Southern Sun Elangeni & Maharani

The service was really great. Their staff is helpful. However the rooms are old. My aircon was not working and the stopper in the bath tub didn’t work. I was quite disappointed by that.

The place was absolutely amazing!!!the stay was great, room was great just a bit dusty but it was a pleasant stay. Will be coming back. Breakfast was also excellent

We stayed at the Southern Sun Elangeni & Maharani over the Easter weekend for 5 nights as a family getaway. The location is absolutely unbeatable—right along the beachfront and very convenient, especially since we were attending an event at Bay of Plenty. On arrival, the lobby made a great first impression with its beautiful decor and ambiance. Check-in was a bit slow due to only one staff member being available at the time, but once it was our turn, the process was smooth and professional. We stayed in an executive room, which was spacious and offered breathtaking views of the ocean. However, the furniture is quite dated and could do with a modern upgrade. We also discovered that underneath the bed was quite dirty—housekeeping came to clean up about 1.5 hours later, but it was disappointing that the room hadn’t been thoroughly cleaned before our arrival. Breakfast was enjoyable and they made an effort to cater to our special dietary needs, although this wasn’t consistent throughout our stay. We also used the pool facilities—while the pool on the 32nd floor is beautiful with incredible views, it was unfortunately ice cold. The same went for the Elangeni pool—neither were heated, which made them difficult to enjoy. Service throughout the stay was mostly efficient and staff were helpful when needed. In summary, the hotel is in a stunning location and has lots of potential, but it’s starting to show its age and would really benefit from some updates, especially in the rooms and facilities. I would recommend it, especially for the location and views, but with some caveats around the maintenance and service consistency.

On arrival at the hotel I was attended to respectfully and promptly just in line with my expectations as I had stayed at Elangeni often during my childhood when visiting Durban. The food was as good as I had remembered it and the variety was impressive! I did, however, notice that the standard did drop with regards to staff behavior and I noticed this at the breakfast service. The hotel was full during my stay which resulted in there being a queue for breakfast, the lady at the desk at breakfast was abrupt and in my opinion unprofessional as she did not communicate in a polite manner. I had experienced a rude waiter during the same breakfast service, however, when I did bring this to the attention of the manager on duty it was rectified immediately which I am impressed with. I do think management upholds the values of the Southern Sun brand, however, the staff need to learn how to do this as well. The aircon in my room did not work and when I did bring it to Elangenis attention they mentioned that they would send maintenance up to fix the aircon ,however, the aircon never got fixed and I ended up having to open the windows even at night time to get air into the room which is unacceptable. The teas and coffees did not get replenished in our room as I had stayed for a few nights. I do think that for a 4 star hotel the service should be better and I do feel it has deteriorated from my previous experience. Guests should not ask to be treated properly nor should they ask for their teas and coffees in the their room to be replenished, this is a given when staying at a 4 star hotel. I think there is room for improvement.