Four Seasons has announced that it continues to expand its presence in Africa, signing a long term management agreement with the owners of The Westcliff hotel in Johannesburg, South Africa. The iconic property, set on a cliffside garden estate in the northern suburbs of Johannesburg, was closed on June 30, 2013 to undergo enhancements including renovations and new construction and will reopen as Four Seasons Hotel Westcliff Johannesburg in the second quarter of 2014.
Upon reopening, Four Seasons Hotel Westcliff Johannesburg will be home to new restaurant and bar concepts designed by renowned UK-based hospitality design firm Blacksheep. An expanded outdoor terrace will be a focal point of the hotel’s dining experience, offering vistas of the city’s dense tree canopy and the distant Magaliesberg hills, with sunset views. The hotel will also include a brand new spa, fitness center and outdoor pool featuring world-class amenities.
The new Hotel owners have retained the original architect of The Westcliff - Johannesburg-based RSL Architects - to ensure that architectural enhancements to the property are as consistent as possible with the original design. Four Seasons and the property’s owners will also work closely with local consultants to ensure the design aesthetic of the property is preserved. Johannesburg-based interior design firm JACKET has similarly been engaged by the hotel owners.
Four Seasons veteran Sebastien Carre has been appointed general manager and will assume the position August 1 to begin preparations to re-open the property as Four Seasons Hotel Westcliff Johannesburg. A native of Lyon, France, Carre’s 10-year career with Four Seasons began in Washington, where he was hotel manager, and in 2006 he was appointed opening general manager for Four Seasons Resort Bora Bora. His most recent position, as general manager at the company’s Red Sea resort at Sharm El Sheikh, was his second tour of duty in Africa, having previously worked at a resort in Mauritius.
Four Seasons Hotel Westcliff Johannesburg marks the latest expansion for Four Seasons into sub-Saharan Africa. In 2012 the company opened Four Seasons Safari Lodge Serengeti, Tanzania, a resort in the Serengeti National Park featuring 77 guest rooms, including 12 suites with plunge pools and five free-standing villas with private swimming pools. Four Seasons Safari Lodge offers guests a unique opportunity to be immersed in the Serengeti from a safe and ecologically responsible environment, while still being pampered amid the unspoiled wilderness. The company has two additional projects under consideration in Tanzania as it explores further expansion across the region.
For more information, visit http://www.fourseasons.com/johannesburg/.
