Luxury hotel burns
2006-02-09
A DEVASTATING fire swept through a small luxury hotel in Franschhoek, causing millions of rands of damage to the building.
The fire broke out at La Couronne Hotel at 02:30 on Saturday morning in one of the bedrooms. It is suspected that a faulty air-conditioner was responsible for the blaze.
The thatch roof caught alight almost immediately, and fanned by strong winds, swept rapidly through the building.
The guests were evacuated immediately by hotel staff and owner Irwin Schnitzler, who managed to keep them calm under panic-stricken circumstances.
The blaze caused the safety-deposit boxes to melt in the rooms, resulting in foreign guests losing possessions such as passports and travellers' cheques.
Because the fire brigade had to travel from Stellenbosch, hotel staff and neighbours battled the blaze to try and salvage part of the hotel.
Guests were transferred to Le Quartier Francais at 03:00, who opened their restaurant to tend to them, and from there they were transported to various guest-houses in the area.
Seven of the twenty-four bedrooms located in the manorhouse, as well as the restaurant, kitchen, spa and gym, were destroyed.
A wedding reception which was due to be held at La Couronne on Saturday, was moved to Le Quartier Francais.
La Couronne’s general manager Kerrin Titmas thanked everyone that helped battle the blaze.
He gave the assurance that they would work round the clock to ensure that the hotel was operational as soon as possible.
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