{"id":295625,"date":"2025-12-16T08:56:11","date_gmt":"2025-12-16T06:56:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/bloemnuus\/willows-holiday-resort-remains-open-despite-fire-damage\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T16:49:18","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T14:49:18","slug":"willows-holiday-resort-remains-open-despite-fire-damage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/bloemnewsexpress\/willows-holiday-resort-remains-open-despite-fire-damage\/","title":{"rendered":"Willows Holiday Resort remains open despite fire damage"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>GQEBERHA &#8211;<\/strong> The popular Willows Holiday Resort along the Gqeberha coastline will remain open for business as usual this holiday season, despite a blaze that destroyed its maintenance structure and laundry area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Fortunately, none of the 13 thatched-roof rondavels at the resort caught fire. The conference centre and other accommodation facilities were also undamaged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/bloemnewsexpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/triple-rondavels.jpg\" alt=\"Fortunately, none of the thatch-roofed rondavels at the Willows Holiday Resort were damaged in the blaze.\" class=\"wp-image-295299\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Fortunately, none of the thatch-roofed rondavels at the Willows Holiday Resort were damaged in the blaze.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The property, which is operated by Madiba Bay Resorts, is one of the most popular summer holiday destinations along the beachfront. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to resort general manager Lesley Daweti, a veldfire that initially started on the landward side from the Summerstrand area on Thursday quickly spread towards the resort due to high winds. &#8220;The fire jumped the road and within minutes was at the back of the maintenance blocks and laundry area,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Daweti praised the firefighters who ensured the damage was contained and prevented it from spreading to the thatched-roof rondavels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Washing machines, dryers and bedding for both Willows Holiday Resort and Willow Grove were damaged. According to Daweti, they were fortunate to restock the bedding with suppliers&#8217; assistance and have since set up a temporary laundry room at Willow Grove.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Daweti said they are still awaiting the assessor&#8217;s report, but he estimates the damage could exceed one million rand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>GQEBERHA &#8211; The popular Willows Holiday Resort along the Gqeberha coastline will remain open for business as usual this holiday season, despite a blaze that destroyed its maintenance structure and 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This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.8 (Yoast SEO v27.8) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Willows Holiday Resort remains open despite fire damage | BloemNews Express<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/bloemnewsexpress\/willows-holiday-resort-remains-open-despite-fire-damage\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Willows Holiday Resort remains open despite fire damage\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"GQEBERHA &#8211; The popular Willows Holiday Resort along the Gqeberha coastline will remain open for business as usual this holiday season, despite a blaze that destroyed its maintenance structure and [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" 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