Varun's Daily Diary

Sunday 25 April 2010

Well, two years ago (almost to the minute! haha) I would have just been finishing The London Marathon! It was one of the greatest days of my life ... and I clearly remember the pain and agony!

So - today has been hotel filming day. The Oyster Box has 86 rooms & suites. It was originally opened in the 1940's but in 2007 was bought, closed and refurbished ... it took around 2 years to do the work and it opened again in October 2009.

The refurb was very sympathetic to the original design ... but there have been some wonderful additions like the Turkish tiles on the ceilings of the main restaurant.

So - up with the sunrise at 0615 and straight into the swimming pool for a quick dip. Breakfast at 0715 and then we start filming at 0800.

I "arrived" in style ... a vintage Rolls-Royce. The hotel has a resident cat. I like cats ... I LOVE cats ... I have two of my own ... but this chap Scabengza (which translates as "naughty" in Zulu) is erm - a rather grumpy! When I say he is terratorial, I am understating his character. While we filmed in his area of the hotel (reception, lobby and front of house) he circled us like a hungry hawk. It was quite unnerving!

From there it was an interview with the fabulous General Manager Wayne Coetzer who has kept us smiling and on our toes in equal measures. He has worked here for nearly a decade and has seen it blossom & help guide it into one of the finest hotels in South Africa.

From there I reviewed my Suite - my 500th review in my career!

I have The Presidential Suite here at the hotel - which retails at 50,000 Rand a night ... one/if not the most expensive suites in the country.

It's a duplex and in total around 8000 square feet in area. Upstairs: master bedroom, office, his & her bathrooms, changing room ... private elevator ... downstairs: dining table for 10, bar, seating area, kitchen, another bedroom (lovely) and a large oustide space with an infinity plunge pool! My view? 180 degrees of Indian Ocean ... and a lighthouse! More on that tomorrow ...

It's an awesome suite! I am a VERY lucky boy ... even more as I am actually the first "guest" in it!

After a quick lunch, we headed to the cellar ... which has a glass roof that is also the floor of the bar above ... to eat some oysters with the hotel's executive chef Kevin Joseph - who has also been here for 9 years! I am not a HUGE fan of oysters but they get through over 2,000 a DAY here! The oysters here are wild not cultivated (farmed) ... and so they taste fresh, more oystery (?) and chewier! I managed to eat two ... washed down with champagne! Thank goodness for alcohol!

It's been a long day ... early supper ... early to bed ...

Tomorrow ... we start again!

Song of the Day: Suspicious Minds - Elvis
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBmAPYkPeYU

Weather: Glorious!