Cascara Coffee & Cocktails, inside Hyatt Regency is now one of the hottest spots in the capital. This is where the movers-and-shakers meet to discuss business, where the Diaspora mingle with old friends and where diplomats meet and where some of the most exclusive events happen regularly.
“We treat each of our customers as a family and we know our regulars by name and we know exactly what they want”, a waiter tells The Reporter as a DJ spins an old tune of the classics of Karyn White, Billy Ocean and others last month as the spirit of the holiday season seemed to have overtaken the place.
Not far from the spacious, glamorous space of Cascara, the hotel is decorated beautifully and its walls filled with local paintings that are hard to find elsewhere.
It’s management, starting from its general manager – the personable Heddo Siebs who is known to run long distances in early mornings and post photos on his Twitter page – is known to walk around and ensure the standard that the hotel has brought to the local hospitality sector.
Welcome to Ethiopia’s latest international branded hotel – Hyatt Regency.
“I was taken aback with the hotel, almost overwhelmed when I first walked in after I came from the United States where I reside. The service is wonderful, the selection of food – amazing, more specifically the branch on weekends and I was happy that we now have a choice, not just the Sheraton or Hilton we grew up with”, Helen Alemayehu, an Ethiopian-American said as she sipped a cappuccino.
The hotel has hosted the likes of German President, Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Legend has it, the youthful looking Trudeau, coming to Addis Ababa during the African Union summit last year on the hills of a Canadian federal election and accompanied by the Canadian media that was reporting on real time, refused to sleep in the hotel’s most prestigious presidential suite and stayed in one of the regular rooms.
He was also said to feel comfortable enough to go around, shake hands, dine at the regular restaurant and converse with the employees.
Hyatt Regency Addis, as well as its famous Cascara café, has emphasized the need to serve local ingredients and products whenever possible. It even used the services of Anna Getaneh to dress its employees as well.
It has even given local baristas a chance to be trained along with international baristas and a scholarship to travel and gain more expertise.
“To me, working at Hyatt is not just about collecting salary but gaining international experience, wisdom and above all else, standard”, another waiter said.
