THE MICHELANGELO HOTEL

Nelson Mandela Square was established as a positive urban catalyst, comprising a multitude of functions including civic, retail, office and residential. The Michelangelo Hotel became one of the residential components of the urban planning vision of Nelson Mandela Square in early 1993.

The Michelangelo consists of 242 rooms planned over six levels overlooking the Square. A central top-lit atrium and circular atrium provide a visual link from street and Square, as well as a focus onto the public functions situated one floor above the Square. The coffee shop, bar and restaurant overlook the Square, and are directly linked to the upper retail levels, while the conference facilities provide a central grounding of the public functions.

Due to the nature of the urban design and the mandatory planning controls, the hotel had to be inserted into a profile originally designed to accommodate banking and office functions. Structural modules inherited from the existing buildings ingeniously became the hotel planning modules.

Architecturally, the theme of Michelangelo extends the spirit of the Italian Renaissance architecture of Nelson Mandela Square and provides an environment familiar to the international traveler, easily meeting the standards expected of a five-star hotel.

The most critical aspect of hotel design is ensuring that the increasing level of sophistication and the raised expectations of contemporary travelers can be met. The Michelangelo achieves this by adopting a new international standard of hospitality design, which sustains a high level of comfort and technology. In the Michelangelo, world travelers feel ‘at home’.