Mandela’s Jozi residence transformed into luxury tourist hotel

Nelson Mandela’s once-glamourous but now-abandoned Johannesburg house is getting a significant facelift.

The mansion in Houghton, a suburb of Johannesburg (Jozi), will be renamed the Sanctuary Mandela and will be open to the public as a residential space rather than a museum starting in August.

This was communicated as a special announcement to commemorate Mandela Day, which falls on July 18 this year. The Nelson Mandela Foundation and Motsamayi Tourism Group are renovating the Mandela home to turn it into a luxury tourist hotel.

The Sanctuary Mandela Hotel is expected to have a close connection to Nelson Mandela’s private life.

Mandela’s three grandchildren, sons of the late Makgatho Mandela, a son by his first wife Evelyne, left the residence. They stayed until 2020, when they had to leave due to family feuds. Since then, the once-swanky location has been deserted.

“When we located the house, it had been completely vandalized, so a lot of the property in it couldn’t be secured since it had been stolen,” Jerry Mabena, the CEO of the Motsamayi Tourism Group, told a South African television station.

The refurbishment and furnishing required the purchase of objects to be placed throughout the property in order to create an inspiring environment. According to Mabena, a large portion of the house had to be demolished because of the flooding.

He explained, “We named it Sanctuary Mandela because we want it to be a place where people can come to revive their soul in reflection of Mandela’s life.”

Mabena added that not all South Africans will be able to afford it, but that the lowest room rate is Rand 4,000 ($276) per night. The Presidential Suite, which costs Rand 15,000 ($1,035), will be the most expensive room.

Despite the fact that the hotel’s transformation is nearly complete and that locals have embraced the development, Mabena claims there is already foreign interest.