A longing for the Lonsdale

The old picture this week features Durban’s Lonsdale Hotel and is taken from the Facebook group Durban History and stories.

The Lonsdale was designed by architect Alfred Arthur Ritchie McKinlay and was built in 1932.

The Gooderson family took control of it in 1957, the first hotel in their successful hospitality chain that still operates today. 

The Lonsdale was a posh family hotel, in its heyday, with a pub called El Castilian which hosted many festive evenings for locals and guests alike. The hotel had a ballroom which was the venue for grand events, including weddings. It was decorated with mirrors and chandeliers.

Allan Jackson in Facts About Durban remembers: “This was in the late 1970s and we in Durban were truly spoilt for choice when it came to music and comedy. One of my favourites was Joe Parker, at the Lonsdale Hotel Pool Deck, whose classic comedy sketch, aimed at us younger guys, was a graphic warning of what to expect when we got to the army.

On the Facebook post Terry Illman remembers: “In the early ‘70s the rack rate was R4.50 a day including all 3 meals - a 7-course breakfast, 5-course lunch and 7-course supper. A beer was 15 cents and a “dinky” of wine (250ml) was 25 cents.”

Trevlyn Lange writes: “My mom and step dad owned this hotel in the 80s and 90s. And the Killarney too. And lived in the penthouse of the Lonsdale. I loved going and tanning at that pool and eating prawns. I had my 21st birthday there.”

Andre Pretorius lived in this hotel in the 70s as his father was a manager there. “Much mischief was made there...good times,” he admits.

Michelle Fanner remembers performing Ballroom and Latin American dances at the Lonsdale Hotel back in the 80s, while Carol Simpson writes that Gary and Spider were great at the pool deck.

Today the hotel has been sold and converted to student accommodation.