The Drakensberg Conference Venues are some of the best in Africa. The Central and Northern Drakensberg arguably rival Pietermaritzburg, as being the second most crucial conferencing destination in KwaZulu-Natal. Furthermore, there is little doubt that this area is one of the most considerable conventions and conferencing centres in Africa. The following sections will substantiate the point that.
The Drakensberg Conference Venues are some of the best in Africa.
So much so that the Cathkin Valley is dubbed, “Convention Valley”. This region has one of the most sophisticated convention and exhibition centres in Africa, namely the Champagne Sports Resort.
Champagne Sports Resort:
Champagne Sports Resort has a Conference and Exhibition Centre with a floor space of 1200m2 (usable area). This venue seats up to 1400 delegates. Furthermore, it can banquet 850 guests at round tables. Also, this centre now has four new boardrooms. Champagne Sports Resort can offer a total of 16 conference venues. Other venues include the Sentinel Room which seats up to 1000 delegates. Secondly, the Monks Cowl Centre, seating up to 550 delegates. The Summit Room seating up to 400 delegates and the more intimate venues ranging between 150 delegates, down to the private boardrooms seating up to a maximum of 20 people.
This centre offers state-of-the-art conference equipment, internet access and a convenient business centre to complete the package.
Additionally, they have an ample dining room and expanded buffet area which comfortably feeds up to 700 guests with little queuing.
Over and above this, the Champagne Sports Resort can accommodate over 700 delegates on site. More than 3,000 additional beds can supplement this accommodation in the near venue. It is thus not unexpected that this venue has hosted many variants and editions of the South African Veterinary Society, The Citrus Conference and major government meetings, such as our President’s recent discussion forum on land reform in South Africa.
Over and above Champagne Sports, the Okhahlamba Local Municipality has recently built a substantial, multi-purpose conference and sports facility. This centre can seat convention plenary sessions over 1,500 delegates. Besides, it can be configured to handle break-out sessions.
Other venues:
Most conferences, whether they are international, regional or domestic, tend to average around 300 delegates or less, and this declining trend is ongoing. This is especially the case with corporate meetings. The Central and Northern Drakensberg is very fortunate to have a range of venues that can cater for small to mid-range conferences. These include the Drakensville ATKV resort in the Northern Drakensberg, the Nest Hotel in the Cathkin Valley, Cathedral Peak, The Drakensberg Boys Choir School, Champagne Castle Hotel, Alpine Heath, The Mont Aux Source Hotel, Wits End Dragon Peaks Resort, ATKV Drakensville Resort and Monks Cowl Golf Resort.
Moreover, this region has many of the support services required to ensure the success of such events, and these include services such as the Valley Bakery and professional transport ground handlers.
Okhahlamba multi-purpose centre – Bergville Sports Centre
The Nest Hotel and Conference Centre