Radisson Blu Mammy Yoko opens its doors to guests
On Tuesday April 15th, the Radisson Blu Mammy Yoko Hotel, Freetown opened its doors after a complete refurbishment which focused on stylish and spacious interiors and a welcoming atmosphere.
Radisson Blu Mammy Yoko is Sierra Leone’s first 5-star hotel and achieving those sort of standards has taken time and the entire refurbishment of the building to Radisson Blu’s exacting standards. The hotel features 172 rooms and suites, many with breathtaking views of the Atlantic Ocean.
With a range of top class facilities directed at international business travellers, including a dedicated business class floor for business travellers, the hotel is a valuable addition to Sierra Leone’s rapidly expanding business scene. The newly refurbished hotel conference centre has its own separate entrance and reception area, as well as free high-speed, wireless Internet access, and can accommodate gatherings of between 15 and 260 guests in its six modern, well equipped meeting rooms.
Business class room
The BawBaw Bar, named after one of Sierra Leone’s breathtaking Peninsula beaches, is a large space scattered with comfortable chairs. It opens out onto a spacious terrace overlooking the pool and it’s not hard to see that it’s destined to become the favoured setting for visiting guests and Freetown residents looking for relaxation in a fun and sophisticated environment.
Nuno Neves, the hotel’s General Manager and Luis Ferreira, the Food and Drink Manager have all sorts of plans for the BawBaw Bar. Live music will be played by a jazz pianist on the gleaming grand piano in the corner. There will be a dedicated ladies night, cigar and whisky nights as well as other special theme nights.
The hotel offers a range of dining options. Most informal is the hotel’s quick and convenient coffee shop, where a choice of cold cuts, cheeses, salads and sandwiches as well as mouth-watering desserts are on offer. The main restaurant will offer a range of dishes including a dish of the day. Pasta and risotto feature prominently – Italian born executive chef Lorenzo Stride is nothing if not loyal to his native cuisine. The restaurant also specialises in fresh fish with his signature fish Carpaccio. The restaurant’s special tasting menus are its piece de resistance. The fish menu includes blue fin tuna and the beef menu features the famous Japanese Wagyu Kobe beef. All the dishes come with wine, specially chosen to complement the flavours.
Sunday Brunch on the terrace is set to become the destination of choice for lazy, social Sunday mornings in Freetown. General Manager Nuno Neves plans to offer a kid’s club, so that Sunday Brunch at the Radisson Blu Mammy Yoko becomes a win-win for the entire family.
At the heart of Radisson Blu’s sophisticated offering is its ‘Yes I Can!’ service ethos, which it describes as both the foundation and the driving force of the brand’s culture. Every one of the hotel’s 250 staff goes through the Radisson Blu ‘Yes I can!’ training. Nuno Neves is unequivocal on the subject: “We promise service and we will deliver service to the highest standard,” he said.
The Radisson Blu group believes in local content and for the 95% young Sierra Leonean men and women who make up the general staff, their new jobs represent an outstanding opportunity to develop the sort of skills and expertise that will make them employable in any five star hotel in the world.
The Carlson Rezidor group – Radisson Blu’s parent company has plans to open another 10 hotels in West Africa over the next five years. Its presence in Sierra Leone at such an early stage of its expansion strategy is indicative of its confidence in the country and its willingness to be at the forefront of investment into the country.
Nuno Neves says: “For Radisson Blu, Sierra Leone and this project offered the perfect combination of financial, human, social and cultural capital, and we are delighted to have been given the opportunity to reinvigorate this proud and beautiful building and offer the highest standards of service and hospitality to our guests and visitors.”
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