Stellenbosch hotel celebrates 25 year milestone by going green

Dorp Street’s famous, Eendracht Hotel & Apartments, which was rebuilt by the Lutz family in 1996 and 1997, has recently installed an EV charging point to commemorate a special milestone – that of turning 25.

Located in the heart of historical Stellenbosch, the original building – a small two-roomed cottage built in 1710 – was demolished in the early 1960s and it had originally been fitted out as a small 3-star hotel with 13 en-suite bedrooms.

It later grew into a 4-star establishment with various alterations and embellishments that have been added over the years and in 2010, three fully serviced, self-catering apartments were added.

It was in 2014 that load shedding lead them to install solar panels (with several upgrades since) and in 2020 the added Senobia’s, an onsite restaurant, and an intimate video-conferencing facility called The Huddle Room was added to their offering.

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It is evident that Eendracht’s owners make things happen, which is why the new addition of an EV charging point doesn’t really come as much of a surprise.

The boutique hotel, a member of Cape Country Routes, has been a leader in hospitality all along and is said to be the first to introduce the concept of a Dorpsherberg (village hotel) in South Africa.

They also claim to have been the first privately owned South African hotel to have free WiFi throughout the whole building, and to introduce Smart TVs with preloaded Netflix and Showmax in all its rooms.

This month, for Eendracht’s 25^th birthday, they once again take the lead within the industry by being one of the first hotels in the country to have a 22kw DC Electric Vehicle Charging Point available to guests for convenient on-site charging.

A mere two hours away (the perfect distance for the average EV), Eendracht’s partner hotel, Montagu Country Hotel in Montagu has also recently installed a similar EV charging point.

How does it work?

The point is connected to the nationwide GridCars network and can be used by all EV car manufacturers available in South Africa.

This includes Audi, BMW, Jaguar and more. Access is given through an RFID card and an App system. Both Type 1 and Type 2 points are available with up to maximum charging capacity of 22kw DC power. According to Eendracht Hotel & Apartmnets, a countrywide network of live publicly available charging points is obtainable on GridCars’ website.

Other hotels with EV charging points

Hotels inevitably need to keep up with the times and although there aren’t many, there are other hotels that offer these charging stations.

The Hyatt Regency Cape Town, Vineyard Hotel in Newlands and Barry Hall Apartments in Green Point can be added to the list of establishments that are taking the lead in going blue.

And, when you head to Joburg, La Vieille Ferme and Bellgrove Guesthouse in Sandton also offer EV charging stations.