Battlefields country inn and assets on sale this month
THE ROYAL Country Inn in Dundee, a popular and historic hotel that serves as a gateway to the Anglo-boer and Anglo-zulu battlefields, is among 32 prime commercial properties around the country to be auctioned by Broll Auctions and Sales in Joburg on February 20.
The auction will take place at The Wanderers Club, Illovo, at noon and all the hotel’s movable assets will be included in the sale.
The Royal Country Inn at 61 Victoria Street is built on a plot of about 6 000m².
Situated in the heart of the battlefields region and halfway between Joburg and Durban, it is a convenient base from which to explore the rich history of the area.
This inn was established in 1886, four years after Dundee was founded by a Scottish coal miner.
Daniel and Motz Bezuidenhout bought the Royal in 1999, and handled the restoration programme, intent on not losing the inn’s original historical ambience.
The hotel has a rich history (it even burnt down once) and its past is an integral part of its atmosphere. The collection of memorabilia, historical documents, old photos and artwork provides hours of enjoyment to the visitor.
There are 32 rooms. The downstairs bedrooms, with their wooden floors and pressed iron ceilings, open on to a garden courtyard. From the hotel reception and lounge with its parquet flooring, a staircase leads guests up to more rooms, some named after recipients of the Victoria Cross at the battle of Rorke’s Drift. Some have balconies overlooking Victoria Street and the municipal grounds.
There is a large dining room which opens on to small courtyards on either side, and smaller grill room for more private dining.the hotel is also close to the Drakensberg and Itala Game Reserve. Other attractions near Dundee include:
The Battle of Blood River Heritage Site, Isandlwana Battlefield; Rorke’s Drift Museum, and the site of the death of Louis Napoleon, Prince Imperial of France, then exiled in Britain. He joined the British forces in Zululand but in 1879 was killed in battle near Dundee.
San Bushmen paintings and Iron Age smelting sites.
Weenen, Spioenkop, Chelmsford and Wagendrift game reserves.
Broll will also offer 31 other retail, industrial, office and development opportunities throughout South Africa at the Joburg sale on February 20. Areas where property is on offer include Norwood, Joburg CBD, Upington, Kimberley, Sandown, Bryanston, Centurion, Roodepoort and Vanderbijlpark.
For more details email Caroll Harrison at charrisson@broll.com or call 097 700 8299 or 082 612 0744.