Iga Molystka, journalist and editor of Eager Journeys, recently had the pleasure of staying at the hotel joins Relebogile Mabotja to share her experience.
It was so wonderful, and I really appreciated how thoughtful everything was. So essentially, his former home has been reimagined and has become a homage of his life as a freedom fighter.
The hotel is a non-profit that is owned by the Nelson Mandela Foundation; Iga explains that it has nine rooms that are themed and dedicated to different eras of the late president's life.
So one example showcases his childhood in the Eastern Cape, another shows when he practiced law and eventually became an activist.
Some of the other rooms showcase his time as a political prisoner, eventually when he became president and a statesman. And of course we have to mention the room that highlights his role as a father, not just to his children, but like a father to our nation.
She explains the variation of rooms, with one being the size of Mandela's cell on Robben Island and another being his master bedroom that has been converted into a presidential suite.
Nelson Mandela lived in the home during historically important events before the building became the headquarters of the Nelson Mandela Foundation.
So this is where he lived when he was negotiating the multiparty talks that eventually led to South Africa's democratic rebirth. This is also where he lived during our victory at the 1995 Rugby World Cup and, of course, the first elections and when he was president. He hosted a number of different people here, from the likes of Oprah Winfrey to Michael Jackson and a number of foreign dignitaries.
Iga describes parts of the original house that were removed or demolished but have been preserved and incorporated into the new refurbishment.
Bricks from the original house have been incorporated into the reception counter, for example, and the original flooring has been framed as an artwork at the Insights Restaurant.
The Insights Restaurant is a small restaurant incorporated into the hotel and serves some of Madiba's favorite dishes prepared by his former personal chef.
The original house's kitchen has bnow been transformed into the hotel kitchen and it's run by his long time personal chef Xoliswa Ndoyiya, she was the family's chef for 28 years.
The hotel also includes a bar that hosts jazz nights every Sunday.
Iga explains that, as an added bonus, guests at the hotel are given access to archives at the Nelson Mandela Foundation that aren't open to the public.
The archives are closed to the public and only guests at the hotel get a free private tour of the archive.
Now that’s what we call a #SanctuaryMandela behind-the-scenes tour! Thanks, Mandla Dakada 👏🏽 #WanderlustWednesday pic.twitter.com/MyhQLesY6c
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