Mountview Hotel freshens up

Liberty Dube
MUTARE’s Mountview Hotel which is undergoing a major facelift in on the verge of completing the first phase of the exercise as the hotel aims at regaining its lost glamour.

In an interview, the hotel’s director, Mr Gregory Kadzura, said a series of behind-the-scenes work to shape up administrative demands as well as infrastructural facelift were underway with the help of stakeholders.

He said the refurbishments were classified into three phases.

“The renovations exercise has been running smoothly. Although it will take us time to complete all the three phases, we are happy that we are slowly getting there. A spacious gazebo, garden area and swimming pool are nearing completion and are expected to be fully functional in March. The first phase took us close to seven months. After announcing the renovations we had to deal with a number of key changes including streamlining staff and consulting our partners to decide upon a roadmap towards achieving our renovation vision,” said Mr Kadzura.

The hotel, which was once one of the leading leisure centres in Mutare, has 70 guest rooms which can occupy up to 150 guests as well as conference rooms.

Its business plummeted owing to a plethora of reasons, chief among them, stiff competition from surrounding hoteliers in Mutare.

“We have already started bringing in new bedding with each room now boasting of high quality queen size beds as we aim to guarantee a restful night for our clientele.

“During the latter stages of the first phase, renovations will see soft furnishings also being attended to with bedding, carpeting and curtaining adopting an ultra modern look to phase out old material as well as bringing new entertainment units,” he said.

“The gazebo area has always been a hit with our guests and soon our weekend programming will reflect family friendly events with ideal and beautiful outdoor experience as well as an ambience that will be assisted by a well-manicured and landscaped garden,” added Mr Kadzura.

Having been on the downside in the face of falling tourist arrivals and financial challenges, the hotel was teetering on the brink of collapse and was brought to life by a partnership between the establishment and their financial partners giving it a fresh look.

“We are cautiously optimistic and come the end of the second quarter of this year we shall have visible and tangible changes to the hotel and ambience not just for those who would have checked in but also for the drop-in client who wants our bar or garden experience. Soon the Mount View brand will be back where it belongs,” said the young director who is spearheading the turnaround.