![\"Our](\"https:\/\/www.rivoniabb.co.za\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/juneblog_1.jpg\")
<\/p>\nTake a walk with us on our journey through COVID \u2013 in pictures. This has been such a tough year gone by.<\/p>\n
So many people have lost loved ones, faced traumas and braved financial storms, sometimes totally on their own, isolated from family and friends.<\/p>\n
The team at Rivonia Premier Lodge went into shock when total lock down was announced. Then we put on our masks and faced the challenge head on. It wasn\u2019t easy. Some of our staff went on furlough, most of them staying on the property where they with provided with accommodation and food. We kept a skeleton staff in active employment. Our precious manager, Filltah, and two gardeners bravely kept the whole show on the road.<\/p>\n
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Then began the sanitizing of rooms, the laundry, the dining room, the Business Centre and all public areas. A space age team was called in to exterminate any bugs that might have escaped our obsessive cleaning routine.
\nScreens were put up on counters, sanitizer equipment was installed and huge notices were hung on walls exhorting the few souls on the property to WASH their HANDS.
\nAt night we dreamt of the good days when the lodge hummed with corporate guests and visitors from all over the world.<\/p>\n
![\"Our](\"https:\/\/www.rivoniabb.co.za\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/juneblog_2.jpg\")
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The dreams were vivid, as we looked back on what had been.<\/p>\n
![\"Our](\"https:\/\/www.rivoniabb.co.za\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/juneblog_3.jpg\")
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Then came some relief. We could accommodate Essential Workers. We cheered up considerably.<\/p>\n
![\"Our](\"https:\/\/www.rivoniabb.co.za\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/juneblog_4.jpg\")
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Came the day when we could open our lodge to people on business. We welcomed them with a brush of an elbow, took their temperatures and made them vow that they\u2019d had no Covid symptoms and didn\u2019t know anyone who\u2019d had. They had to sit in the open air to work and were served meals on their verandahs.<\/p>\n
![\"Our](\"https:\/\/www.rivoniabb.co.za\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/juneblog_5.jpg\")
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By December we thought things were improving when WHAM we were hit by Covid Wave, number 2.<\/p>\n
![\"Our](\"https:\/\/www.rivoniabb.co.za\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/juneblog_6.jpg\")
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Our Christmas braai was a sad little affair. We had always partied at a restaurant to celebrate the end of the year.<\/p>\n
So what to do now? We decided to tackle maintenance and upgrading with a vengeance. Gerard and the gardeners navigated each room looking for anything that was not up to scratch. We spruced up furniture, washed curtains and carpets and generally kept ourselves busy.<\/p>\n
As 2001 progressed things started to look up. We had survived thus far. Cost cutting had paid off. Slowly our guests are returning. People need people!
\nOur guests love the rolling estate, the fresh air, the well ventilated rooms, the Business Centre and Dining Area that open up onto the manicured lawns and lush gardens. And the good news is: our legendary evening dinners are back. Trust, our trusted chef is back!<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.rivoniabb.co.za\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/juneblog_7.jpg\")
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The Business Centre is functioning again, with 4 training seminars held by various companies in the space of two weeks!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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