Half A Century At Hotel Schweizerhaus

Hotel Schweizerhaus is family-owned in the third generation. Owner Heidi Snyman, née Anton, born in Namibia, was five when her parents, both from Germany, bought a “Swiss-looking” house in Swakopmund, which is how Hotel Schweizerhaus got its name. Later the Anton’s added the café, which Heidi’s father, a master baker, made into the icon it is today. She grew up in the family business, a witness to her parents’ commitment and sacrifice in running it. “Immer alles für die Gäste” – everything for the guests – she remembers complaining to her father. Now, of course, she understands it, the sacrifice. And the family always managed to make time for lunch together, a tradition that has continued into the third generation. Today, Hotel Schweizerhaus and Café Anton are still run by Heidi, along with her daughters Sylvia and Desireé.

I meet up with the ladies on my first morning at the hotel. We’re sitting around one of the tables in the dining room and in between sips of coffee talk about how far the hotel has come and about working with family. Desireé has taken over behind the counter, producing the famed confectionaries that her grandfather taught her to make. Both daughters spent time in Germany, learning the ins and outs of their trade before heading home. Neither was pressured to get involved. In fact, Heidi was shocked when Sylvia first announced that she planned on working in the hotel. “I told her, about the long hours, the hard work. But it didn’t matter.” As we talk, Sylvia’s 15-month-old daughter sits on her lap. Apparently, she is already getting involved in the family business. “She follows the housekeeping staff around like a shadow. She’s learning all about how to clean”, Sylvia says.

The past is indisputably part of the hotel’s charm, but how will it translate into the future? In the café, Desireé still uses her grandfather’s original recipes – to the relief of customers. When even top restaurants use pre-mix ingredients, she still makes the pretzels from scratch. Lately, though, she has slowly added a few new cakes and biscuits to the range, experimenting with seasonal fruit and international trends. Some, like the lemon meringue cake, do well and stay on, others, like macaroons, don’t. The hotel, too, has seen some changes over the years. Most are too subtle for regulars to notice. The interior of the café and hotel is refurbished every few years, replacing bedding, carpets, curtains and seat cushions. Gradually the big television sets reminiscent of the nineties are being replaced with their fat screen counterparts. One characteristic of the business that seems unlikely to ever change is the team of loyal staffers who have been with the family for decades. The “new” employees are those that have worked there for “only” six years, says Shaheed Abrahams, who is part of the management. Shaheed has been with the family since he left school, starting as a waiter and working his way up. Now he has a hand in every aspect of the business and helps Hotel Schweizerhaus adapt in the face of modern challenges.

In fact, the staff often come together as a team to brainstorm ideas. The latest is a goulash soup special on Sundays that has become popular in a town where most establishments are closed on the last day of the week. I ask him why no one seems to want to leave. What makes it so great to work there? “We are a like a family,” he says with sincerity, “we just all gel.” And when he walks back to the reception counter, I watch the employees converge around him, making jokes and chatting in that familiar way that only comes with time and shared experience.

And while everything changes, everything stays the same. Climbing the staircase to the first floor, the hallway still retains the hushed quality, the thick carpets absorbing the sounds of my steps. My room looks out onto the promenade below, beyond which the ocean reflects the sun’s afternoon rays. Out on the balcony, I toast the weekend and watch as the evening falls over Swakopmund.