IFA Hotels & Resorts develop the multi-billion rand Fairmont Zimbali Heritage place

Source: Business Day

Currently under construction on the north coast of KwaZulu-Natal, Fairmont Zimbali Hotel & Resort will feature an ultraluxurious resort hotel, a championship Gary Player-designed golf course with clubhouse and golf academy, full-service Willow Stream Spa, signature beachfront villas, golf chalets, apartments and villas, as well as a Fairmont Heritage Place Private Residence Club.

The multibillion-rand resort hotel, spa and luxury apartment complex is being developed by international group IFA Hotels & Resorts. Listed on the Kuwaiti and Johannesburg stock exchanges, the group has a market capitalisation exceeding 1bn, with the main shareholder being Kuwait-based International Financial Advisors.

Globally, IFA Hotels & Resorts has entered into strategic alliances and joint venture partnerships with leading companies, including Kingdom Hotel Investments (Saudi Arabia), Nakheel (United Arab Emirates), United Investments Portugal, Resorts Condominiums International, Tongaat Hulett Developments and Boschendal (South Africa), Raimon Land (Thailand), Ohlthaver & List (Namibia), Indian Ocean Resorts (Seychelles) and, most recently, Related in the US.

An investment of 250m by IFA Hotels & Resorts into the Fairmont Zimbali ensures a property of the highest international standard will be delivered.

The Fairmont development will include 11 signature beachfront villas, 56 designer apartments, six hillside villas, and 21 golf chalets and the Fairmont Heritage Place — SA’s most exclusive private residence club. Fairmont Heritage Place presents the astute investor with the opportunity of owning a magnificent holiday home without the downside of maintaining a second property.

The Fairmont Heritage Place, Zimbali, consists of 18 residences ranging in size from a generous 316m² , two-bedroom villa to a grand 566m² , four-bedroom mansion. Both have terraces and private pools, open-living spaces and expansive outdoor areas

Zimbali’s flagship, Fairmont Heritage Place, is SA’s only internationally branded private residence club. Globally, the fractional ownership and private residence club concepts are among the fastest-growing sectors of the tourism, hospitality and real estate industries.

Over and above these investment opportunities, the developers are offering astute buyers a prelaunch investment opportunity. The group will bring to the market hotel condominium suites within the Zimbali Coastal Resort development. A limited number of hotel suites will be offered, enabling investors the opportunity to secure rental yield from hotel occupancies as well as access to the property for 60 days annually.

Membership will also be granted to the exclusive Fairmont Presidential Circle, which entitles members to automatic upgrades within five-star Fairmont of Raffles hotels internationally.

IFA Hotels & Resorts vice- president vacation ownership, Kevin Wash, said the group was offering investors a guaranteed 10% return per annum on the net purchase value of the condominiums for five years. Investors would also not be charged levies or fees during the initial period.

The fully furnished suites will comply with five-star specifications and hotel suite occupants will have full access to the hotel amenities .

Two sizes are on offer with 72m² sea-facing condominiums on the market for R2,85m and the 147m² properties commanding R5,472m.