![]() “Families could roam free and be safe (from crime too, another important factor in planning a South African holiday), whether at the Valley of the Waves or anywhere. “During Covid, because of the insular nature here, people felt safe and we managed to create a bio-bubble with rigorous testing,” adds Hoppe. The next step is for international tourism to start to rise again – it usually forms around 30% of Sun City’s trade. Meanwhile, if there is one positive for the global tourism industry out of Covid, it is that domestic tourism has picked up and Sun City, by its very nature, forms a bit of a coronavirus-free bubble. Now, however, the green shoots of recovery are very much showing, with even business conferences returning from Zoom to physical spaces. “From a financial perspective had Sun City not been part of a Sun International as a listed property, it would have closed down,” admits Hoppe. The five best skinny-dipping spots in South Africa “We started the refurbishment shortly before lockdown, freshening the rooms up, and then Covid hit but we continued the revamp even during Covid,” adds Ramotse. South Africa’s hotel grading system does not allow for six stars, explains Julius Ramotse, the general manager of Hospitality at Sun City for all hotels except the Palace.īut the Cascades is still a fine hotel, the rooms spacious and comfortable, and the hospitality excellent. The latter is more luxurious – the Palace was initially built as a six-star hotel, but is now “five-star deluxe”. The Cascades offers a five-star experience at a much lower price- point than Sun City’s premium hotel offering, the Palace. The orange globe in the sky was showing off on our visit last month, to take in the newly-refurbished five-star Cascades hotel, and some of the winter activities available to visitors. Sun City certainly got its name for a reason, a world-famous resort developed by Sol Kerzner in the heart of the Pilanesberg over 40 years ago. ![]() “Our worst winter day is better than the best summer day in parts of Europe!” says Brett Hoppe, who has been general manager at the Sun City resort since January 2020. What makes a visit to Sun City so appealing in winter? Well, how about, just for starters, that winter in Sun City is rather mild.
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