AA Award Confirms Oakhurst Hotel’s Improved Quality

Oakhurst Hotel, George: Media Release. 24 May 2010

IMAGE: The Oakhurst Hotel’s JJ Moorcroft, with General Manager Janita Van Biljoen and the Hotel’s 2010 AA Travel Guides American Express Accommodation Award for Best Country Commercial Hotel.

AA Award Confirms Oakhurst Hotel’s Improved Quality

George’s Oakhurst Hotel has been named South Africa’s best Country Commercial Hotel in the 2010 AA Travel Guides American Express Accommodation Awards.

“Our guests have come to regard Oakhurst as a quality establishment, and this Award proves that our hard work has been worth the effort – especially since the AA Awards are judged on consumer feedback,” said the Hotel’s JJ Moorcroft.

More than 47,000 respondents commented on 40 different categories of establishments entered for this year’s Awards.

Mr. Moorcroft said that Oakhurst had established itself as more than just a place to stay. “Local businesspeople have begun to use it as a quiet, relaxing destination for informal meetings over coffee, breakfast or lunch.

“It’s also a leisure hotel, because it’s situated in the heart of George – and George has always been the heart of the Southern Cape: it’s just 40 kilometres east of Mossel Bay, and 60 kilometres west of Knysna and south of Oudtshoorn – which makes it a perfect base from which to explore all the attractions of the Garden Route and the Klein Karoo.

“It’s a family hotel too, because children under 12 sleep for free (and pay just R45.00 for breakfast), while teenagers between the ages of twelve and sixteen who share with their parents pay just R120 a night – and that includes breakfast,” he said.

He said that Oakhurst’s increased popularity had created an opportunity for a major upgrade this year – “once the 2010 FIFA World Cup has come and gone.

“Although we’ll always continue our association with the Office Reliance conference facility – which is ideal for larger meetings because it’s conveniently situated less than two blocks away from the Hotel – we’re planning to build a new mezzanine above our restaurant that will accommodate our own 20-seater conference room.

“We’re also planning major improvements to our bedrooms. Twelve of them will become leisure rooms; the ground floor rooms that face the pool will get doors out onto the deck; and the existing lofts in our upstairs rooms will become cosy lounges which business guests will then be able to use for private meetings.

“The bathrooms in these rooms will also get make overs, so that they’ll have showers as well as baths,” he said.

In line with its improved service, the Oakhurst Hotel has also improved its comprehensive web site – www.oakhursthotel.co.za – which now offers virtual tours of the reception and dining areas, and of typical loft and standard rooms.

“Our team is dedicated and committed to continue working on improving every aspect of the Hotel and our guests experience of it,” said Mr. Moorcroft.

For an interview with Mr. Moorcroft, visit www.oakhursthotel.co.za, or http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0ClccFn1Rw.

ENDS 482 WORDS

More Information: Oakhurst Hotel
www.oakhursthotel.co.za
Corner Meade & Cathedral Streets, George.

Reservations: reservations [at] oakhursthotel.co.za
Marketing: marketing [at] oakhursthotel.co.za
General Manager: manager [at] oakhursthotel.co.za
Telephone: +27(0)44) 874 7130
Fax +27(0)44) 874 7131
P.O. Box 9416, George 6530, South Africa.