Take the fact that your arrival snack is a fortune cookie, there are playstations and Wii-Fit in reception while an elongated outdoor swimming pool lets you do laps after a hard day's work or travel.
With four different hotel categories - Airport, Chic, Easy and Safari - LIFE HOTELS is a new group on the South African hotel block and its refreshing take on the modern traveler is that of people who value personal choice, want the latest (and preferably free) technology, live healthy, and appreciate proximity to a city or airport along with stylishly-modern design - all at an accessible price.
At LIFE Airport Hotel at OR Tambo International, for instance, a bank of funky bright red lampshade-chandeliers hangs over the lobby with its 10m-long bar & reception desk, on a screeded floor.
An atrium chill area, mod lounges, a business centre, concierge services and an indoor restaurant with outdoor terrace are complimented by free Wi-Fi throughout. Along with the Wii-Fit and lap pool, other health facilities at the hotel include outdoor treadmills & exercise bikes.
In terms of “fun luxury” within all the hotel suites you'll find up-to-date conveniences - to wit iPod docking stations, electronic safes big enough to hold a laptop, in-room wifi, LCD TV's with satellite channels and multi-plug work stations - along with the cosy, quality niceties one expects when travelling, from expensive mattresses to 300 thread count sheets and duvets, coffee & tea stations and individually controlled silent air conditioning.
Accommodation-wise, the hotel has 90 rooms, each consisting of one and a half bedrooms, a bathroom, kitchenette, lounge-dining area and a small outdoor balcony. (Each hotel suite can accommodate a maximum of 2 adults in a double bed and 1 child under 13.)
LIFE HOTELS also takes note of the fact that sociability is an important factor - especially in Airport hotels - and along with the lounges and chill area, Life Airport Hotel at OR Tambo International Airport's bustling atmosphere is enhanced by the central reception which also doubles as a bar & coffee shop while, across the lobby, is the Gourmet Restaurant & Deli with its exhibition kitchen.
For convenience sake, pre-prepared meals can also be purchased at the Deli and heated in your kitchenette at leisure.
With the airport precinct often being a convenient place for meetings & conferences, the hotel's two conference rooms can each accommodate up to 150 delegates and 120 in banqueting format with both rooms featuring outdoor terraces for pre-assembly and tea breaks.
LIFE HOTELS also recognize the need for a greener hospitality industry and fundamental to the group's hotel designs are EPA Water Sense plumbing, bulk shower dispensers, dual-flush toilets, low VOC interior paints and recycled flooring which lessen environmental impact.
