A Complete Facelift for The Iconic Sun City Hotel
Forty-five years ago, the Sun City hotel opened its doors. Now, it’s undergoing a major renovation.
Sun City’s First Hotel
Construction of the Sun City resort began in July 1978 and moved at lightning speed. As a result, the project was completed in a record 16 months at a cost of R30 million. By the time it opened on 19 December 1979, the resort proudly featured just one hotel – the Sun City Hotel.
Over 300 000 visitors flocked to its Extravaganza and theatre shows in the first year. Consequently, the demand quickly outpaced the hotel’s capacity. In response, Sun City expanded, adding The Cascades, The Cabanas and The Palace to accommodate the growing interest. Despite these additions, the original Sun City Hotel – often dubbed the casino hotel, continued to captivate the public’s imagination. Today, it remains as popular as it was in 1979.
The 2016 Upgrade
In 2016, the hotel underwent a significant transformation as part of a R1 billion resort-wide upgrade. It was relaunched as Soho, but the name change didn’t resonate with guests.
Brett Hoppe, Sun City’s General Manager, explains that back then, it seemed an appropriate time to give the hotel its own identity. Still, this never resonated with customers and they continued to refer to it as the Sun City Hotel. “While we expected some resistance to the change, we were surprised by how resolutely people would cling to the original name. When we realised how affectionately the Sun City Hotel is embraced by South Africans, we restored the hotel’s original name.”
The 2024-2026 Sun City Hotel Upgrade
From August 2024 to November 2026, the Sun City Hotel will undergo a complete makeover. This upgrade includes all 340 rooms, bedroom corridors, terraces and the Sun Terrace. Additionally, infrastructure improvements are also planned. The project will be phased, with the first 56 refurbished rooms set to reopen by the end of November 2024, just in time for the Nedbank Golf Challenge.
What to expect:
– 74 Family rooms
– 50 Interleading rooms
– 2 Paraplegic Rooms
– 34 Luxury rooms
– 171 Twin rooms
– 6 Junior suites
– 2 Presidential Suites
– 1 Mock-up room (already completed)
Sun City Hotel Refurbishment Vision
Ryan Ilgner, Director of Blacksmith Interior Inspiration, shares the vision behind the refurbishment: “Paying homage to the rich Tswana culture and the unique surrounds of Sun City, the new Sun City Hotel interiors combine comfort with craft in creating a uniquely African experience.
Intricate patination gleaned from Tswana weaving is evident in the bespoke carpet designs from the corridors to the bedrooms. These flow beautifully into carved furniture pieces which are one of a kind. The golden savannah tones are seen in striking fabric features and the timber used reminds one of the winter grasslands of the bushveld. Rich tan leathers offset these, combined with cool teal accents in the bathrooms, balancing the colour palette beautifully. The panoramic artwork of the Pilanesberg pull all these tones together making perfect sense of it all.
The room designs serve to complement the incredible vistas of the hotel and the seamless flow between them makes for effortless comfort.”
