Sun City is one of the top day-trip destinations for Joburgers, and this past Thursday the iconic hotel launched its newly renovated facilities.
First opened in 1979, the hotel announced in 2024 that it would undergo major renovations. Now, the legendary Sun City has finally revealed the results.
Join me as I take you on a tour of the refreshed facilities.
The entrance
Entering Sun City was a breathtaking experience. The new porte-cochere exudes a modern feel, with LED lighting, stylish paving, and an inviting design. Contemporary tiles, chic décor, and vibrant neon signage complete the look — a total transformation from the old, flat, plain walls with minimal detailing.
From the entrance, one is captivated by the stunning decor of the casino that leads to the dining and entertainment area, and the new stunning elevators and staircase.
The rooms
One of the highlights of the hotel is the room upgrades. I was immediately wowed by the décor as I walked in - the space had a warm, homely feel complemented by breathtaking pieces of art.
My hotel room had two double beds, TV, small table, and modern closet. My favourite piece in the room was the stunning gold light which added a touch of elegance. I slept in room 643 and the views of the mountain and the pool area were refreshing.
Dining
During my stay, I visited several restaurants: Hard Rock Cafe, where I enjoyed a delicious, juicy burger; Sausage Saloon, where I had an authentic Russian sausage; and The Raj, where I savoured their mouth-watering chicken tikka masala.
Shun De served the best steamed beef and Yang Zhou fried rice.
The highlight of my dining experience was Legends — the live performance, excellent service, and perfectly cooked steak made my stay all the more wonderful.
Breakfast was served at the luxurious Sun Terrace restaurant. The restaurant has top-of-the-range décor, with modern finishes and perfect views for the Gram. The restaurant serves buffet breakfast and my favourite was the banana bread.
All the restaurants had a modern feel and comfortable seating.
Leisure
Sun City is one of the biggest entertainment hubs in South Africa. It is also a family-friendly destination.
Children are catered for at the Candy Shop and the pool area. For adults, there are several entertainment spots, including Vibes and Encore—the in-house nightclub with a live DJ.
The stunning pool area is a dream for anyone seeking relaxation and indulgence.
Why the new Sun City Hotel should be your next getaway
Sun City is a fun-filled destination for people looking for the best things to do, eat, and experience.
From luxurious accommodation, flavourful dishes, water activities, and world-class facility, Sun City offers memorable activities and deserves a spot on your bucket list.
Views from the inside
Here’s what Brett Hoppè, Sun City’s General Manager, had to say about the stunning transformation.
Sun City has cemented its reputation as a world-class accommodation and entertainment destination for decades. What's the secret?
I think the secret is seeing what's around you and experiencing what you experienced last night. It's around keeping the product fresh and continuing to invest in our product as we go through the process and finding cutting-edge opportunities to keep the product fresh and front-of-mind awareness.
How does the relaunch connect to the legacy that the hotel has already built?
This has been such an interesting project. Sun City Hotel is the original hotel, the 'grand old lady' as I call her, so it's been a real privilege to be able to revitalise this hotel, both in the room space, all through the public areas, the restaurants, etc. But really, really focus on creating a great product right through the property and something that's going to be cutting-edge, something that appeals to the market, and something that can be spoken about.
Talk to us about some of the changes that have been made from the entrance all the way to the rooms?
Coming through the entrance, we've reengineered the traffic flow, which was problematic for quite some time. You had buses coming into a customer area where cars and people are checking in, so we've rerouted all of that, put some cutting-edge LEDs into the ceiling just to give it a casino-type feel, and then, of course, as you move through, we've redone the public areas, the lighting, the entrance to the casino, and then arriving down at the restaurant, Sun Terrace, we've done a full refurbishment of Sun Terrace.
Sun Terrace was actually an open terrace restaurant, we've glassed it in, you know, and as you can see, really beautiful, dropped the ceiling, it is absolutely magnificent, and then, you know, stepping down these steps coming to the pool, as you can see around us, we've really got an experience-based pool, almost continuous, always on pool, pool parties in the evening, you know, cabanas, private cabanas that one can hire, and really just a cutting-edge experience.
What's your favourite meal at Sun Terrace?
I think probably my favourite is around seeing what our chefs do with the buffet, when we allow them to be really, really creative. They had great sushi last night, all sorts of different things, but I think allowing our staff to express themselves and experiencing all those different things is quite amazing. I mean, if you look at the pool, for example, we've put in an amazing kitchen here, so we've got great pizzas, we've got an Argentinian grill, so a real cutting-edge menu, and I think that's really exciting. I was testing the pizzas on the weekend, the wood-fired pizzas, really nice.
Many hotels have closed, and many other ones are coming up, what is the secret to Sun City's longevity?
If you look at Sun City as a whole, it's the diversity of the property itself, you know. We've got multiple price points, from cabanas, to Sun City Hotel, to Cascades, all the way up to the Palace, and then, of course, our timeshare operations. So I think that diversity is the key, but also the freshness of the product, and creating unique things like this, like the Valley of the Waves, like our new Lefika timeshare product, which has been incredibly well received by the market, so it's a continuous journey of evolution, and our job is to make sure that we're driving that evolution in order to ensure that Sun City never becomes stale.
I'm a Joburger, why should I come to Sun City?
Because it's two hours away, and it's absolutely magnificent if you look around the pool and so on, it's such an easy escape, and when you look at some of the new things, whether it be from the Palace or to here, it doesn't feel like you're anywhere in South Africa.
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