Durban - The one good thing about being unfit is that you get to see and appreciate more of the world around you. Let me explain: struggling back from a stress fracture earlier this year, I now am forced to stop frequently for a pain break on my runs.
It happened quite often as I plodded along the boardwalk that runs north to south along Durban’s “Golden Mile”. On one occasion, I leaned against a concrete bench to appreciate the waves, the sun peeping through the offshore clouds, the clean sand and the salty tang of the ocean.
I looked down to see a date scribbled on the bench, presumably the day it was erected there. I was stunned. It was only two days previously. Four or five other benches bore the same date.
That proved, eloquently, that the City of Durban is serious about renovating and rejuvenating a beachfront area which had been decaying to crime and grime over the past few years – and that the surgery is in full swing.
Everywhere you go on the Golden Mile these days, you can see and feel the changes: there are plenty of cops patrolling, cleaning crews are out in force from sunrise… and there are hundreds of people – locals and tourists – taking in the air.
It seems as though the Golden Mile (it’s actually more like 3km or so) is bouncing back to become, as one recent corporate visitor to the Southern Sun Elangeni and Maharani Hotel put it, “a world-class destination”.
The driving force behind the transformation of the area is a public/private partnership which recognises that the city needs to bring visitors back from places like Amanzimtoti and uMhlanga, where many headed as their perceptions of Durban’s beaches got worse.
I must say, I was in that category myself. When the family was younger, we seldom ventured into the Durban CBD or to North or South beaches. But having spent two days at the Elangeni, I came back with one word which encapsulated the experience: surprise.
The Elangeni, Tsogo Sun’s four-star property on OR Tambo Parade (formerly Marine Parade), and its five-star sister, the Maharani, are undergoing a facelift which will see upwards of R200 million invested.
In addition, Tsogo Sun has plans to build another hotel at the Suncoast Casino complex on the northern end of the strip, which will see a further R1 billion being ploughed in.
The vision for the Durban beachfront is exemplified by the Elangeni and Maharani, which have been combined into a 734-bedroom complex which is already doing very well, thank you. The December-January holiday season, for example, sees them fully booked.
Elangeni and Maharani general manager Samantha Croft says: “There is an amazing vibe down here and it’s fascinating to watch the changes.”
She says the Elangeni-Maharani is starting to reap the dividend of the improved precinct as visitor numbers are rising, both from the corporate and tourist markets.
“Conferencing is something we focus on because, as a group, we have the experience and we can tailor-make packages and experiences for corporate clients.”
A recent large conference was attracted to the hotels away from Cape Town – and participants were “really surprised it was so good, because they had a certain picture in their minds about the Durban beachfront”, said Croft.
The Elangeni-Maharani goes out of its way to make conferences special occasions, she says.
One group was given a welcome on the beach, where conference participants removed their shoes and were given flip-flops with their welcome drinks… “to get them into the Durban mood”, chuckles Croft.
Then there was a conference opening dinner which was held at uShaka Marine World, which often partners with the hotels to stage special functions, and a gala evening under a massive tent pitched on the beachfront’s open grass area.
The municipality granted permission for the temporary set-up and issued a liquor licence which allowed alcohol to be served until midnight. (The conference-goers were having such a good time, though, that many of them slipped back across the road to the hotel and continued celebrating what was clearly a successful gathering.)
During the week, the Elangeni-Maharani does good corporate business and, says Croft, “people are realising the area has such a lot to offer”.
While it is true the hotels around uMhlanga are closer to King Shaka International Airport north of the city, “we’’re only an extra 14km and that’s nothing”, said Croft.
Over weekends and in school holidays, the hotels are attracting leisure visitors who come for the long beaches, the varied entertainments and amusements and the resort atmosphere of the Elangeni-Maharani.
Another surprise about this corporate hotel chain property was the food. It’s anything but standard, corporate fare.
Breakfasts in the Elangeni and Maharani are traditional buffets, with the emphasis on fresh ingredients and the on-site baking of pastries and breads.
Executive chef Shaun Munro says the second floor of the Maharani was renovated into an airy open-plan eating area and the Panorama Bar which, as its name suggests, offers a wonderful 180º view over the beach and up and down the Golden Mile.
“We serve small meals out here by the pool and it’s a great place for families to come to when they get back from the beach.
“They can take a dip to wash off the salt water, have a drink and maybe a pizza watching the sun go down.”
But it is the Elangeni’s other restaurants (facilities at both hotels are open to guests of both) which leave no doubt that food is a critical element in their offering.
“Hotel rooms can be pretty similar but it is really your dining offering which sets you apart,” says Munro.
Altogether across the complex, there are 11 restaurants and bars, and each has been designed to operate as an independent entity, an innovative development in the industry.
Munro says the idea for the restaurants and their themes came from Tsogo Sun’s development director, Kevin Page, “but I have been give a free hand on design and menus”.
Pride of place goes to the Grill Jichana, a fine-dining grill house specialising in meat dishes.
Named for the Swahili word meaning “eating well”, Jichana is “a fusion of all the African east coast elements into one unique, tangy flavour”, says Munro.
The restaurant also faces the street on one side of the Elangeni, so passersby can be intrigued and wander in.
Even though it has been open only a few months, it’s become the place to be seen in Durban.
As a Durban-born-and-bred chef, Munro says the city sometimes gets an unfairly bad reputation for its food.
“We are often overshadowed by Cape Town and Joburg, but there are really good places to eat in the city. And it’s unpretentious.”
Grill Jichana delivered as promised the night I ate there, with an aged piece of Karan beef rump perfectly grilled medium-rare, coated in Jichana’s east coast-inspired tangy baste.
But it was Munro’s Café de Paris butter – with its 21 ingredients, and which is sliced and placed atop the meat to melt over it – that stole the show.
I normally judge a place by the quality of its steak – and I’ve done so all over South Africa and across the world – yet this was unlike any steak I’ve ever had.
The second night of my stay, Munro ushered me into the Lingela Restaurant, the Elangeni’s buffet venue.
The term “buffet” doesn’t do justice to the amazing variety of hot and cold starters, mains and desserts on offer. These include everything you’ve seen before – and a whole lot more, ranging from mini Greek dolmades to small locally inspired “vetkoek”.
You can also choose to have a piece of linefish or a sirloin steak prepared on the sizzling grill while you wait. And Durban wouldn’t be Durban without a full spread of curries.
The head chef at Lingela, Theo Nico, said the Wednesday night crowd I witnessed was “pretty normal” – another sign the Golden Mile is pumping, because it wasn’t long before all the tables in the restaurant were occupied and a queue built up outside.
This is a “no place to hide” food establishment: lots of hungry customers who want to be served and served fast. I certainly noticed no grumpy diners the night I was there.
Renovations at the Maharani are also progressing fast, ahead of the official launch next month, with new restaurants complementing the revamped rooms. One interesting “blast from the past” will be the renovation of the former Raffles disco at the top of the hotel into an exclusive events venue called SKY. It offers an unparalleled view of Durban and the sea.
When I hobbled back into the Elangeni lobby at the end of my run at around 6.45am, the place was already pulsing with energy. As I mad my way to the lift, I noticed out of the corner of my eye a tall regal gent conversing with a few others. He looked familiar.
As the lift ascended, I realised who he was: King Goodwill Zwelithini.
The hotels and the Golden Mile – good enough for royalty and good enough for business and leisure travellers.
Partnership restores Mile’s golden gleam
Tsogo Sun chief executive Marcel von Aulock says the group has featured prominently on Durban’s Golden Mile for many years, with a significant investment in real estate on the beachfront in the form of the Southern Sun Elangeni, Southern Sun North Beach, Garden Court Marine Parade, Garden Court South Beach, and the SunCoast Casino and Entertainment World including the SunSquare and the SunCoast Towers hotels.
The investment in the Southern Sun Elangeni & Maharani complex “is a direct response to the substantial investment into the revival of the Durban beachfront promenade by the eThekwini Municipality”, which “is ensuring that Durban can be reintroduced to South African and international business and leisure tourists as the beautiful and vibrant beachfront destination it once was”.
Von Aulock adds that the municipality has already achieved “excellent results”.
“Having a beachfront is a privilege many cities around the world share; however, having an aesthetically pleasing, user-friendly and accommodating beachfront is something that needs to be worked on constantly by all stakeholders.
“We believe that only through effective public/private sector partnerships can tourism attractions such as the beachfront be sustained, and that corporate South Africa is duty-bound to partner with the government to ensure our country realises its tourism potential.”
The city’s commitment to the rehabilitation of the Golden Mile has seen over R500 million invested into its revival.
The Mile was redeveloped in late 2009 in time for the 2010 World Cup, when it was resurfaced and widened between Ushaka Marine World and Moses Mabhida Stadium.
Last year, the second phase of the beachfront upgrade saw the coastline from Country Club Beach to Blue Lagoon receiving an extensive facelift.
“There is no doubt the Golden Mile is back,” said Von Aulock, adding that the Tsogo Sun commitment of R220m into two of its properties on the Golden Mile “is such a positive signal to the future of Durban as a tourist destination”. - Saturday Star