The construction of a new 1 900-delegate conference centre in Century City will cement the business and lifestyle node’s position as Cape Town’s premiere, one-stop MICE destination, says Danny Bryer, Director of Sales, Marketing and Revenue for African Pride Hotels.
The new conference centre will provide the precinct with additional capacity to the existing 450-seater, 5-star conference centre at African Pride Crystal Towers Hotel & Spa, which is currently the second largest conferencing destination in the Mother City after the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC).
According to the Rabie Property Group, which is developing the new conference centre, the build is expected to be completed late next year.
Bryer has welcomed the development and says the new conference centre signals that Century City is now fully established as a business and lifestyle node for corporate meetings, conferences and exhibitions.
“African Pride Crystal Towers Hotel & Spa opened four and a half years ago with the express purpose of creating an executive property that offered a luxury conferencing experience hitherto unavailable in Cape Town.
“The hotel’s conference centre was so successful with both the domestic and international MICE markets that we had to expand it fairly quickly to its current capacity of 450 delegates.
“There are often waiting lists for the nine executive boardrooms, but the jewel in the crown is the large conference and exhibition space overlooking the Grand Canal. It accommodates around 350 people and has been the frequent location of international car launches and similar high-profile events.”
What enhances to the desirability of the hotel’s meeting spaces is value adds such as fibre optic broadband and specialised menus that cater to everything from low carb diets to vegetarian eating plans.
Bryer says the new conference centre will certainly compete with the CTICC for market share and create greater opportunities for Cape Town to host larger scale events for the MICE market.
“African Pride Crystal Towers Hotel & Spa will continue lead the market in Century City because it delivers 5-star, personalised and bespoke meetings, events and conferences. The hotel is already positioned as the premier luxury meetings destination in Cape Town and that will not change.”
