It was pomp and colour on Wednesday as Radisson Blu Upperhill re-opened for business after 16 months of closure.
Low bookings due to the pandemic pushed the establishment to close down temporarily in December 2020 sending most of its staff home.
The hotel's general manager Russel Storey while officiating the opening said out of the 300 staff that were let go, 220 have been rehired.
"We are back to a good number that can run this hotel but we are trying to see how we can manage with what we have,"Storey said.
He noted that the closure has underscored the importance of having a multi skilled team.
On what customers should expect, Storey said, the re-opened establishment is just a refreshed version of what they were.
"We've spent a lot of time in cleaning and painting and taking the place back to its good state, even though during the closure the hotel was in good shape," he said.
Tourism CS Najib Balala who was also present lauded the management for ensuring the reopening.
"The last two years were tough, but the beauty of this industry is the resilient and the bounce back," Balala said.
The hotel offers social spaces, restaurants and executive lounges from the Larder Restaurant, Chop House restaurant to the Humidor bar & cigar lounge.
It becomes the second five-star hotel to reopen after Fairmont Norfolk amid a decline in the country’s daily coronavirus case count on increased mass vaccinations.
