The Football World Cup is the biggest single-code sports tournament worldwide and the 2006 World Cup in Germany has entered the history books as the most extensively viewed event on TV ever: Broadcast in 214 countries on 376 channels, a cumulative audience of 27 billion people followed 73 000 hours of dedicated TV coverage!
Given the huge media interest that the tournament generates, I have no doubt that today newspapers worldwide will once again look at South Africa and once again question the country’s ability to host the World Cup. Ever since South Africa was awarded the tournament, there have been concerns that the country would not manage to host such a huge tournament and FIFA even confirmed that there were contingency plans “to go somewhere else if something happens”. So today there will without a doubt be another heated discussion about the terrible state of the roads, the shortage of hotel rooms, the unfinished stadiums, the possibility of power outages, the lack of public transport and most importantly – the issue of crime and safety in South Africa. While these issues have been around for a while now and it looks like no back-up plan will be needed, a new problem has recently started to attract a lot of media attention: the base camps of the teams.
A week ago, the Südddeutsche Zeitung published a story by Lars Langenau who, after visiting the Hotel Velmore Grande – the base camp of the German Football Team in South Africa –came to the conclusion that it is a “hideous spawn from hell” and “the epitome of ugliness”. Here’s his story of a trip to the hotel from hell…After driving on a pot-holed road, Lars arrived at the hotel only to be visually offended by the fake roman pillars, the false amphorae, the numerous fountains and the shocking demonstration of bad taste. Getting out of his car, Lars stepped into a puddle on the unfinished dirt road and had to cross a muddy lawn to get to the hotel lobby. Hoping that it was just a bad start to his visit, Lars did not find relief inside the hotel where the retro-modern interior of the hotel clashed too much with the Provencal outdoors for his liking.
Unfortunately Lars was not only visually offended during his stay but also culinarily: Apparently the service at the restaurant was gruesome and Lars had to wait two hours for his food to arrive - only to find a hair in his omelet. On a walk around the estate, Lars got a wet bum from sitting on a soaking wet pillow and discovered a dead frog in the pool. Trying to freshen up in the bathrooms, he found a cockroach, but no hot water. And finally, desperate to recover from a traumatic day, Lars lay down on a (visually offensive) bed, but could not relax as he could hear every word of the conversation that the people in the room next to him were having.
But if you now get the impression that Lars did not like anything about the hotel, I have to disappoint you since he was very pleased about its convenient location! Being only 15km away from the next airport made it at least easy for him to get away from “Hotel Horror”!
Reading this clearly sparked my attention. A look at the hotel’s website suggested that the Velmore Grande had a slightly different perception of its location, ambience and service than poor Lars: The Hotel Velmore Grande is a place where the “experience of luxury and sophistication will summon you back time and again” to cherish “memories that last forever”. Its style is nostalgically inspired by the French Provence and creates an “opulent yet intimate, evocative yet subdued, exclusive yet relaxed” atmosphere. Our restaurant promises a memorable experience where all “senses will be tantalised” by a tempting menu selection using only the freshest ingredients to create “truly exquisite” meals “bursting with flavour and colour” guaranteeing a “palate sensation”.
When I realised how close the hotel was to Pretoria, I knew I had to go and check it out to see just how much of the article was truth and how much was poetic license. So last Saturday I took a trip to the Velmore Grande and even though I hate to admit it, but the story wasn’t entirely made up and Lars did have a point…The Velmore Grande is located in a rather poor area on the outskirts of Pretoria. Apart from one signpost about 10km away from the hotel, there was no signs and the run-down houses in the neighbourhood certainly didn’t give us a lot of confidence that we were heading in the right direction. But just as the road was starting to lose the battle against the potholes, a shabby sign appeared advertising the “Grand Opening of the Velmore Grande”. Lars was right when he pointed out how out of place the hotel seemed to be: after driving through an area that even by South African standards can be called “rough”, big iron gates opened up and revealed a massive French Provencal estate.
But we quickly forgot the harsh realities outside the massive gates and soon relaxed and enjoyed the peaceful atmosphere under palm trees, between hundreds of fountains and little tucked-away gardens. The estate is so big that you can easily get lost strolling from one pool to the next and after walking along a little river I found myself standing in a little lovely designed garden with a small fountain and a bench. It was very relaxing and I can see how it will be perfect for footballers who need to forget about a bad game or focus on the crucial next one. 
After exploring the estate, we decided that while a lot of work needs to be done – the roads aren’t tarred yet, there are a lot of puddles and the lawn is muddy – the hotel is actually quite a good base for a football team. The Velmore estate consists of two separate hotels with their own restaurants and pool areas and has several huge multi-function venues. So it’s the perfect place not only for press conferences, team briefings and Gala dinners, but also for players as they can enjoy a lot of privacy should they want to.
Unfortunately the Gala dinners are bound to be a disaster unless the German Team brings its own cook along to South Africa. The hotel’s restaurant has a modern design with big leather couches, mirrors on the walls and a nice balcony with view on a fountain - it was not outstanding by any means, but it’s was nice and inoffensive. 
But while the design of the restaurant may have been pleasant enough, the service and the food were certainly not. Call me spoilt, but when I have lunch at a five star hotel I expect the service to be accordingly and the food to be a bit better than at my local lunch place - and this just wasn’t the case at all: The veggies were old, the meat chewy, the fish blunt, the espresso more a coffee; the waiters inattentive, slow and unaccommodating. Overall, it was not a five star dining experience and I probably would have gotten better food and service at the no-thrills pizzeria around the corner. 
So while I can see why the German team has chosen the Velmore Grande as a base camp, I have to say that it is certainly a good idea to bring your own cook and staff along. Even though the junior and senior manager and the chef himself all enquired and apologised fifteen times for our disappointing lunch, it did not change the fact that the quality of the service was the decisive factor that let the hotel down. I would certainly not choose to spend my vacations at the Velmore Grande - the estate is far too big, deserted and isolated for a holiday –but fortunately it’s not intended for family holidays anyway. The whole design of the place and all the support facilities made it perfectly clear that it is meant to be a function and conference venue – and for that it will be perfect … if you bring your own cook!
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