GRANDE ROCHE ONE OF THE BEST

- 12 November 2009

THE Grande Roche Hotel in Paarl was nominated the 29^th best hotel in the world with a 93.3 out of a possible 100 point rating in the prestigious Conde Naste Traveller Reader Awards 2009 announced recently.

The hotel was also awarded the 5^th best resort in all of Africa.

Built in 1717 and restored to its original Cape Dutch splendour in the early 90s when transformed as a national monument into a luxury boutique hotel, the Grande Roche has recently undergone a matchless refurbishment to maintain its position as a celebrated international hotel under the management of the Mantis Group.

“It’s an honour to know that what we set out to do in the hospitality industry is acknowledged by those who really count – the guests themselves,” says Grande Roche GM Graham Vass.

For two decades the Grande Roche Hotel has been distinguished for not only its sublime setting but also its authentic, luxurious lodging, peerless hospitality and award-winning cuisine at Bosman’s Restaurant, a Chaines Des Rotisseurs establishment and acknowledged as one of the Top 100 restaurants in the world. The restaurant also recently won a Wine Spectator award for its comprehensive Cape wine list.

Every year since 1988, a select sample of Condé Nast Traveller readers have taken the Readers' Choice Survey. In 2009, the questionnaire was available to all readers through a secure Web site. The final tabulations of 25,008 responses were done by Mediamark Research, Inc., of New York City.

Each candidate was rated, criterion by criterion, on a five-point scale: excellent, very good, good, fair, poor. Criterion scores, which represent the percentage of respondents rating a candidate excellent or very good, were averaged to determine the final score; e.g., in the category of Islands, Maui's 90.1 is the average of its scores for Activities, Atmosphere/Ambience, Beaches, Friendliness, Lodging, Restaurants, and Scenery.

South Africa’s leading hospitality & conservation group, other properties in the Mantis stable include much-awarded Shamwari Game Reserve, Sanbona Wildlife Reserve near Montagu, Jock Safari Lodge in the Kruger National Park, Port Elizabeth’s Shamwari Town House and Nkomazi Lodge near Barberton while international properties include London’s Draycott Hotel and Cap Estel hotel on the French Riviera. Visit the Mantis Group Website.