The story begins in the mid 80's when Chippy Brand, then successful owner of Brand Contruction, was approached by a Johannesburg based Christian group to get involved in developing an old run-down hotel in Magaliesburg into a Christian youth camp center. Chippy decided to check the place out, and was horrified by what he saw - a potential death trap that would cost a small fortune to fix, and he was concerned for the safety of the youth campers. When the group realised how much it would cost to fix the building, they abandoned the project but were lumbered with the land and debt. Chippy offered to bail them out by buying the property. Before he knew it, Chippy and his family had made the sudden move from construction to the hospitality industry! Anyone who knows the Brand family will know that they don't believe in half-measures, and with time and hard work, this run-down property was turned into one of the finest country hotels in the country - Mount Grace was born.

It was in 1990 that Chippy's son Charles, an MBA graduate, started Grace Management Services, with his father and university friend, Peter Moore - a business created to look for opportunities in the hospitality industry. After some time and failed attempts to get funding for various projects, Charles left the company to take up the position of Executive Assistant to the Chief Executive of the Southern Sun Group. During this time he oversaw the rebranding of the Group, including the establishment of the Holiday Inn Garden Court concept.

While at Southern Sun, Charles held many meetings with the Waterfront Company with the view to establish a hotel at the Waterfront. However he only met with favour 8 months after going out on his own again. Teaming up with his father, Charles approached various banks, offering a new variation on the hotel industry - a hotel that would be different to anything else on offer in South Africa. Cape Grace, as it was to be called, would be an upmarket boutique hotel, appealing to a select clientele. Finances would also be assisted by the innovative scheme to build and sell luxury apartments on the top floor, the funds from which would be used to pay off the debt on the rest of the hotel.

No sooner had they dug the foundations than they learned that the Table Bay Hotel, also being built at the Waterfront, would be a 5 star hotel (not 4 as originally planned) with over 320 rooms, and not the 250 rooms originally planned. Charles called in Murray & Roberts and told them to drastically speed up the construction process - his instinct told him he had to be the first 5 star hotel at the Waterfront.

Finishing ahead of schedule, Cape Grace opened in December 1996. No sooner had they opened when they got the break they needed. Hilary Clinton and her daughter chose Cape Grace as their venue of choice when they visited the Cape in February of the following year. Hilary returned with her husband a year later, just as the Monica Lewinsky scandal broke out. Cape Grace got an international advertising campaign second to none, courtesy of CNN and Ted Turner.

It was then that Charles saw the need to reposition the hotel to an even higher niche. He increased rates by 35% every year for two years, which separated the hotel from the big tour group market into a niche of its own. This proved invaluable after the September 11th attacks, as they were only marginally affected by the cancellation of tours.

It has not however all been a bed of roses for Charles, who has had his fair share of tough times. During the high interest rate period in 1997/8, cash flow became a real problem for the hotel. Discussing these problems over breakfast one morning, Charles and Chippy were noticed by the then chairman of Nedcor, Richard Loubscher, who offered to help. A few days later the Cape Grace signed a structured financial deal with a 10 year fixed interest rate of 10% - a few months later interest rates rose above 25%.

Charles also hit problems when popular Waterfront restaurant, Berties Landing went into liquidation. Charles thought he saw a great opportunity to establish Cape Town's finest seafood restaurant, throwing a lot of money at the project, only to pull out at a huge loss six months later. It took Cape Grace two years to recover from the diversion of focus and extra financial strain, however Charles learnt the value of focus versus chasing growth.

Charles managed to overcome these pitfalls, succeeding in building Cape Grace into one of the world's finest hotels. The hotel has won numerous awards, including the award for the World's Best Small Luxury Hotel in 1999, and taking first place for the Condé Nast best hotel in the world award in September 2000, and third place for this year's Condé Nast award.

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