Southern Sun starts R250m overhaul of its biggest hotel

The revival of Durban’s beachfront continues, with JSE-listed hotels and leisure giant Southern Sun having commenced the R250 million overhaul of its biggest hotel property in South Africa.

The landmark 734-room Southern Sun Elangeni & Maharani Hotel, which was completed as separate towers in the 1970s by legendary hotelier Sol Kerzner and later merged into one hotel in 2012, is being revamped in phases over the next three years.

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Speaking during a dinner at the hotel on Monday night to industry leaders attending the Southern African Association for the Conference Industry (Saaci) annual conference, hotel GM Lettisha Singh said work has commenced on the first 11 rooms as well as the exterior of the Elangeni tower and the new pool deck section atop the 33-storey Maharani tower.

“This is a major revamp of the hotel, which includes all the rooms, plus the foyer area and conferencing level of the Elangeni, and the restaurants, which includes a new club lounge at the Maharani tower.

“Because this is an operating hotel and the biggest in the group, it is a phased overhaul over the next three years.

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“It’s a hugely exciting project for our team and for the Durban beachfront. This shows our commitment to the Golden Mile, investing in what is a key tourism asset for the city,” Singh told Moneyweb.

The overhaul follows Southern Sun group securing a multi-decade lease of the land parcels the hotel towers are sited on from the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality last year.

Its 50-year lease of the sites, which goes back to Kerzner’s days, was coming to an end. The city put the property lease out tender a couple of years ago through what it said at the time was a transparent and necessary process.

Southern Sun turned out to be the only bidder Moneyweb reported in 2024, with industry insiders saying at the time this was because a bigger capital investment would be required by any other player wanting to secure the site.

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In 2024, eThekwini said the leasing deal with Southern Sun would represent a total investment in its beachfront hotels to the tune of around R1 billion over several years.

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The group owns four hotels on the Durban beachfront, including the Elangeni & Maharani, Garden Court South Beach, Garden Court Marine Parade, and The Edward.

The initial R250 million investment into the makeover of the Elangeni & Maharani Hotel represents the biggest private sector investment into the beachfront in over a decade.

Back in 2014, when Southern Sun was still part of the bigger Tsogo Sun gaming and leisure group, Tsogo invested over R1.5 billion into an expansion and revamp of its Suncoast Casino Complex a few hundred meters north of the Maharani tower.

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Tsogo Limited and Southern Sun have been separately listed companies on the JSE since just before Covid-19, however, the two companies have a mutual shareholder in the Hosken Consolidated Investments group, a holding company that is also listed on the JSE.

Initial renovation work underway on the exterior of the Elangeni section of the hotel. Image: Suren Naidoo/Moneyweb

The major revamp includes all rooms and restaurants, the foyer and conferencing level of the Elangeni, and a new club lounge for the Maharani tower. Image: Suren Naidoo/Moneyweb

Contractors can be seen commencing work on the outside of the hotel. Image: Suren Naidoo/Moneyweb

The historic ‘Sunken Gardens’ area of the Durban beachfront, which is also set for an upgrade, according to Southern Sun. Image: Suren Naidoo/Moneyweb

An aerial artist’s impression of what the revamped Southern Sun Elangeni & Maharani Hotel will look like following its revamp. Image: Supplied

Meanwhile, speaking to Moneyweb at the Saaci dinner, Durban Tourism’s deputy director Winile Mntungwa welcomed the investment into the beachfront.

“Southern Sun is South Africa’s largest hotel group, with a national brand… One could even say international brand, as it has operations in the Seychelles, Mozambique and even the UAE.

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“This investment in Durban’s North Beach precinct speaks volumes about the confidence private-sector companies like Southern Sun have in the city,” said Mntungwa.

“We are looking forward to the positive impact the revamp of the Elangeni & Maharani Hotel will have on the beachfront… It is not just an investment in leisure tourism, but business tourism too, with the hotel being a key property for business travellers and conferencing delegates to the city,” she added.

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Mntungwa said Durban Tourism is working closely with Southern Sun, the Tourism Business Council of South Africa and other hotel groups to collaborate on seasonal marketing and safety initiatives along the beachfront.

“The beachfront is a safer and cleaner precinct, and we are looking forward to further investments into the area by various players over the next few years.”

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