Grosvenor House in Harare has been awarded five stars by the esteemed international hotel and leisure reviewer TripAdvisor – a rare accolade and an indication of the quality of the services and accommodation on offer!
It’s a small boutique guest house situated at the corner of Grosvenor Road and Ridgeway South in Highlands, Harare, conveniently located with easy access to the CBD and Borrowdale and with a number of upmarket restaurants and amenities in close proximity. It caters largely for business and corporate guests as well as for leisure travellers. It’s perfect for international travellers flying to Harare, on route to Victoria Falls or other destinations, to rest and refresh themselves in tranquil and peaceful surroundings and feel pampered by the ever-attentive staff.
The current owners took over the established guest house in 2019 and started some renovations and extensions to refresh the venue. There were several projects undertaken over a few years until quite recently.
The first phase was the closing in of the existing verandah with glass and aluminium doors and building a cosy indoor fireplace for chilly winter evenings. The new space became a large and welcoming common lounging area, linked to the custom made bar, and doubled the public space. The expansive glass windows help to maintain the connection to the pool and the well-established gardens with magnificent older trees.
It incorporated raising the ceiling in the separate dining room which had been a bit low and oppressive. It also involved the construction of an exterior slab to create an outdoor terrace patio seating area in front of the lounge. Perfect for breakfast, coffee or sun-downers. The extension was designed by Bruce Rowlands from Architexture Spatial Design and carried out by Flavio Pellegatta from Precision Plumbing and Construction. It started in November 2019 and was completed in March 2020. It was just before the COVID 19 pandemic hit Harare hard so although the new space was complete business at the guest house dropped off.
Owner/General Manager Hayley Oberholzer worked on the interior design of the new lounge and outdoor areas with the assistance of Michelle Davis from MAIA Design Studio. Hayley has several years of experience working at other exclusive lodges so she has a keen eye for sophisticated design. The result in the public spaces is an elegant but uncluttered and very welcoming ambiance with touches of African chic. It’s very comfortable and laid back and above all welcoming and relaxing. The bar was specially commissioned and custom made bar stools were sourced from Jessica Stevens Interiors. Throughout the renovations and extensions part of the old world charm and individuality of the original property has been maintained with a warm feeling, unlike some modern hotels which can be a bit formulaic.
Fortunately, business begun to pick up again in 2022 and the second phase of the extensions began in January 2023. Up until that time the guest house had five bedrooms – three within the main body of the guest house and two outside rooms, all with en suite bathrooms. The rooms have English names in keeping with the rather grand name of the guest lodge – Grosvenor. The three rooms inside the hotel are called Windsor, Eton and Ascot. The two outside rooms are Caversham and Harrington. Each room is slightly different has been very tastefully decorated with an individual but luxurious character.
The property and the house had probably originally been part of a farm in the Highlands area at the turn of the last century and so there was a large barn-like structure at the back of the property. It had been a somewhat neglected and was a bit of an eyesore. It was basically unusable and had become a little rundown. In January 2023 a reinvention of the space was embarked on by Grosvenor House together with Design Homes t/a Mako Repairs and Maintenance. Design Homes designed the new project and were the main contractors from start to finish including the new plumbing and electrics. The space was completely gutted and new floors, doors and windows, ceilings, interior walls and bathrooms were installed. What has now become room 6 – called Blenheim – was created together with an en suite bathroom. It’s much larger than the other rooms so it’s ideal as a family room. It’s a spacious double room but more beds can easily be accommodated for families with young children travelling together. It has a great atmosphere recalling the historic value of the space.
The barn like structure also incorporates five generous staff quarters – most of the staff stay on-site as they work long hours and are on call all the time. There’s also a laundry room which is essential for the frequent refreshing of linens for the rooms as well as guests needing laundry services for their clothes.
In February this year an additional two outside suites were built – again by Design Homes – bringing the
total number of rooms to eight. This might seem quite modest but the small number of rooms means each and every guest can receive totally dedicated service and attention. This policy obviously works well as the rooms are booked up well in advance – due to word of mouth recommendations – and there are a number of repeat guests.
In February this year rooms 7 and 8 were constructed outside in the garden overlooking the pool. They are adjacent double rooms and both en suite. The design blends well with the existing structures with Chromadek roofs, small front verandahs and private courtyards at the back. Rooms 7 and 8 are called Henley and Marlowe in keeping with the traditional naming of the rooms. Names are much more personal than numbers! And personal service is what Grosvenor House is all about.
At the moment there are no plans to build more rooms. Keeping the number of guests fairly modest ensures each and every guest is special and receives five-star treatment.
The entire guest house can operate off-grid – like so many lodges in Zimbabwe. They have a borehole and water storage tanks, extensive solar power set ups, a generator for emergencies, and gas stoves for the kitchen. Guests can enjoy uninterrupted power as well as the comfort of electric blankets in winter and ceiling fans in summer.
Text by Michael Nott Photos by Fotohaus
From S&D ISSUE 66
