Whale Cottage Portfolio Blog

The Western Cape province and the BBC have signed a deal, which allows the BBC to set up its broadcasting headquarters on top of the Somerset Hospital close to the new Cape Town stadium, and adjacent to the V & A Waterfront, reports the Cape Times.

A special glass top roof will be constructed on top of the hospital building, allowing the BBC to broadcast the 2010 World Cup from Cape Town with a view of Table Mountain, and of the Cape Town Stadium.  Soccer star Gary Lineker will be the BBC’s host for the soccer event.    The studio will not interfere with the operation of the hospital.

The value of the deal has not been disclosed, the agreement between the two parties prohibiting this information from being supplied.

The official FIFA Media Centre will be in Johannesburg, but Cape Town is a popular location for international broadcasters, says the province’s 2010 World Cup co-ordinator Dr Laurine Platzky.

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com

To celebrate the success of the Whale Cottage Portfolio, it has bought a penguin house on Dyer Island, to provide a safe haven for the penguins to breed in.   This project is run by the Dyer Island Conservation Trust from Gansbaai (www.dict.org.za).   The African penguins on Dyer Island are vulnerable to extinction, as the guano they used in the past to make their nests has been removed for the production of fertilizer. In 30 years the number of breeding pairs on Dyer island has decreased by 90 %, to about 1 600 pairs.   The fibreglass nests have been designed to mimic guano burrows,  to protect the penguins against predators and the elements, and to assist the Trust in research and monitoring.

Last month Whale Cottage Hermanus celebrated its 13th anniversary.  It was the first Whale Cottage to open. 

The Whale Cottage Portfolio is in celebratory mode again, with Whale Cottage Camps Bay celebrating its 11^thbirthday this month, and Whale Cottage Franschhoek celebrating its 5^th birthday.  

It is also the first anniversary of the WhaleTales  blog, the first step of the Whale Cottage Portfolio into social media marketing.   Blogging, Twittering and Facebooking are very important parts of the daily Whale Cottage marketing communication activities.  

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com

As MATCH is unable to fill the missing 15 000 beds it requires to accommodate FIFA’s officials, sport teams and ticket package holders, it has made the shock announcement that it is letting go of its requirement that 2010 World Cup accommodation must be graded by the Tourism Grading Council, reports the Southern African Tourism Update.

MATCH requires 55 000 rooms, and has contracted 40 495 rooms to date, of which 75 % are hotel rooms and 25 % small accommodation rooms.

The report says that MATCH will use its “discretion” to select non-graded accommodation for the event.   The Memorandum of Understanding between the Department of Tourism and MATCH will be amended to reflect the grading requirement change.

However, Minister of Tourism Marthinus van Schalkwyk was adamant that he preferred that graded accommodation be used: “The South African government neither supports nor promotes the use of non-graded accommodation establishments.     Furthermore, the South African government respects the right of all accommodation establishments, whether graded or not, to choose whether they want to contract with MATCH or not”.  These are interesting words, reflecting the Minister’s understanding of the resistance to MATCH by the small accommodation sector, regularly reported by WhaleTales in this blog.

In the media statement, MATCH reiterated that it will not contract private homes, an initiative driven by Seeff and Pam Golding estate agencies.

FEDHASA National CEO Brett Dungan addressed the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee last week, and trashed the Sunday Times report of a week prior, which described the resistance from the small accommodation sector to FIFA’s “MATCH-fixing”.   Southern African Tourism Update reports that Dungan said that MATCH requires ”100 000 rooms”, clearly an exaggeration of the FIFA accommodation requirement.   Dungan is also quoted as saying that only 13 % of small accommodation establishments have contracted with MATCH, which, if correct, reflects how deep the distrust of MATCH is by small establishments.   Dungan also is quoted as saying that a 20 % commission is a standard fee to pay when receiving business from tour operators.  Once again he appears to be poorly informed, as MATCH is taking a 30 % (not 20 %) commission on top of the 2010 accommodation rates, a most exceptionally high rate.   Dungan did acknowledge that there would not be enough accommodation in each of the towns and cities with 2010 soccer stadia, according to the report.

One of the solutions to general accommodation during June and July 2010 is cruise ships, not for MATCH, but for soccer fan groups and individuals.   The QE2 from Dubai was reported to have requested docking in the Cape Town harbour, but Minister van Schalkwyk had strongly rejected the request, saying that South African accommodation establishments should be supported.  

The latest news on cruise ships is that a German based company Moltke Promotion GmbH, through its subsidiary One Ocean Club,  has partnered with IKapa Tours & Travel.  The MS Noordam is reported by Southern African Tourism Update to be based in Durban harbour, accommodating soccer fans, who will be taken to Port Elizabeth for the quarter final, and for the third and fourth place play-off.   The MS Westerdam will be based in Port Elizabeth for the first half of the soccer tournament, and then will be cruising between Port Elizabeth and Cape Town in the second half.

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio www.whalecottage.com]

A little French haven in the northern suburbs is Cafe’ Delicieux (a francophile would miss the accent on the first e of Delicieux), a daytime restaurant which is open seven days a week.   Whilst it encapsulates a French feel, its menu has little French food in it.

It is decorated beautifully, in a French blue, with beautiful Manna-style chandeliers from which dangle not just crystals but cups as well.   The owner clearly has interior decor talent, creating an aesthetically pleasing interior - with large black and white floor tiles, a large table at the entrance displaying all the baked treats in large glass belldomes, decorated with ribbons, a Dutch Tord and Boontjie papercut curtain, French background music, and a display of gifts of crockery, preserves, teapots etc for sale.  Beautiful photographs of cutlery decorate the wall.  

Attention to detail is immediately noticeable - the chairs outside all have blankets on them, not only for warmth but also to add a touch of colour on the white chairs.    The crockery used is beautiful and precious, and one wonders how it stays whole without being chipped!   A ‘jammerlappie’ (moist cloth) accompanies the meal, presented on a beautiful plate.

Owner Serita Landman was out of town, but her Assistant Manager Lee Robertson was a most delightful and passionate representative, in supplying information, and even e-mailing a photograph whilst the writer was still in the restaurant.   The restaurant opened a year ago, but has only recently begun to make itself known.   Mrs Landman is a passionate French food lover, says Lee, and loves cooking a la francais.  

The menu has some French dishes, such as coq au vin, but this dish has already been discontinued, as it has not sold well.  Instead it is the salads and burgers that are the most popular amongst the clients who are mainly from the Welgemoed neighbourhood, says a waitress.   Unfortunately the blackboard with the specials, referred to on the website, was not offered.

Breakfast can be eaten all day long, and the menu includes salads, pasta dishes, and light dishes such as moussaka, boerewors, and herb-fried calamari with remoulade sauce, at around R 60.  The menu has very feminine feel, created by the typeface, and the soft pink and blue used on its two sides.  Desserts are the cupcakes, and cakes, and include Chocolate tiramisu, Pecan Nut cheesecake, New York cheesecake, Carrot cake, and a Lemon Meringue, as well as a Granadilla Meringue. The menu reflects the positioning of the restaurant: “We like simple food, prepared with thought, love and care”.   This is not something one often sees communicated, and accurately summmarises what the restaurant is about.

All cakes and cupcakes are baked at the restaurant, and increasingly the services of the restaurant are being called upon for functions in the restaurant, and for outside-catering.

Lee talked about the “motherly” role that Mrs Landman plays towards her staff, and how happy she is to work at Cafe’ Delicieux, as are her colleagues.  Staff turnover is low.   All the staff smile, and look really happy, Lee being the prime example of a dedicated and loyal staff member, saying that she is at her most happy here, of all the restaurants she has worked at, feeling part of “the family”.   She adds that their patrons enjoy the warmth, welcome and comfortable ambiance of the restaurant.

The salad accompanying the moussaka was tasty, with a special dressing.  Tomatoes had been cut in half, and cooked for a while, an unusual salad ingredient.   The onions in the salad were a hindrance, not to everyone’s taste.  

At all times the staff came by regularly, to check that all was in order.   Take-away boxes are beautifully decorated with ribbons, making one feel that one is taking home a special gift.

On 6 October Marlene van der Westhuizen, who lives in Cape Town and in the Provence, from where she offers cookery classes, will be featured at an evening function.  On 7 November Danielle Pascal will perform at Cafe’ Delicieux.   The restaurant is open from 7h15 on Mondays - Fridays, and closes at 18h00 on these days.  On Saturdays it opens at 8h30, and closes at 15h00, and on Sundays it opens at 9h00 and closes at 14h00.

Cafe’ Delicieux is located next to Woolworths, Shop 6, in the The Forum shopping centre below the Engen petrol station, on the corner of Jip de Jager and Kommissaris Streets in Welgemoed.   Tel 021 913 0153.  www.cafedelicieux.co.za.

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com

The best tourism news in a long time is the announcement by Frankfurt-based Kleber PR Network that it has been appointed to market Cape Town, reports DeinTouristNet.

Kleber PR Network has good experience of marketing South Africa in Germany for the past 15 years, having been the PR company in Germany for S A Tourism for many years, until the local national marketing body appointed Ogilvy as its new advertising agency, with an affiliated PR company, therefore relinquishing its relationship with Kleber.  

Whale Cottage has accommodated S A Tourism journalists over the years, and can vouch for the knowledge of and passion for Cape Town and the rest of South Africa of the Kleber PR Network executives. 

Hanna Kleber, CEO of Kleber PR Network, said: “Kapstadt hat jede Menge Potential und wir freuen uns darauf, die Stadt mit gezielten Maßnahmen weiter im Urlaubs- und Businessreise-Markt zu etablieren.   Mit seiner traumhaften Lage an zwei Weltmeeren, dem spannenden Mix aus Nationalitäten und Kulturen und einer landschaftlichen Vielfalt, die ihres gleichen sucht, hat sich Kapstadt in den letzten Jahren als eine der großen internationalen Lifestylemetropolen einen Namen gemacht. Im Zuge der FIFA Fussballweltmeisterschaft 2010 - wird die Stadt zudem als wichtige Austragungsstätte im Fokus der Öffentlichkeit stehen.” (Kleber PR will further enhance Cape Town’s presence in the leisure and business tourism markets, and will position the city as a lifestyle metropole, being very much in the focus for the 2010 World Cup.)

One wonders why Cape Town Tourism does not communicate such exciting news to its members.  WhaleTales recently criticised the lack of visible marketing by Cape Town Tourism and by Cape Town Routes Unlimited, but neither of the two bodies responded to this criticism.  

The appointment of a PR company to market South Africa’s top tourism asset is fantastic news, and would delight its members, especially at a time when membership renewals are due!

Communication with Mariette du Toit-Helmbold, CEO of Cape Town Tourism, has confirmed the appointment of the Kleber PR Network for the marketing of Cape Town in Germany, and she also communicated that a PR company has been appointed in the UK.  A similar appointment is expected in The Netherlands shortly.

Read the full report here

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com

The Sweet Service Award  goes to Murnier and his team at Value Car Hire.  Earlier this week a Whale Cottage Camps Bay guest inadvertently took the room keys with him when he checked out, and called the guest house from the airport.   He tried to find a way to get them back to Camps Bay.   Value Car Hire, with whom Whale Cottage has a long-standing relationship, had staff at the airport, and they kindly met the Whale Cottage guest at the check-in counter, and then delivered the keys back to the guest house.  A whale of a thanks to Value Car Hire!

The Sour Service Award goes to ‘Blonde’ Oscar Kotze of Beluga restaurant, for asking this writer to leave the restaurant when invited for lunch as a member and Chairman of the Camps Bay Accommodation association.    Kotze is a director of the Caviar Group of restaurants, which also owns Sevruga and the Caviar deli, as well as Blonde restaurant, which is to open in February.    The reason for the eviction appears to be that Beluga sister restaurant Sevruga received a Sour Service Award from WhaleTales more than 2 months ago in regard to the poor handling of the Penny Vincenzi launch lunch (see here).      The Marketing Manager Sam Obery was in a state, repeatedly being instructed by Kotze by phone to ask the writer to leave.  The staff ignored the writer, even though she sat at the table with her guest house colleagues, not taking her food order, and not serving her drinks other than water.   Kotze was asked to call the writer, but he refused, and also refused to take the call from the writer.  He instructed his staff to call the police, so that the writer could be evicted by them!   Kotze is short-sighted, as he had a fantastic opportunity to make good the writer’s perception of the Caviar Group of restaurants, which unfortunately has worsened as a result of this incident.   Ms Obery was severely embarrassed, understanding that in marketing one tries to turn things around to the positive, and that her marketing effort to attract business from guest houses in Camps Bay had become a PR flop. A smart restaurant owner would have called the writer, and thanked her for the Sevruga feedback, and asked her to retry the food and service that she had critiqued.   The marketing documentation presented to the guest house owners at the lunch was not adapted to be relevant to the guest house group, it thanking the guest houses for “coming to our fabulous cocktail party… this evening”, when it was a lunch they attended!

The WhaleTales Sweet & Sour Service Awards are presented every Friday on the WhaleTales blog.  Nominations for the Sweet and Sour Service Awards can be sent to Chris von Ulmenstein at info@whalecottage.com.   Past winners of the Sweet and Sour Service Awards can be read on the Friday posts of this blog, and in the WhaleTales newsletters on the www.whalecottage.com website.  

The 18 th annual Whale Festival in Hermanus starts today, and runs until the weekend.   Over the years the Whale Festival has been good for tourism, and accommodation establishments, restaurants and retail outlets all benefit from the event.

The focus of the Whale Festival is to celebrate the marine richness of the region, with talks by local experts on marine topics.   Wally the Whale (?!) will be present as well.  Classical music treats, an ABBA-style concert, a boxing tournament, a half marathon, kid’s morning market, winetastings, car show, lifestyle expo, as well as the Southern Right whales, are on the menu for the weekend.

The Hermanus Whale Festival is using the same logo and slogan as it did last year.  The slogan is inane: “Hermanus, the place to be”!   In a special advertising supplement in Die Burger last week, the “Cape Whale Coast” had a three-quarter page full colour advertisement, which is very poorly designed, trying to depict what the area offers - whales, penguins, wines, sharks, fynbos, golf, beaches etc.

A disturbing report in the Hermanus Times is that there are fewer whales in Walker Bay this year.    So far only 45 whales have been counted.  The norm is to count over 100 whales in October and November.   Local whale experts believe that the whales have been delayed in coming to Hermanus, and are on their way.

Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com

The winelist of maze at One&Only Cape Town has won the Best Winelist overall in the 2009 Diner’s Club Winelist Awards. 

Cape Town restaurants made a clean sweep, by winning each of the Winelist Award categories, including Best Platinum winelist, which was won by Jardine, Best Gold winelist was won by Tuscany Beach, and Best Silver winelist was won by Boulder’s Beach (shared with Casa Toscana).   Best Wine Steward/Sommelier was announced as Pearl Oliver at Catharina’s at the Steenberg Hotel.  Ben’s on the Beach in Strand won in the Best New Entry category.

The maze winelist is a 35 page document, which documents wine by region and then by variety, an irritation for a winelover wishing to choose a wine by variety firstly.   It is impressive due to the extensiveness of the wine range offered.

The top Cape winelist winners are maze, Bushman’s Kloof, Poplars, Flavours, Belthazar, Karibu, Catharina’s, The Square, The Plettenberg Bay Hotel, Bosman’s, Marc’s Mediterranean Cuisine, Westin Executive Club, Panama Jacks, Emily’s, Myoga, Ellerman House, Signal, Blowfish, Zachary’s, The Cellar’s Hohenhort Hotel, La Colombe, Le Quartier Francais, Asara, Cape Malay restaurant, Azure, The Atlantic Grill, The Kove, Rodwell House and Nobu.

Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com

More restaurant opening and movement news continues to reach WhaleTales.

Klein Genot is ending its relationship with Mark Radnay, of the Overture partnership with Top 10 chef Bertus Basson, after a one-year marriage, due to the restaurant not being financially viable, says Basson.   Angie Diamond, the owner of the luxury 5-star Klein Genot boutique hotel and winery called WhaleTales to say that she is taking over the Genot restaurant, with a name refinement to Genot Restaurant Cigar Bar, from 1 November, and is celebrating the opening with a Frank Sinatra tribute evening on 5 November, and a jazz evening on 6 November.    Diamond says her new restaurant model is Baia, the upmarket seafood restaurant in the V & A Waterfront, but at far reduced prices.  Starters range in price from R 38 for sardines to R 68 for parma ham and melon, with mussel and prawn starters costing R 58.   Salads average R 48, and the fish main courses range between R 78 for the calamari and sole to R 98 for baby kingklip.   Meat dishes range from R 78 for a spatchcock chicken to R 138 for rack of lamb. Pasta dishes are available at R 48 - 58, and desserts cost R 48 each.  Live music will be offered on Friday and Saturday evenings.   The restaurant is also offering a new service to guest houses, with complimentary transfers to the restaurant.   Genot is also offering picnic baskets, to be enjoyed at 20 picnic spots along the riverbank of the wine estate.

Overture restaurant on the Hidden Valley wine estate outside Stellenbosch is going from strength to strength, and chef Bertus Basson says a younger more affluent clientele is booking at the restaurant.   A sommelier starts at Overture at the beginning of October.   The sister catering company has been awarded the catering for all events at Lourensford, and will be moving its operation to the Somerset West wine estate.

Chef Bruce Robertson has revealed that two of his current restaurant consulting projects are for two hotels managed by Queensgate Holdings.  The Upper East Side Hotel is opening as a 4-star conference hotel in Woodstock in May 2010, and Robertson is setting up a 260-seater restaurant and kitchen.   He is also setting up the 160-seater restaurant and kitchen for the hotel Queensgate is opening in Pearl House on Adderley Street,   Furthermore, Robertson is setting up a gourmet picnic service at Warwick Estate in November, according to a recent tweet from Mike Ratcliffe (”Gourmet picnic project with Chef Bruce Robertson taking shape”).   About the Franschhoek restaurant that he is helping to set up, Robertson is staying mum, only revealing that it is on a wine estate.   Robertson has also become a gourmet tour guide, and has teamed up with Bon Appetit magazine and Ryan Hilton from AdmiralityTravel to bring tour groups from the USA to South Africa, with Robertson taking them to unusual gourmet highlights, including slowfood, outstanding herb gardens, wine biodiversity, and cooking for his guests.

More than seventy restaurants received 2010 American Express Platinum Fine Dining Awards this month, 13 of these going to new restaurants winners, reports TravelWires.   The new restaurant winners in the Western Cape include Bizerca, Gold, Salt, The Pavilion in Hermanus, Grande Provence, and Rust en Vrede.  Those from other parts of the country, receiving the Awards for the first time, include Mastrantonio, Osteria Tre Nonni, Sel et Poivre, Harvey’s, Roma Revolving Restaurant, and Orange.   The Award winners are judged on the basis of cuisine, service, wine list, decor, ambiance and overall excellence and consistency.   Standards are checked regularly, says American Express.

The Caviar Group of restaurants, which already includes Beluga and Sevruga, as well as the Caviar deli in the V & A Waterfront, is opening its first non-caviar named restaurant, to be called Blonde.   Its newsletter is keeping the location of the new restaurant a secret, but hints at the decor and style as follows:  it will be a 120-seater restaurant offering ‘fine-dining cuisine’, and will only be open in the evenings.  It is in a Victorian building, it has a ’seductive interior of bar and lounge’, it has ’couches covered in rich fabrics, the gorgeous wooden floors and high ceilings, to the crisp white linen, designer chairs, beautiful staircase, and romantic balcony”  They gush on : “One thing’s for sure.  Blonde will be in a class of its own.   We love Blonde!”   It refers one to the website www.blondedining.co.za for more information, but there is none!  Caviar’s design agency Malossol has tweeted on Twitter that they are currently designing a Caviar “group menu”, which means that Blonde could be opening soon.

Ginja restaurant, currently located off Buitengracht Street, in a building which has not benefited the image of the restaurant, and once a national top 10 restaurant, is said to move to the building in which Nova restaurant was, on New Union Street in the City Bowl.

George Jardine of Jardines is said to be opening the new restaurant on Jordan Wine Estate in Stellenbosch, and to be moving to the Winelands, for a lifestyle change.

Allee Bleue’s plans to open a fine dining restaurant lower down on the Franschhoek estate appear to be on ice, due to the economic climate.   However, construction work on its second informal restaurant linked to its wine tasting venue, adjacent to the security entrance, is almost complete.

Few details are available about the restaurant which is opening at La Motte wine estate. About ten days ago Hein Koegelenberg, the owner, posted the following blog post: “Construction of La Motte’s restaurant and art gallery is coming along nicely on the grounds of the estate in Franschhoek….A bridge will connect the restaurant and the tasting room.  Whilst the team …is working hard to build the structure, other teams are equally busy to make sure that the restaurant and gallery are going to be world class and offer unforgettable experiences”. 

Reuben and Maryke Riffel’s baby daughter Latika was born last Monday.   Congratulations go to them from all at Whale Cottage.

DoppioZero in Main Road, Green Point, has an impressive decor, with the luxury of space.  It has opened a bakery in the restaurant, with breads, rolls, croissants, cakes and other sweet treats for sale.   The franchisor was hands-on in the restaurant last weekend, serving customers, and checking customer satisfaction, to ensure the success of this newest restaurant in the franchise chain, having opened less than 2 weeks ago.   An interesting and clever service offered by the restaurant is a “mess-bib”, Doppio branded, which is put around patrons eating pasta or any dishes with a sauce.

New restaurant Le Tique opens in the Sugar Hotel on Main Road in Green Point tomorrow.   Restaurant-lovers can pay R 250 each to attend the opening.  “Entice yourself with the finest gourmet from the earliest renaissance, contemporary twisted, French with a hint of European Influences. Featuring South Africa’s Finest Venison.  Platinum wines of this worlds, proudly South African viticulture. Bellini’s & cocktails to lure your fantasies” is the copy contained in the invitation.

Basil O’Hagan, whose O’Hagan’s pub chain was liquidated 8 years ago, is reinventing himself and has launched a new pub and restaurant chain called Brazen Head, with 23 pubs planned for the greater Cape Town area in the next ten years, including the city center, Hermanus, Paarl, Somerset West, George, Knysna, and Tygervalley.   An outlet is already trading in Stellenbosch, reports Cape Business News, and other Brazen Head pubs are already operating in Gauteng.

Bukhara was to have re-opened its restaurant in Burg Street, but the person answering the call yesterday said that there is no opening date in sight yet, it probably being another 2 - 3 weeks.   Bukhara is doing renovations and repairwork after a fire caused damage in the restaurant some time ago.   A restricted Bukhara menu is available at Haiku, the sister restaurant downstairs from Bukhara.

Late casualties of the credit crunch are Aqua D’or and the Franschhoek Water Company, both of which have closed down.  The Franschhoek Water Company was the supplier of the L’Aubade and Franschhoek mineral water brands.  Earlier this year the Franschhoek Water Company had handed over the distribution of its water brands to Aqua D’or, but took the distribution back when customers complained about the poor service from Aqua D’or. NOTE: SINCE THIS POST WAS WRITTEN, AQUAD’OR HAVE CONTACTED WHALETALES TO DENY THEIR CLOSURE.  THE INFORMATION OF THE CLOSURE WAS INDUSTRY TALK, AND WHEN THE COMPANY WAS CALLED FOR CONFIRMATION, THE SALES AND ADMIN DEPARTMENT LINES JUST RANG, WHICH WAS TAKEN AS A CONFIRMATION OF THE CLOSURE OF THE COMPANY.  EARLIER THIS YEAR AQUA D’OR FACED PROVISIONAL LIQUIDATION.   WE APOLOGISE TO AQUA D’OR FOR ANY INCONVENIENCE WHICH THIS POST MAY HAVE CREATED.

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com

Cape Town will be buzzing with energy and excitement this week, as the country’s advertising industry descends on the city for the annual industry Loerie Awards, the top local recognition of the best advertising agencies and campaigns.  The Loeries run from 24 - 27 September.

The advertising award functions will take place in the Good Hope Center in the city centre over two evenings, and will be hosted in Cape Town for the first time ever.  Previously, the Loeries were held at Sun City for many years, and in Margate for the past three years.    Ticket sales are up 20 % relative to last year, reports the Weekend Argus, yet award entries decreased by 5 %.

The Loeries are an excellent tourism and conference marketing opportunity and platform for the city, and Cape Town Tourism and the City of Cape Town were involved in the bid to attract the Awards to Cape Town.   Many restaurants in Camps Bay have been booked for lunches over the Loeries weekend, and the evening entertainment will take place in Long Street.   The top Loeries Awards executive team will stay in the Grand Daddy Hotel on Long Street, and all registrations will take place there.

Camps Bay is an important daytime location over the Loeries weekend, with Brunches and Lunches taking place at various restaurants on the Camps Bay beachfront on Friday and Saturday, a Very Important Ego Lounge taking place at Caprice over midday on both these days, and a Velocity Party being held at Summerville at midday on Friday.   On Saturday a Beach Soccer challenge will take place on Camps Bay beach, while the media will be hosted at a lunch at Blues.

Follow The Loeries on Twitter: http://twitter.com/loeries2009

Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com