Kruger couple in finals
ADRI and Faan Kruger of Tzaneen Country Lodge is one of 15 finalists in the Sanlam Bussiness Partners Entrepreneur of the Year competition.
The Tzaneen Country Lodge is a country style hotel situated on a 170 hectare working mango farm just outside Tzaneen.
Owned and managed by Adri Kruger, who together with her husband in 2000 purchased an old and depilated farmstead next door, successfully developed what was intended to be a four-bedroomed guest house into a full services 60 bedroom hotel.
The hotel offers executive suites, double, twin, honeymoon and family rooms, as well as facilities for the physically disabled.
The establishment has an a la Carte restaurant and cocktail bar, an in-house Earth Spa Wellness Centre, which specialises in various treatments to pamper guests, and an animal touch farm and Tea Garden to cater for children and families alike.
The Tzaneen Conference Centre and Event Venue accommodates up to 500 delegates and offers the use of several conference rooms, break-away rooms, an executive boardroom, as well as an open-air amphitheatre that is used for weddings, events and festivals.
The hotel currently employs 58 permanent staff members and 10 temporary staff members, and together with maintenance, gardens and farm employees, the business employs a total of 215 staff members.
Adri firmly believes that the core of the hotel’s success is the quality and dedication of the staff. An example of this is an employee, Mr. Isaac Selowa, who was previously a roadside hawker, and is now a successful Senior Restaurant Manager at the hotels’ a la carte restaurant, Feathers.
Since its inception both Adri and the hotel have been recognised by various industry bodies and have won several awards. In 2013 the hotel was named as the Best Small Business in South Africa by AHI, and also received the Best Responsible Tourism Award by SATOA, a leading international professional non-profit travel and tourism association. This award paid tribute to the years of dedication to green and responsible tourism practices which is central to the Tzaneen Country Lodge culture.
The winner will be annouced on September 3.
