Winchester Mansions, a privately-owned four-star hotel situated along Cape Town’s Sea Point Promenade is inviting South Africans to be a part of its 100-year legacy by asking people to leave messages to future generations.
These messages will be encapsulated and incorporated into the structure of the renovated hotel in the hope that this will one day found by future generations.
In a statement, Winchester Mansions said it is building on its past successes and strengthening its legacy by enhancing its levels of sophistication and luxury through its current renovations.
The hotel was initially built in 1922 as a block of apartments and later converted into a hotel in 1960. Winchester Mansions has been renovated several times since then.
Bianca Kaiser, Head of Social Media for Winchester Mansions, said the hotel recently ran a competition on its social media pages to include locals in the hotel’s history.
“The response was overwhelming, and we received so many wonderful messages to leave for future generations. We want to provide others with the opportunity to leave their messages and become a part of our heritage as well,” she said.
The messages received so far have been addressed to people’s future selves, loved ones and the world in general. These messages will be printed and bricked into a prime location of the property under the supervision of Winchester Mansions’ property developers to compromise the structural integrity of the hotel.
Lorna Watts, Acting General Manager at Winchester Mansions said the current renovation is by far the most unique as it commenced during a global pandemic.
“An iconic part of Sea Point, with its original Cape Dutch architecture, the hotel has a unique and timeless signature that we want to pass on to future generations It’s our own time-capsule, something we can contribute from this crazy year as a reminder to the people who come after us,” explained Watts.
“We hope that these messages give positivity and hope to future people – anthropologists, scientists and historians who’ll one day include us in the stories they tell,” concluded Watts.
Those interested in being part of Winchester Mansions’ journey, visit here.