Latest news with #ChrisduToit
The Citizen
26-05-2025
- Business
- The Citizen
Club Med reaches peak construction capacity ahead of 2026 opening
The much-anticipated Club Med development in Tinley Manor is currently operating at peak construction capacity, with more than 1 400 workers on site each day. Working towards a grand opening next year, construction has been divided between seven contracting teams to ensure workflow continues and to avoid potential delays. That is how such a large workforce can be managed at once. 'Instead of going the traditional route and appointing the whole development to one or two contractors, we've divided the project into multiple packages, allowing us to maintain control, adapt to conditions on the ground, and focus on the skills that each contractor excels at, building stronger relationships with teams on site,' said Chris du Toit, project lead of Tinley Leisure Pty Ltd, the owners of the resort. 'Our model allows us to adapt, pivot and hold each contractor accountable in real-time. While it's a more involved approach from our side, it's how we believe we can best protect the integrity of this project.' Club Med is expected to open its global reservations in September, ten months ahead of the scheduled opening date. 'If you imagine 1 000 foreign guests arriving on opening day, we can't very well send them packing back to Europe because the resort isn't ready. We simply have to be ready,' said Du Toit. Significant progress has so far been made, with all bulk services including the roads, dam, water pipework and permanent electrical supply (with 3km of cabling) near completion. Most of the accommodation has already been built to roof height with the first layers of paint applied. Internal fittings will soon begin. Resort amenities and staff accommodation are also underway and on track, as is the first visible landscaping with large scale planting initiated. Local labour has been integrated throughout and a formal community forum with ward councillors, traditional leaders and project representatives has been includes in the process. 'We're investing in the local economy and people,' said Collins Residential CEO Murray Collins 'Our contractor teams are supported by strong local labour with many of the labourers sourced from within 10km from site, and every package has clear targets for community involvement.' Construction began in March last year and the resort is scheduled to open next July. Stay in the loop with The North Coast Courier on Facebook, X, Instagram & YouTube for the latest news. Mobile users can join our WhatsApp Broadcast Service here or if you're on desktop, scan the QR code below. At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!
TimesLIVE
24-05-2025
- Business
- TimesLIVE
Zulu spirit meets French flair as Club Med makes history with first SA resort
Tinley Manor is the kind of coastal town that whispers rather than shouts. Tucked just north of Ballito along KwaZulu-Natal's Dolphin Coast, it's a stretch of unspoilt shoreline where the Indian Ocean rolls in rhythmically, its waves folding like silk onto the sand. It should come as no surprise that this sugar cane-swathed haven is the location for the first Club Med resort in South Africa. The French brand, known for its all-inclusive barefoot luxury, chose the untouched charm of Tinley Manor for a reason: it's quiet, it's coastal and it has heart. Since March 2024, Club Med SA has been steadily transforming the site from the ground up. When I visited this month, the air buzzed — not with the hum of holidaymakers, but with the hard graft of making magic. Hard hats on, reflector vests zipped, we moved through the construction site past half-built villas and the shell of what will become a 1,000-seater restaurant. Trucks heaved, cranes groaned and workers in blue overalls worked in rhythm, laying the bones of what will soon be a R2.1-billion sanctuary of sun, surf and serenity. Project director Chris du Toit greeted us with a firm handshake, then gestured across the land. 'We've got 1,400 people working here,' he said, the pride clear in his voice. 'Over 50% of them are locals from within a 10km radius. Crime in the area has dropped by 60% because people are employed and hopeful again.' On the appeal of the locale for prospective guests, 'People want warm water and sunshine,' Du Toit says. 'KZN gives you 10 months of good weather a year. And we're just 20 minutes from an international airport, on one of the best beaches on the North Coast.' In a few months' time, there will be 345 hotel rooms, 64 luxury villas, a 500-seater conference space, private pools, a wellness centre and a main pool so central it might as well have its own passport stamp. 'For us, this is a very exciting project,' says Ken Ogwang, senior dealmaker at the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC), a funding partner on the project. The IDC is no stranger to funding tourism projects and recently backed the Premier Hotel Thohoyandou and the Radisson Blu Durban uMhlanga. 'We know what Club Med means in the global tourism landscape. We're not just getting the expertise, we're getting the brand strength. That's a big deal for this region.' The resort will offer all the signature Club Med indulgences: you pay one rate and everything else — from yoga to watersports to cocktails — is sorted. Whether you're a solo traveller, a family on holiday or a couple chasing a barefoot honeymoon, there's no need to think about what to eat, where to go or what to do. Ogwang says: 'You want for nothing, you think about nothing. There's entertainment, sports activities, a dancing experience... and that's what we're selling.' Sport is big here. Really big. Think padel tennis, beach volleyball, archery and sailing. It will be the first Club Med globally to feature a surf school — and they picked a coastline that delivers waves with just the right bite. The resort will also have a fitness centre with daily classes, a spa, a wellness centre and an adults-only pool and bar. But the real magic? The fact that you can easily go from catching waves to spotting lions. Just over three hours from Tinley Manor, Club Med's upcoming safari lodge in the Mpilo Game Reserve will round off the resort's 'bush-and-beach' offering, giving guests the rare chance to spot the big five in the morning and be sipping sundowners by the sea at dusk. Kagisho Bapela, Head of Services at the IDC, says the duality of this resort is what sets it apart. 'People will get to experience our culture, like the Zulu traditions and customs. The resort will also have the game reserve, so people can have the beachfront experience and a wildlife experience in the same visit. We are building an economic asset in the country that leverages global standards using local expertise and resources — a game changer!' The investment — financial and emotional — runs deep. 'This isn't just another resort,' says Ogwang. 'It's a brand that's trusted worldwide, but we're also bringing in local interior designers to pull through South African cultures and colour. International travellers will get a real feel for KZN — that vibrancy, the warmth, the soul.' The resort's main centre will include a shopping area, wine corner, gourmet restaurant and bar — all wrapped in views of the ocean. And for those needing to mix business with beach, there's a 500-seater conferencing facility — though, truth be told, it might be hard to concentrate when the sea is calling. It's the kind of all-inclusive escape that has long lured travellers to islands like Mauritius or Bali. Only this time, it's homegrown. Local. With an unmistakable African heartbeat. The resort is expected to open in July 2026, bringing in that Mzansi spirit with a side of French flair, and the kind of barefoot luxury that doesn't shout, it simply whispers, 'You're here.'
The South African
14-05-2025
- Business
- The South African
KZN's luxury beach and safari resort to open next year
Significant progress has been made at the R2 billion Club Med South Africa resort, the first of its kind for the country. According to Tourism Update , Chris du Toit, the Project Director for the resort, said that the property is set to open in June next year and construction is approximately 50% complete. 'Construction progress has been fantastic. We've had a very wet summer, which has posed challenges, but we've been fortunate in terms of staying on target by the specific date,' Du Toit said as per Tourism Update . The Club Med property – along with its sister property, Mpilo Safari Lodge in Northern Zululand – will boast 486 keys, offering more than 175 000 annual room nights, along with a 500-seat convention centre. Club Med, a French travel and tourism operator headquartered in Paris, was established in 1950. The company owns or operates nearly eighty all-inclusive resort villages in holiday resorts around the world. The South African resort will help create more than 800 direct jobs, as well as 1 500 indirect jobs and 1 200 construction jobs. Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1 Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
