February 2015: In less than a month, Pretoria’s coolest new development will open its designer doors to the public. Protea Hotel Fire & Ice! – just off the Ben Schoeman Highway and directly opposite the popular Menlyn shopping centre – is set to become the city’s “events central”.

Not only will the hotel provide one of the largest and most flexible conferencing facilities in an on-trend design environment, but it will also play host to a range of regular happenings and events.

“Contractors are leaving the site this week, making place now for the interior designers to provide the sexy inner spaces for which the Protea Hotel Fire & Ice! brand has won such an enthusiastic and loyal following in Cape Town and Melrose Arch,” said Danny Bryer, Sales, Marketing and Revenue Director of Protea Hotels.

The hotel is designed 100% with the needs, desires and tastes of modern guest and millennial traveller in mind, whether that guest is popping in for a social event, is a conference delegate or is staying overnight.

The social areas flow easily from dining to indoor lounging and then to outdoor lounging on the stunning, outdoor living room, where social pods with their own individual fireplaces are spaced around the Olympic-length swimming pool.

The interiors will be full of visual surprises, dramatic design and cutting-edge trends but, while innovative ideas is what lovers of the Protea Hotel Fire & Ice! brand have come to expect, no detail has been spared to also provide a comfortable and social environment for guests.

“There are so many aspects of this hotel that we’re excited about, but one of the apparently smaller details that we’ve taken very seriously from the outset is that the modern guest requires mobility and connection. For that reason, every area of the hotel – from the conference rooms, to the social areas to the bedrooms – is amply supplied with plug points. You can practically sit down and plug in anywhere. Along with free unlimited wifi, across multiple devices, Protea Hotels really takes guest service to new levels in South Africa.”

A stand-out aspect of Protea Hotel Fire & Ice! Menlyn is its spacious and adaptable conferencing facilities. The ground floor can accommodate up to 350 delegates and the first floor up to 250 delegates. Each of the large spaces, which is filled with natural Highveld light from floor to ceiling windows, can also be divided into separate venues by use of soundproof conference room dividers; which provides greater flexibility. On the first floor, the conference offering is further enhanced by two conference suites which consist of a boardroom with an en-suite lounge each. These can be used for breakaway groups or for smaller meetings, either together or as stand-alone venues.

“There really is almost no size or shape of conferencing delegation that this hotel won’t be able to accommodate, and with the luxury of 250 secure underground parking bays, we know beyond the shadow of a doubt that we are giving Pretoria something it has never had before. Also, our young and forward-thinking food and beverage department is going to be offering conference meals and snacks that are not the usual fare conference delegates are used to,” Bryer said.

Bookings for Protea Hotel Fire & Ice! opened late last year and the TEAM is excited about welcoming its first guests in the second half of March. Bryer said: “Protea Hotel Fire & Ice! has proven a game-changing lifestyle hospitality brand in the two cities it has opened in and we are very excited to see how Pretoria reacts to its newest and hippest hot spot.”

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