JOHANNESBURG ART HOTEL HALLMARK HOUSE WINS HIGHEST HONOURS FOR BLACK COFFEE COLLABORATION SUITE AT INTERNATIONAL DESIGN & HOSPITALITY AWARDS

Organised by SLEEPER Magazine – a global authority in hospitality experience and design – the AHEAD Awards ceremony is a coveted annual celebration of epic proportions that attracts industry leaders from every corner of the globe to honour creativity and craftsmanship. Each year a consortium of judges made up of the brightest minds and most accomplished professionals – across the fields of architecture, interior design, engineering, visual arts, business and hospitality – endure a stringent year-long process of sorting through hundreds of submissions, selecting the best candidates and eventually this culminates into a prestigious black-tie event where the nominees are recognised for being pioneers in the hospitality industry. This year’s ceremony was held at the Palm Hotel in Dubai and reigned in entries from the most luxurious hospitality establishments across Asia, Europe, North & South America, The Middle East and Africa. On Thursday, 10 November 2022 – renowned Steyn Entertainment owned, Johannesburg inner-city art hotel Hallmark House was presented with the prestigious Best Suite 2022 award for its sublime bespoke double-story penthouse. The brainchild of Steyn Entertainment Managing Director Dale de Ruig, the extravagant double story feature is a creative collaboration between Grammy-Award winning music icon Black Coffee – real name Nkosinathi Innocent Maphumulo – and internationally acclaimed interior architect Tristan Du Plessis. The Penthouse is designed with a level of attention to detail and modern sophistication akin to that of a museum and boasts a private gym, a cinema room, hand-crafted furniture, two spacious living areas, a handful of rooms and signature pieces from prominent South African artists such as Nelson Makamo, MAXHOSA by Laduma, Africa Ginger and Tumisang Khalipa, whilst overlooking the breath-taking Jozi skyline. The award-winning suite has hosted stars such as Destiny’s Child singer Kelly Rowland and Dreamville signee Bas and even Beyonce – who has visited the Hallmark Hotel. One of the esteemed AHEAD Awards panellists describes the suite as: “Characterised by a sumptuous blend of dark wood panelling, book matched marble and ‘tagged’ graffiti carpets, the design evokes an urban luxury. It is beautiful, unique and relevant to its setting.” The Hallmark House – designed by genre-shifting modernist architect Sir David Adjaye – is aptly tucked away in Johannesburg’s robust art and creativity hub, the Maboneng district, and hosts a range of innovative, curated recreational and business facilities. These include Jozi’s finest jazz bar, the evocative MARABI CLUB, which boasts fine dining, pristine service and the immersive sounds of African rhythms; and THORN, the street-facing inner-city work space, restaurant and cafe with Avant Garde décor and scrumptious bites. The exclusive unisex barbershop CUTTERS which offers professional grooming in an indulgently vintage pocket of the ground floor; while the ROOFTOP venue is the perfect location to enjoy a refreshing drink and some music, against an unrivalled 360-degree view of the city. Recent additions to the hotel include a cosy gym directly overlooking the Maboneng Precinct; a dance studio in collaboration with choreographer and businesswoman Bontle Modiselle, hosting daily classes across a myriad of dance styles; and a state-of-the-art music recording studio equipped with the best engineers the industry has to offer – run by Steyn Entertainment’s Record Label and Management company. “The suite, but also Hallmark as a building at large, is not only special because of its spectacular aesthetics and diversely progressive amenities. It is also special because it exists as a bold and intentional statement about our commitment to positioning Johannesburg as the epicentre of commerce and culture on the African continent, and one of the greatest cities in the world,” says De Ruig. <END> Based in Johannesburg, Steyn Entertainment is a global multi-disciplinary organization committed to developing and connecting Africa to the rest of the world, in the arts and entertainment arenas. Our current dynamically diverse portfolio includes record label and management company STAY LOW, CPT-based global music festival ROCKING THE DAISIES, leading creative and entrepreneurial hub MARKET UP, and inncer-city art hotel HALLMARK HOUSE, along with its unique in-house offerings MARABI CLUB, THORN, CUTTERS and ROOFTOP At HALLMARK venue.