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Isdore  Guvamombe Tourism Matrix
Hardly a year after opening its doors to the tourism and hospitality industry in Midlands Province, Nichrut Lodge and Resort, has broken new ground by introducing a new fast food outlet, Nichrut Chicken to compete directly with established outlets, Chicken Inn and Chicken Slice.
Nichrut Chicken which also offers Nichrut Ice Cream, Nichrut Coffee and Nichrut Pizza was officially opened on Saturday along the Gweru Shurugwi Highway.

The colourful ceremony was attended by business luminaries in the Midlands while the guest of honour was prominent Marondera businessman and prophet, Lawrence Katsiru.

The latest investment has turned formerly Nichrut Lodge into Nichrut Resort, where all hospitality services are now provided in situ. The resort now has a lodge, a food outlet and service station all bundled in one.

The lodge itself is spectacular, tastefully decorated and unbelievably comfortable. Tucked within a secondary indigenous forest of deciduous msasa trees, alongside a road that uncharacteristically undulates up and down and snakes into hairpin curves, Nichrut Lodge and Resort, has become a serious stakeholder in the tourism and hospitality industry in the Midlands Province.

The lodge, which was opened in December last year is already winning awards after it was awarded the second best accolade in the hotels category in Midlands at the Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce annual awards held in Gweru last week, just a day before officially opening its fast foods outlet.

It is a place where many long established hotels can learn internal decorum and comforting delivery.

Owned by Nicholas Gara, an indigenous miner, Nichrut has six executive suites and 10 standard rooms, a service station and a fast food outlet.

It is perched on a hill slope overlooking serene rolling moorlands, high mountain heath and undulating slopes of the Great Dyke Mountain Range.

Built about 20km outside Gweru and five kilometres outside the mining town of Shurugwi, Nichrut, has proved to be a quiet place where those tired of the hullabaloo of urban life, retire with families.

A tour of the lodge last weekend revealed spacious tastefully decorated rooms.

Each lodge is fitted with two television sets connected to DSTV that offer nine channels.

Tiled floors are also decorated in a manner that will dazzle guests. The kitchen and the reception areas are ultra modern, with ceiling, many an established hotel would envy.

“While I was travelling to many places as a miner looking for things to use, I decided to build my own lodge. This is typically a family lodge. It is meant to be a quiet place with no nightclub or bar nearby.

“We want to maintain the bush and at the same time give our customers the comfort they deserve,” he said.

We have the best showers in Midlands and we imported the equipment from Dubai.

“As you can see, we have been operational for only a short period and we have proved very popular and I guess this is the reason why ZNCC saw it fit to honour as a comfort zone.

“We appreciate the award, but we are also expanding and constructing a service station what we hope will be open in a few months,’’ said Mr Gara after winning the award.

There are plans to expand the lodge by 32 additional rooms and to introduce wildlife on the three hectares plot around the lodge, to give visitors a real treat.

“The point is that indigenous people can do it and I am setting an example here that we can do it in our country,’’ says Mr Gara.

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