INSIDE SOUTHERN SUN IKOYI HOTEL
Southern Sun Ikoyi Hotel is throwing a party tomorrow, 3 June. Dubbed VIP Cocktail, guests have been promised an unforgettable date by the authorities of hotel, who recently showed select tourism reporters/writers around their complex.
The visit, dubbed Educational Tour, took Travels and some 10 others through the hotel and its facilities. Although, Travels was out of the country; when Southern Sun Ikoyi Hotel formally opened in Lagos in 2009; we had visited Southern Sun Ikoyi Hotel on our pocket in February, 2010. Prompted by curiosity, this travel-writer had to look in, to keep abreast of developments in the local tourism industry.
For some idea of the quality of any hotel's serving, you must buy and taste their cuisine. After all, 'the taste of the pudding is in the eating'. We had decidedly avoided anything elaborate and settled for sandwich, which was washed down with a bottle of Coke and a 75cl bottle of Eva water. The sandwich cost over N2,200, coke N600; and, the total bill came to over N3,200. Hmm…
Moreover, with their cheapest room at over N68,000 and the upper limit in excess of N200,000, per night; Southern Sun Ikoyi Hotel is not the kind of place the not-so-rich want to visit frequently, to be candid. But, it's an ideal place to take one's partner for a treat. In deed, the Hotel General Manager, Mark Loxley, recalled that a couple had attended the hotel's flag-off in 2009 because the premises was where they spent their honeymoon decades ago.
You bet! Our visit to Southern Sun, Ikoyi in February last year was also spurred by sentimental reasons; for, the building housed Ikoyi Hotel, which for decades, served as a Lagos landmark. Come to think of it, Ikoyi Hotel; which was founded in 1926, had practically morphed into a heritage site of some sort. We had, however, lamented; in a story published in 1996, in Sunday Times, where we once served as Art, Culture and Entertainment Editor, that Ikoyi Hotel had nothing to celebrate for its 70th anniversary.
Within the next 10 years, Ikoyi Hotel and its parent company; Nigeria Hotels Limited had staggered from misfortune to viccissitudes until the cookie finally crumbled, as they say. Although Nigeria Hotels Limited is no more, Ikoyi Hotel has ressurrected, though with a prefix, Southern Sun. Like the Phoenix, the complex had withered only to re-emerge stonger. Welcome to Southern Sun Ikoyi Hotel.
But, what is this hotel's rating? Mr. Loxley, who engaged the visitors in an interactive session that lasted roughly an hour, after the tour; enthusiastically said Southern Sun Ikoyi Hotel is 'Marketed as 4-star. We don't like to pretend to be something that we are not. We believe the 4-star business model is conducive and helps to maintain standard, transcend different economic climate and is best for Africa', Loxley declared.
He was keen to add that Southern Sun Ikoyi also won Best New Hotel Award in 2010 and that it has an NTDC endorsement as Best Hotel in Nigeria as well as bagged award as Best 4-Star Hotel in West Africa.
But, does this hotel get enough guests; given that some could see their charges as astronomical? Loxley again: 'Occupancy level has progressively improved: everyone is doing better, and this is a good sign for Lagos that business has picked up'.
Barely one year after its launch, when most of its facilities were virtually sparkling new; Southern Sun Ikoyi went through a face-lift, which saw upgrading of facilities, among others. That make-over took three months, from January to March, this year. 'We decided to maintain and upgrade service for our clientele'. Interestingly, this was just phase one of a welcome grand plan: 'For phase two, we're looking to expand the restaurant, conference facilities and parking space', he enthused.
Aside putting Southern Sun Ikoyi Hotel through something of a massive overhaul, staff training; Loxley emphasized is sine qua non for any enterprise seeking to stay in business. Hear this GM: 'Apart from refurbishing, training is corner-stone of any management philosophy; so, we are employing correctly and constantly training. If staff are treated and remunerated fairly, we can go a long way'. It is worth noting that no fewer than 10 international world-class hotels have sprung up in Lagos in the last three years. How does this resonate with Loxley as GM of Southern Sun Ikoyi, especially as regards tarrifs and prices?
Loxley reckons the arrival of more and more big-time hotel chains in Lagos is a good sign. Competition will compel a rise in quality, he mused. 'Competition', he forecast, 'will slightly dilute prices', but Southern Sun, he assured; 'Will sustain the quality and standard. Every destination has its idiosyncrasies'.