In addition to offering leisure accommodation and facilities, including a pool deck and pool bar, the hotel will also offer state-of-the-art conferencing and meeting facilities for business and government use.
The main conference facility - in excess of 600 square metres - can hold up to 800 delegates cinema-style and is sub-dividable into smaller 150 to 200 square metre venues. There are also smaller meeting rooms, breakaway venues and a VIP Lounge and business centre.
A wellness centre and gymnasium, opening April, 2011, will also be available for the use of guests, while the hotel also has its own in-house restaurant and adjoining bar with wi-fi available throughout.
"The development of this hotel is in line with the expansion programme of the Premier Hotels and Resorts Group as well as the fact that OR Tambo will become a prime convention centre location where delegates will be able to fly in, convene and fly out conveniently," said Premier Hotel and Resorts MD Samuel Nassimov.
Designed in contemporary African style, using natural materials such as stone and geometric glass and aluminium, approximately half of the rooms are afforded a view of the airport, creating a pleasing "bay window" effect.
All the hotel's large rooms (49 of which are suites with their own lounges) and public areas all offer wi-fi Internet connections.
In terms of green building principles, the building's design takes orientation into account and windows have solar-controlled glazing and minimise heat load, reducing air-conditioning requirements.
The facades are also "fragmented" to avoid large, heat-absorbing elements, while energy-efficient VRV air-conditioning systems have been incorporated into the public areas. The electrical installation incorporates power factor correction to reduce energy demands, along with an energy-efficient hot water-generation plant utilising roof-mounted air-to-water-type heat pumps, producing hot water at approximately 25 percent of the cost of electrical water heating.
The Premier Hotels & Resorts Group now includes hotels in Cape Town, Pretoria, Pinetown and the South Coast along with the recent opening of a luxury property in Knysna on the Garden Route, in East London and the East London International Convention Centre, which the group also manages.
