Cape Town is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. That's why it's often compared to Rio de Janeiro, Sydney and San Francisco, and justifiably so. It is a captivating symbiosis of urban flair, a breathtaking ocean location and a gorgeous and diverse hinterland. Cape Town is South Africa's second-largest city. Mario and Annemarie Delicio set themselves an ambitious goal in Cape Town: they wanted to run the "greenest" hotel in Africa. Hotel Verde has fulfilled the owners' objectives in this regard.
The GREEN philosophy is embodied by both the owners and their employees. Energy resources should be conserved more without the guests experiencing any inconvenience. Luxury and ecological awareness are not mutually exclusive – quite the contrary. The guests are pampered at Hotel Verde, which encourages them to return. The prominent location is another reason to come back: the hotel is located 400 m from the international Cape Town Airport, and the commercial and shopping district is easily accessible within just 20 minutes. This location is attractive for both business and leisure travellers.
The 3-star hotel in managed by the BON Hotel Group and is very close to fulfilling the requirements for the 4-star category. It has 145 modern rooms in various sizes: standard rooms, studios and superior rooms, as well as luxury suites. All rooms are furnished in the hotel colours of grey with violet, orange and green. The Gira Event switch range in aubergine and green was selected to match this decor. The colours of the switch series are striking and unusual, as is the rounded frame shape, which matches the furnishings beautifully. In all the rooms, access using electronic cards goes without saying, just like the air conditioning and mini-bar. As far as the soaps and lotions, only products which are ecological and produced in South Africa were selected for the guests.
Business travellers have the opportunity of holding meetings and conferences in the hotel. A total of seven conference rooms are available for between 4 and 120 participants. There is daylight in all of the rooms. This promotes health and well-being, and a great deal of energy is also saved by doing without artificial light during the day. Moreover, each of the rooms is equipped with state-of-the-art technology.
For lunch during conferences or after work in the evenings, the restaurant offers guests diverse regional dishes, always in agreement with the current seasonal offerings. There is a fitness room for sports enthusiasts, featuring equipment which is unique in Africa. The energy which each individual expends on the sports equipment is fed back into the hotel by the machine. Additionally, there is an ecological path for jogging, walking and gymnastics located directly next to the hotel for those who would rather exercise outdoors. A visit to the bar rounds off a successful day.
Hotel Verde opened in August 2013 and is pursuing the LEED Gold (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) accreditation from the American Green Building Council. This council is a non-profit organisation which promotes a successful and sustainable future for the nation thanks to cost-efficient and energy-conserving green buildings.