Meikles Hotel Upgraded to World-Class Standards with $30 Million Investment
Dubai-based Albwardy Investments is fulfilling its promise to upgrade Zimbabwe’s Meikles Hotel with a $30m investment, according to General Manager Tinashe Munjoma. The hotel’s renovations include a redesigned reception, social facilities, and dining areas, as well as a resident’s pool deck, gymnasium, and spa.
Albwardy Investments, a Dubai-based company that purchased Zimbabwe’s Meikles Hotel for US$20 million three years ago, has remained true to its word of upgrading one of the most renowned establishments in southern Africa. Reports from the time indicated that Albwardy had committed to spending up to US$30 million on the hotel’s renovation. Meikles Hotel’s General Manager, Tinashe Munjoma, confirmed that the hospitality group had kept its promise and was determined to see the project through.
According to Mr. Munjoma, the ASH Hospitality group is dedicated to preserving Meikles Hotel’s status as Zimbabwe’s leading hotel, ensuring that its infrastructure, operations, and standards are world-class, and second to none in the market. The hotel has already begun its renovations, and after seven months, the project is showing visible progress. The first phase of the renovation, set to complete later this year, will include a revamped reception, social facilities, and dining area on the ground floor, as well as a resident’s pool deck on the first floor. The hotel will also offer the largest and most modern gymnasium and spa in the country, open to hotel guests and paid-up members from the community.
Meikles Hotel’s target is to maintain its status as the top choice for local and international tourists and business people alike. Mr. Munjoma believes that the key to the hotel’s success will be a variety of operational, marketing, and customer-driven initiatives and innovations that position it as the first choice for high-end business travellers, tourists, and organizations. He added that the hotel’s success would depend on acknowledging its position as the market leader in its chosen areas of business.
Mr. Munjoma expressed his happiness that the Covid-19 era was behind them, as it had a disastrous effect on the travel and tourism industry. He hoped that the hotel’s growth path would continue, and it would soon surpass the business levels enjoyed before the pandemic.
The hotel won the Twalumba trophy for service excellence at the recent tourism awards, a testament to its outstanding service standards. Mr. Munjoma said that the team at Meikles Hotel was thrilled to be recognized for their efforts, which not only came from within the hotels in the country but from within the entire travel and tourism sector.