was a greater emphasis on the need for the aesthetics

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to blend with that of the shopping mall. “Part of the design brief was to create a contemporary building that responded to its context while satisfying the Southern Sun Stay Easy design requirements,” comments Luke Chandler, director at Bentel Associates International. “The height restriction played a role in layout. As a result, we conceptualised a T-shaped building that could achieve a large enough footprint to accommodate all the rooms while, at the same time, ensuring that the walking distances from the lift lobby to the furthest room was not more than 40m.” xajhkva

In keeping with the contemporary image of the shopping mall, the exterior features exposed steel and raw stone elements. The facades have been ‘broken up’ into a series of planes, some accentuated, some receding, resulting in a three-dimensional building that holds the interest, while still maintaining a human scale.

The colour palette is a collection of cool contemporary tones with the occasional splash of bright colour to create focal points.

Contributing to the drive to lower the group’s carbon footprint, the building incorporates locally produced bricks, solar power for water heating, room key cards to control electricity consumption when the rooms are vacant and the use of a grey water system that collects storm water for re-distribution into the irrigation network.

“As a brand, Stay Easy is establishing itself as an environmentally friendly operation,” says Dhayalan Naidoo, Director of Operations, Stay Easy by Southern Sun. “Intrinsic to the brand message is the knowledge that the group is striving to better manage operational activities so that they do not impinge on the environment.”

Finishing touches being applied to the Stay Easy before it opened for business.

In conjunction with the Heritage Environmental Management Group, the Stay Easy operations management determines each hotel’s carbon emissions, using the Heritage Carbon Calculator. Each month,

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the professional team of the hotel and Southern Sun, has built a Drop-in Community Centre for the children of a nearby informal settlement, known as France. Liberty Group has contributed R2,4 million towards making the project a reality. The Reach Out initiative was introduced through Liberty Midlands Mall, that adopted the cause as part of an ongoing community outreach program, through which initiatives are launched to uplift local underprivileged communities.

Views of the bar area and a twin bedroom.

electricity and water consumption is monitored, as well as the amount of waste that is produced. Heritage further audits every hotel twice a year and provides valuable feedback relating to the group’s environmental management. “There is definitely a growing global movement towards what is known as ‘responsible tourism’. This not only involves the obvious methods of reducing carbon emissions, but also the policies of buying locally and supporting local businesses and communities,” Naidoo adds.

Taking its community consciousness a step further, Liberty Group, together with various sponsors, including

France has numerous child-headed households as a result of the AIDS pandemic. There is little running water, hot meals are scarce and there is no one to help the children with their homework. Partnering with a number of sponsors, the Reach Out community group will manage the Drop In Centre that will provide a haven where children can feel safe and nurtured. There will be a community room where children will have access to meals and homework supervision. Toilet facilities, a laundry, kitchen, clinic and a social worker’s office, as well as an outside play area, will all contribute towards a heightened sense of wellbeing amongst the children of the community. To extend its efforts to reduce its environmental impact, the management of the Stay Easy Pietermaritzburg will further provide linen and obsolete equipment to the centre, while the Liberty Midlands Mall maintenance team will be on call to assist with any maintenance.

“Hospitality is a value,” says Naidoo. “It’s a value that extends beyond the service to tourists and travellers, to the communities where the establishment is based. By contributing together with the main sponsor, Liberty, and various other sponsors to the establishment of the Drop-in Community Centre, we will not only bring love and hope to these disadvantaged families, we will uplift and empower the children to make the most of their lives.” <