ExpaT-TowerS
rive into Boksburg and a few streets down from the CBD, within spitting distance of East Rand mall, you will discover Beau Desert Guest House. You begin to sense their tag line of ‘home away from home’ right from the entrance. Other than the sign announcing the establishment, the appearance of the place will give you a feeling of meeting up with friends at their residence in the Eastern part of Johannesburg. When Laura Kagame welcomes you, you would be forgiven for thinking that she is the daughter of the proprietor of the cream coloured guest house. She is in fact the new owner of Beau Desert having acquired the business from a couple who had been running it for just over a year and she’s off to a flying start. It is January, traditionally a quiet period, and the place is fully booked. A new addition to the business is the 7 seater KIA Carnival parked at the front which she recently acquired for airport transfers and city tours. When you step into the main house, the first thing you notice is the framed certificate from the South African Grading Council which has given the accommodation a three star rating. “This is very important,” Laura says, “It gives a client assurance that we have complied with the numerous stringent requirements designed to ensure comfort and security including little things like coffee in all rooms and burglar proofing. This is actually an excellent grading for a guest house, in fact many websites on the internet will not allow you to advertise without it and a number
of corporate clients will not even consider you.” She walks us through the en suite rooms of the house, each with a flat screen TV and exquisite linen neatly laid with matching brown curtains. “This is why we bought this place. Other than being so close to the airport, the previous owners did
a very good job with the place. The decor is just right and the materials they used are the best in the business.” The lovely photographs of the big 4 on the wall support Laura’s assertion . The animal theme is maintained all the way through including the carpet in the main living room, the buffalo skull dangling on the backyard fence and the bird feeder at the back. As we walk past the main artwork in
the central corridor, Laura pauses and shows us the smoking area then proceeds to show us the honeymoon suite which blew us away with its majestic four poster bed and Jacuzzi size bath. We make our way to the living room where Laura is keen to show us her contribution to the interior. She
shows us Rwandese baskets which she explains are hand woven by victims of the genocide and are now world famous having been featured in Oprah’s O magazine. “My heritage is Rwandese although I was born in Kenya,” she explains, “I was raised in Uganda and I think this is where I get my business oriented nature. Ugandans are quite the entrepreneurs; even a receptionist will have placed some crates on
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