adminfgx, Author at City Lodge Hotel Group - Blog

WE’VE HAD A MAKEOVER

June 11, 2014 No Comments

Really great companies are constantly evolving, improving their operations in keeping with changes in technology, the industry, and what clients want. We at City Lodge Hotel Group (CLHG) want to be more than great – we want to be AMAZING – and so we have been thinking of ways to better our customer experience. One area we hit on was our website. We know that our clients want an easy-to-use, smooth, effortless and helpful online experience, and so we’ve been working round the clock to make sure our new website is better, faster and even more user-friendly than ever before! Because at the end of the day, what we really want is for you to have exactly what it is that you want. Our new website has been designed to make your online experience that much easier and more satisfying. Here are some of the changes we hope will improve…

WHAT’S SO SPECIAL ABOUT OUR COURTYARD HOTELS?

June 9, 2014 No Comments

The simple answer to the question ‘What’s so special about our Courtyard Hotels?’ is … LOTS! But we know you want a little more than that, so let us elaborate on why we love our Courtyard Hotels so much. COURTYARD HOTEL ARCADIA – OUR PRINCE OF CHARM City Lodge Hotel Group boasts five sumptuous Courtyard Hotels, each uniquely styled and with its own distinct atmosphere. Courtyard Hotel Arcadia in Pretoria is our throwback gem, built around a lovingly restored, turn-of-the-century manor house in leafy Embassy Road. The charming old-world architecture and pristine landscaping, with its immaculate topiary trees, are your first welcome, soothing your travel-wearing senses. Then you enter into a plush and inviting interior. If you walk through the hotel you will emerge into a park-like garden that is wonderful for walks. COURTYARD HOTEL ROSEBANK – THE CENTRE OF ATTENTION Our Courtyard Hotel Rosebank boasts a great location – it is…

HOW SHARP IS YOUR WORLD KNOWLEDGE?

May 22, 2014 No Comments

The world is a highly interesting place, with a crazy amount to explore and learn. But isn’t it nice to know that no matter how much you discover there’ll always be more? Life will never get boring! That said, we all enjoy pitting our skills against a quiz in the hopes of discovering that we do in fact know a fair bit, so here are 20 questions for testing your world knowledge, from rivers and castles to national birds and local beliefs… LET’S START WITH SOME WARM-UP QUESTIONS Name one other country apart from India that has the rupee as its currency. What country/land/state is essentially South Africa’s antipode? Give the name of the deepest lake in the world … What two independent states lie within Italy? What is the name of Zambia’s international airport closest to Victoria Falls? Not counting Antarctica, which desert is the world’s largest? In what mountain…

8 (VERY COOL) THINGS YOU DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT KING SHAKA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

May 19, 2014 No Comments

Durbanites used to travel south to Toti in order to fly away anywhere, but now they travel north, past scenic sugarcane fields, until they reach La Mercy and the mighty King Shaka International Airport (KSIA), an airport that can stand shoulder to shoulder with the hotshots from around the world. KSIA might not be as big as the hulking Heathrow, as renowned as that loud-mouthed American JFK, or sit in such a plumb central seat as Dubai, but in some ways he’s smarter, he’s certainly got sass and looks on his side, and, well, he’s from Africa, so dude gets extra ‘Awesome Points’ just for that! What are we talking about? Here are some impressive facts, figures and titbits you probably didn’t know about your very own King Shaka International Airport that will make you justly proud of our local contender. 1. KSIA’S BIRD RADAR SYSTEM KSIA has a bird…

6 WAYS TO GET WINNING TRAVEL PHOTOGRAPHS

May 9, 2014 No Comments

“You don’t take a photograph, you make it,” said photographer Ansel Adams, and he was so right! We could all stand on Blouberg Beach and gaze across at Table Mountain, see the same sunset over the Pyramids of Giza from the same angle, or witness the same leopard cub lolling in the grass, but what we’d each make of those scenes with our cameras would be something very different. Some of us might come away with photographs we’ll mount on our dining room wall, while others will look disappointedly at the overexposed or underwhelming picture in front of them, rueing the fact that it captures nothing of the actual beauty of the moment. So that said, we’re here to give you a few priceless tips on how to make the very most of the scenes you encounter when travelling so that you come home with nothing less than a veritable bevy…

INTERNATIONAL NO DIET DAY – A DAY CELEBRATING HEALTHY EATING

May 6, 2014 No Comments

Very few of us have our relationship with food completely waxed. Generally some of us are overly fond of food while others are overly fearful of it. A healthy relationship with food is one in which the individual feels the freedom and control to start eating as well as the freedom and control to stop eating. The right thinker also knows (deep down where it matters) that food is not the enemy – our bodies are our greatest tool in life, and we need food to nourish and sustain them. All that said… WHY HAVE A SPECIFIC NO DIET DAY EVERY YEAR? The thinking behind this annual observance is threefold: Raise awareness of how diets can be harmful Teach us to respect and accept all body types Promote healthy eating over dieting International No Diet Day aims to highlight and remedy the more common bad eating habits that people generally…

HOW MUCH DO YOU KNOW ABOUT SOUTH AFRICA?

April 22, 2014 No Comments

Recently the @CityLodgeHotels twitter profile took part in a #Shotleft Twitter Chat with @Shotleft and others in order to highlight different places within South Africa, and find out exactly how much we all know about our beautiful country! SHO’T LEFT CHAT The #Shotleft Chat was a fun trivia of 5 questions each tailored to showcase a different region/place in Mzansi. The top five followers participating in the chat each won a weekend accommodation voucher to stay at any of the hotels within the City Lodge Hotel Group around the country – depending on where they plan to go on holiday! This would give the followers a great opportunity to plan a Sho’t Left trip without having to worry about the cost of accommodation! Here is a summary of what happened during the #Shotleft Twitter Chat hour! View the story “#Shotleft chat with @Shotleft and @Citylodgehotels” on Storify

APPS TO MAKE YOUR LIFE EASIER AND BETTER: GAUTRAIN BUDDY, UBER, GOOGLE GOGGLES, VINE, AND MORE!

April 16, 2014 No Comments

There are so many great apps available that can add value to your work, social life, and organisational skills. Some are fun, some save time, some save money, and some have reached the point of becoming almost indispensable! You may well not have heard of many of them, so we’re here to give you the low-down on eight apps that we think are useful, fun or valuable in a South African context and so inspire you to add to your library those that you think will add value to your life. GAUTRAIN BUDDY The Gautrain – “For People on the Move” – has an official app to help make your commute as smooth and effortless as possible. The Gautrain Buddy provides you with everything you need to know about the rail and bus service: its peak and off-peak schedules, fees, station-specific bus options, and parking and drop-off facilities. So you don’t need to…

THE INS AND OUTS OF HOTEL LIFE – CHECKING IN, AND CHECKING OUT

March 25, 2014 No Comments

Whether you’re staying for a night or a month, there are some things you need to know about staying in a hotel, to ensure that your stay is as pleasant and as hassle-free as possible! BEFORE YOU ARRIVE AT THE HOTEL When making your booking, be specific about what you want. Whether you want twin beds or a double bed, if you need a desk, or Wi-Fi access – ask about these facilities beforehand. It’s much easier for the staff of the hotel to give you what you want, if you ask about it before you arrive. How to pick a quiet room: To make sure you get peace and quiet, request a room on an upper floor away from the elevators. Booking a room midway along a hallway is also a good idea, as this is usually the quietest part of the floor – away from the vending machines, laundry facilities,…

THE WORLD TRAVEL MARKET TURNS ITS ATTENTION TO AFRICA

March 11, 2014 No Comments

The renowned World Travel Market (WTM) is this year launching its first ever WTM Africa event, to be hosted at Cape Town’s International Convention Centre (CTICC) from the 2nd to the 3rd of May 2014, and the City Lodge Hotel Group is looking forward to attending. THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD TRAVEL MARKET The WTM, begun in 1980, aims to bring together trade professionals within the leisure industry so that face-to-face meetings between exhibitors, buyers and other stakeholders can occur, knowledge and insights be shared, and industry-advancing deals be forged. Today the WTM can boast more than 5,000 exhibitors and 50,000 participants from 189 countries and regions. It also facilitates roughly ₤2 billion of business within the leisure, luxury travel and meetings industry. And now, for the first time, all that networking and influence is going to be taking place on African soil, supported by the South African Government and…