Cresta Lodge Harare Celebrates its 30th Anniversary

Harare’s Cresta Lodge has celebrated its 30th anniversary with a re-launch ceremony, which in turn followed a refurbishment programme across the whole hotel. Cresta Hotels’ managing director Chipo Mandela told guests at the event that the US$1.5 million refurbishment involved upgrade and enhancement work in all suites and bedrooms, as well as in most public areas and in several key back-of-house operations.

“We are delighted to commemorate this significant milestone event with a re-launch following these major works, and we are pleased that the hotel is prepped and ready for growth in this and coming years,” she said.

Cresta Lodge was officially opened in March 1993, following the completion of a construction project of almost two years’ duration. At the time it was the first major hotel to be created in Harare since 1984 and the first major hotel to be created in a suburban area, with all existing big hotels being in the CBD.

A tree-planting ceremony was the focal point of the official opening and further tree-planting events took place during the next few decades at major milestone events, an environment-friendly theme helping to populate the large garden area around the Lodge with a sizable population of trees.

The theme was again the focus of the re-launch, with the planting of a mutohwe tree ceremony undertaken by the guest of honour at the event, the Minister of Environment, Climate, Tourism and Hospitality, the Honourable Mangaliso Ndlovu.

Ms Mandela said Cresta Lodge had in three decades grown into a respected and valued operator within the hospitality industry, providing a range of services needed, including accommodation, catering, conferencing and banqueting rooms and a venue for social and networking interaction between people.

“Our guests come from within Harare, across Zimbabwe, throughout Southern Africa and right across the world” she said.

“We are proud of this hotel and all that it has achieved and I am pleased that the refurbishment programme will ensure that the standards of physical infrastructure are not only in keeping with expectations of guests, but also make it one of the most modern and attractive hotels in Harare … helping us prepare Cresta Lodge for the growth and development we expect as we move out of the Covid era into a brighter future all round.”

She said Cresta Hotels had been undertaking similar refurbishment work, at differing levels, at its other properties in recent years, with a total investment of more than US$15 million.

“Our other properties in Zimbabwe are Cresta Jameson and Cresta Oasis here in Harare, Cresta Churchill in Bulawayo and Cresta Sprayview. Together they provide a range of hospitality products and services that contribute greatly to the ongoing ability of Zimbabwe’s travel and tourism sector to serve the nation economically and as hosts to visitors from all over the world.”

Ms Mandela also said anniversaries were coming up within all Cresta Hotels between 2023 and 2025.

“Cresta Jameson this year marks its 65th anniversary, while Cresta Sprayview marks its 10th anniversary as a Cresta property. Next year Cresta Churchill in Bulawayo will turn 50, while at the turn of 2024 into 2025 Cresta Oasis will celebrate its own 50th anniversary” she said.

“This means that all our hotels have significant experience in their fields of service and what we as a team have been keen to do is to ensure that through ongoing refurbishment and management we are able to ensure that their experience is complemented by our ability to offer the most modern of facilities and amenities that are expected by the travellers of the 21st century. This is where our programmes of refurbishment and ongoing maintenance come in, providing just such a marriage of experience and modernity.”

The Minister commended Cresta Hotels for its continued leadership within the travel and tourism sector and for undertaking refurbishment programmes to keep its hotels competitive and successful.

About Cresta Hotels

Cresta Hotels is one of Southern Africa's leading hotel management groups, operating business and resort hotels in Zimbabwe, Botswana, and South Africa. Cresta hotels run a total of 17 hotels; 11 in Botswana, 5 in Zimbabwe and 1 in Cape Town, South Africa all filled with African heart and soul.