After a raging fire broke out at Tintswalo Atlantic in early February, destroying a large portion of the property, the luxury lodge has announced it will be reopening later this year.
Tintswalo Atlantic released an official statement on social media announcing the news: “Tintswalo Atlantic will reopen for business no later than October 1 2019, following the devastating fire of February 5 2019, which destroyed half of the luxury resort on Chapman’s Peak in Cape Town.”
Owner and Tinstwalo Lodges CEO, Lisa Goosen said that the site-clearing has already commenced and construction is expected to begin in March.
Tintswalo has revealed that kitchen equipment failure caused the fire and says that it spread rapidly, destroying one of the 11 guest suites as well as the “main lodge bar, kitchen, dining room, and lounge areas”.
The early-alert fire system was activated and all guests and staff were evacuated and unharmed by the blaze. Staff on duty fought against the fire in the early hours of the morning before emergency services arrived.
“The fire department arrived shortly after and with the help of a firefighting helicopter, managed to contain the fire within a few hours.”
This is not the first fire that has devastated the lodge.
“Four years ago (March 2015), the entire lodge burned to the ground when a runaway veld fire destroyed huge swathes of natural vegetation, homes, and businesses all over the Cape Peninsula,” Tintswalo said.
With determination and support from the community and local businesses, the lodge was rebuilt in eight months and reopened in October 2015.
Tinstwalo Atlantic is determined to overcome this latest incident.
“Like the fynbos plant, the fire lily (Cyrtanthus ventricosus) which flowers miraculously within days after a veld fire, the Tintswalo team is resilient. This second fire was a huge setback, but we have once again dusted ourselves off and are focusing on the rebuild and rebirth of Tintswalo Atlantic, and look forward to welcoming guests back by October 2019,” said Goosen.
Picture: Tintswalo Atlantic, Facebook