Southern Sun Cullinan in Cape Town, one of the groups refined hotels in the city (COURTESY OF TSOGO SUN)

Tsogo Sun has reached agreement with the owners of the site of the recently demolished Tulip hotel for the construction of an exciting new 500-bedroom hotel complex in Cape Town city centre on the corner of Buitengracht and Strand Street, for a  total  investment of R680 million ($60 million).

Tsogo Sun CEO Marcel von Aulock explains, "We believe the continued development and rejuvenation of Cape Town's city centre will lead to growing demand for hotel accommodation. We already operate three full service hotels – The Cullinan, Southern Sun Waterfront and Southern Sun Cape Sun – as well as the recently refurbished SunSquare Cape Town in Gardens and believe the addition of an exciting new product aimed at the limited service market will allow us to provide the full spectrum of products to suit all budgets for both business and leisure travellers."

The new hotel will consist of two products in one complex –a 200-bedroom latest-design SunSquare hotel and a 300-bedroom new generation StayEasy hotel, offering a choice of affordable and stylish accommodation. Included in the complex will be banqueting and conference facilities, Tsogo Sun's trendy and fast growing casual dining offering Vigour & Verve, retail space and approximately 300 underground parking bays. The hotel site currently includes a heritage façade which will be retained.

"This investment represents our continued commitment to the area and brings the total number of Tsogo Sun rooms in the Cape Town city centre to over 2 000, which is very substantial indeed," said von Aulock.

"Our SunSquare and StayEasy hotel options each have their own character and appeal, but the overriding offering in both is affordable, high-quality accommodation. We're delighted to have this opportunity to increase our presence in one of the most vibrant cities on the continent."

Construction is expected to begin in mid-2015 and to be completed by September 2017, in time for peak summer tourist season. 

Tsogo Sun's portfolio includes over 90 hotels and 14 casino and entertainment destinations throughout South Africa, Africa, the Seychelles and Abu Dhabi. The Group operates in all segments of the hotel market from Deluxe to Budget.

For further information, please visit www.tsogosun.com