Beitbridge Express Hotel (Beitbridge)

 hotel, restaurant, bar, motel

The Limpopo River is the natural boundary between Zimbabwe and its southern neighbour, South Africa. The town of Beitbridge is the border post between the two countries. It is Zimbabwe’s busiest gateway with a regular and large flow of goods and people making the crossing between the two countries each day.

Almost equi-distant between Harare and Johannesburg, African Sun saw the need for a convenient and moderately priced stopover and opened Express by Holiday Inn in the border town in 1998.

Deliberately positioned as a minimum service hotel with fast, efficient check-in, check-out procedures, its 104 rooms, 46 of which are non-smoking, are equipped with shower, hairdryer and modem connections for the ubiquitous laptop.

Summer or winter, Beitbridge’s low elevation means high temperatures and travellers particularly enjoy the use of the inn’s sparkling pool, especially after the long drive from Johannesburg or Harare.

Its Mahosi Meeting Room, for up to 15 people, and Venda Conference Room taking up to 150, are being put to regular use by business people from both countries now increasingly conscious of high fuel prices. Instead of meetings in Harare or Johannesburg, they will be held half-way – Beitbridge.

The automatic wake-up call facility is a boon for those with tight schedules who can only afford a few hours as opposed to a full night’s sleep.

But it is the warmth of the African Sun welcome that now make the stopover a regular part of the travel plans of so many South Africans and Zimbabweans. With moderately priced comfort at the journey’s halfway point, it makes financial as well as safety sense to use and enjoy it.

Beitbridge Express travellers on their way totally refreshed and ready for the next leg of their journey.