Travel

The Windmills Resort in KwaZulu-Natal was once again honoured at the prestigious African Bridal Industry Academy (ABIA) Bride’s Choice Award. The Midlands boutique hotel won the title of best coastal boutique hotel for the second consecutive year and scooped the award for best in-house wedding planner. The Windmills Resort was nominated in a further three categories and reached the finals in the wedding caterer, reception venue and first night honeymoon destination categories. General manager of The Windmills Resort, Andre Schoeman, expressed his delight with the awards. “We are extremely proud of this achievement, which is definitely the result of great team work. I wouldn’t trade my team for any other in the world! Winning the best boutique hotel award for the second year running shows great consistency in terms of the level of service excellence we have achieved. This also means that we are now eligible for the national awards, which adds even more to our reputation for dedicated service and commitment to superior service,” mentions Schoeman. The ABIA awards were established in 2008 to monitor service quality within the wedding industry. The competition is based on anonymous votes submitted by brides, who have used the services of the more than 15000 service suppliers accredited to the organisation. The Windmills Resort has been extensively renovated over the past few years. The hotel was completely refurbished and various luxury self-catering lodges have been added to their offering. The venue also offers supremely elegant wedding venues, a wedding chapel on the lake with breath-taking scenic views, state-of-the-art kitchen facilities, beautifully appointed rooms, a fine dining restaurant, coffee lounge and banqueting hall as well as superb conference facilities. For more information, visit www.thewindmills.co.za. More Info link:: https://www.thewindmills.co.za Twitter: Facebook: YouTube: Author: Christel Liebenberg from Peridot …

HOTEL VERDE TAKES OFF Having set themselves the target of building Africa’s greenest hotel, owners Mario and Annemarie Delicio are thrilled by the opening of Hotel Verde. This world-class establishment surpasses everything they had hoped for with regards to comfort, functionality and a level of sustainability not yet seen on the continent. Part of the BON Hotels Group, Hotel Verde is conveniently situated just 400m from Cape Town International Airport and within easy driving distance of the city’s central business and shopping districts. Designed to meet the specific requirements of travellers on their way in and out of the city, Hotel Verde also has excellent conferencing and dining facilities. But, what makes it unique is the length to which the team have gone to minimise the hotel’s carbon footprint, from (under) the ground up. Guy Stehlik, CEO of BON Hotels, says that the significance of being involved in a project of this nature is invaluable. “The three cornerstones of BON Hotels are Good people. Good thinking. Good feeling. Hotel Verde and the philosophy behind it is where the Good thinking lies. This is definitely one of the most innovative hotels on the continent and we are thrilled to be involved in a project of this nature.” Sustainable building and running André Harms, Hotel Verde’s Sustainability Consultant, is the expert behind some of the more technical aspects of the building. “We had the opportunity to change the status quo here,” he said. “We looked at different ways of doing everything, right from the word go.” This includes various methods of “dematerialisation”. The hotel is built with concrete slabs containing recycled materials, using Cobaix Void Formers. Strategically placing these recycled polypropylene, hollow spheres save approximately 1279 tons of concrete, while maintaining structural integrity. In order to bypass the need for standard air-conditioning systems, traditionally one of the biggest energy consumers, Hotel …

The Windmills Resort in the heart of the Kwa-Zulu Natal Midlands has been nominated for four categories in the annual Bride’s Choice Awards hosted by the African Bridal Industry Academy (ABIA). Last year, the hotel scooped the title of best boutique hotel in these prestigious awards. In this year’s competition, The Windmills has been nominated by satisfied brides as best boutique hotel with less than 30 rooms, for the best in-house wedding planner, best reception venue and best first-night honeymoon destination. The awards are divided into three regions, namely coastal, inland and Cape. According to general manager Andre Schoeman, it is an honour to be nominated in four categories. “The ABIA Bride’s Choice Awards is one of the definitive competitions for companies in the bridal industry. Being accredited with them is an incredible endorsement of the quality of your offering,” Schoeman explains. “Our incredible team at The Windmills has always been committed to providing exceptional service to our brides and to deliver their dream weddings. These nominations are proof that our hard work and dedication have not gone unnoticed. The ABIA awards carry huge credibility and are definitely something that brides consider before picking the venue for their weddings, so it is undoubtedly a fantastic opportunity for us,” he adds. ABIA was established in 2008 to control service standards within the wedding industry and currently has over 15 000 accredited suppliers. The competition is based on anonymous ratings by brides, who have been registered by the various service suppliers. Brides then have the opportunity to nominate and vote for their preferred suppliers. The Windmills Resort has been extensively renovated over the past few years. The hotel was completely refurbished and various luxury self-catering lodges have been added to their offering. The venue also offers supremely elegant wedding venues, a wedding chapel on the lake with breath-taking scenic views, …

30 July 2013, Cape Town -- Men's interest in trading one night stands with pilots for free flights declines dramatically with age - men under the age of 31 are the most interested demographic (40% of them are keen), compared to only 21% of men aged 31 to 60, and only 9% of men over the age of 60. This contrasts with only only 6% of females being willing to trade an evening with a pilot for a free flight, and the percentage being fairly constant for females across age groups (7% of females younger than 31, 5% of females aged from 31 to 60, and 7% of females older than 60). Arts and Culture Minister Paul Mashatile said "We must use Moral Regeneration Month and beyond as a time of national reflection". SouthAfrica.TO's contribution is publishing this survey of 1608 South Africans' opinions on a question of morality, asking participants whether they'd be willing to have a one-night stand with a pilot in exchange for a free flight. This survey can be redone annually to assess how the country's opinion on the issue has changed. Ninety percent of South Africans are against this, and many are repulsed by the thought of it, citing the fact that they're married, their fear of God, their Christian beliefs and their fear of disease such as HIV. "I'm a Christian and Married! Otherwise I would have", said a respondent. Many respondents qualified their answer saying that given the right circumstances they would go for it, the most common requirements being that the pilot be of the opposite gender and attractive, with one gentleman replying that he'd require his wife's permission too : "Although the pilot must be female and pretty and my wife must approve too". Some would only do it if it were an overseas flight, and others felt one free flight was not enough, but for more they'd go for it. South Africans gradually become more and more averse to trading a 1 night stand with a pilot for a free flight as they get older, with the percentage declining from 16% under the age …