Southern Sun Northbeach Hotel

The staff were warm and professional, always ready to go the extra mile. The comfortable, clean rooms and excellent facilities added to the stay, while the dining and atmosphere felt considered and high quality. With beautiful ocean views and easy access to the beachfront, the location is hard to beat for relaxing or exploring. Southern Sun Elangeni & Maharani** gave us a luxurious, relaxing five-star experience. Highly recommended for a Durban stay.

I stayed three nights. The dinner buffet was great, and the staff were amazing. The room problems were frustrating, though: my basin was blocked, so I moved rooms, and the bath in the next room was partly blocked too. With the shower over the bath, it drained so poorly that water rose to my ankles. Breakfast on the run is a useful option when there's no time to sit down, but the pre-packed choices are very limited: two sandwich options, plus yogurt, a fruit bowl, a breakfast bar, a muffin, and juice. I don't enjoy sandwiches in the morning. When I asked the dining staff if I could swap mine for an omelet and sausage, they said no. I could sit and eat as much of the buffet as I wanted, but policy required the pre-packed breakfast to stay as sandwiches. I was rushing to drive two hours to a meeting and wanted two sausages and an omelet instead. Why be so rigid? That's when I realized common sense isn't so common after all.

The first room we were given at the Elangeni didn't meet our expectations. We raised it with the manager, who acknowledged the problem professionally and dealt with it quickly. Shortly afterward, we got a call and were moved and upgraded to the Maharani Hotel, which made a real difference and turned the stay around. The team handled the recovery very well and took our feedback seriously. Thanks to Cameron & Niveshini for their care and professionalism. We really appreciated how the team handled the issue when we arrived.

The staff were friendly and attentive, service was quick, and the views were lovely. My stay at Southern SunElangeni Hotel in Durban was quite pleasant. I don't understand why pool use ends at 6pm. The rooms also feel due for an upgrade: there are no charging ports, the doors and cupboards are rickety, and the air conditioning needs attention.