Nestled in a valley outside Grahamstown, facing the rock face of the Howison’s Poort mountain range, stands a hotel rich in local history and now facing a new future.
Nestled in a valley outside Grahamstown, facing the rock face of the Howison’s Poort mountain range, stands a hotel rich in local history and now facing a new future.
Stone Crescent Hotel, which gets its name from a combination of the prehistoric stone tools that peppered the area and the rock crescents that face it, is up for auction.
Grahamstown residents who fondly recall their memories of the hotel are waiting to see what its future might be.
Historian consultant at Makana Tourism Brian Jackson says the hotel appears to have been built between the 20s and 30s owing to its “Art Deco-ish” architectural style.
It was built by Eli Cohen and remained in the Cohen family for some time. Jackson says that the hotel, 11 miles outside Grahamstown, was a stop before the last trek into the town.
He says the hotel carried on the tradition of being a popular place to visit for many years. “It used to be quite a high profile hotel at one stage with a really good restaurant and it became a popular drinking hole too,” he says. He also recalls how popular the hotel became among students in the 80s.
But fatal car accidents along the road to the hotel made the appeal of this hotspot dwindle. Willem Makkink, director of Makana Tourism, reflects on his induction as a reporter in 1973 when the Stone Crescent Hotel was a place where he and his friends would go to party.
“It was a popular place to hang out at weekends such as having Sunday afternoon teas.” He has particular memories of sitting in the garden with his wife as their children swam in the pool or played on the lawn.
They would have lunch and wait for the Sunday Times which was delivered on Sunday afternoons. Fleur Way-Jones, curator of the Albany History Museum, remembers attending weddings at the hotel as a young girl.
She says it used to be an out-of-town adventure to visit the hotel but it now looks run-down and is not particularly attractive.
She said that because it is located on the road to Grahamstown makes the land a prime site. William Jervois, of the musuem’s Genealogy Department, says a possible problem the area poses is the abundance of trees ferns which make the land susceptible to veld fires.
According to Jackson, the hotel has become a shadow of its former self in recent years. He says the place is a bit spooky and resident ghosts in the area have provided him with many a successful ghost tour during the Grahamstown Arts Festival.
Makkink says the emphasis of the hospitality industry has shifted in the platteland from hotels to boutique inns, B&Bs and restaurants. He says he will be very sad if the Stone Crescent Hotel closes.
Auctioneer, Andrew Hutchinson says, “Strong interest has been shown in the property with various people from both Grahamstown and further afield interested in the hotel.”
The potential buyers’ interests range from keeping Stone Crescent a hotel while others have different ideas for the land.
Hutchinson says the current owners of the property are keen to move on to alternative activities. The hotel’s fate lies with the highest bidder at the auction which was held on Wednesday.
