The entrance to the Valley of the Waves at Sun City. (Getty Images)
Sun City Resort is a place of fond memories for me. Growing up in the 90s and early 2000s I often went to Sun City with family and friends. A family member was a valued gambling member and received huge discounts on accommodation enabling us to afford to visit the resort in the holidays.
Described as a Las Vegas-type of establishment, the resort has it all. There are water parks, heated pools, restaurants, gaming centres, sports facilities and casinos for those who want to try their luck with “the house”.
Media houses this week reported on financials under the Sun International umbrella and reported considerable growth in the past month. The hospitality side of its business showed a 12.3% growth, Sun International reported.
After struggling during the Covid-19 period the hotel chain looks to be back on its feet with international and local guests contributing to that success. “Sun City made R904 million in income for the reported period. The resort made approximately R150.67 million in a month,” The Citizen newspaper reported.
Despite its change in fortune, Sun City remains pricey for the average South African. The hotels are extremely expensive and its premier hotel, The Palace, is priced beyond the absurd. Many people can afford it only by asking valued members to book on their behalf and check them in.
For the time-share Vacation Club, resellers who sell their timeshare weeks or weekends are how people visit the establishment without paying levies and monthly prices. I was lucky enough to spend a weekend at the Vacation Club recently.
The trip was fun with numerous activities to keep my toddler entertained. The blend of swimming pools, jungle gyms and halaal food made it a lovely weekend getaway. Spending the weekend in Sun City at the same time as the Boks were taking on New Zealand and Liverpool was visiting Manchester United meant various sporting fans were all over the place amid drunken celebrations.
The resort has changed considerably from when I was a teen chasing girls in the entertainment centre and the Valley of the Waves. For one, there is no longer the spring break party it used to have, with the best DJs in the country performing. You could not find a better party in the 2000s than spring in Sun City.
The games are much improved and preteens flush with coins to play them. I remember playing Marvel vs DC, Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat until late into the night before indulging in Juicy Lucy’s cheezas, otherwise known as savoury waffles. There are more modern games to tackle now and Milky Lane’s savoury waffles do not compare, neither does the ice cream.
The casino has moved to the main hotel which makes the entertainment centre a much more pleasurable experience. There is an adults-only pool, more luxury services for premium guests, padel courts and a bounce park for the little ones.
One can indulge in the various culinary options without the jarring sounds of casino games clinking fake money. Having gone at the start of spring I must confess the water was icy. The wave pool was akin to the waters of the Atlantic and I only lasted 10 minutes in the water with my two shivering nieces opting for the slides instead.
There’s a fairly new slide in the offing which adrenaline seekers will love. The slide places you in a capsule while an automated voice counts you down before the floor is ripped away from under you and you drop suspended for about one metre before hitting the slide and flying through it at a frantic pace. My organs have finally settled back into place.
The Slide of Courage remains a fan-favourite with a steep drop and a tremendous wedgie when exiting the slide. I would highly recommend it if you need to feel alive.
The resort is often referred to as the jewel of South Africa and it’s easy to see why. It does have a somewhat chequered history, though. During the apartheid regime it was built in what was known then as Bophuthatswana (which as an 11-year-old was the first “difficult” word my father insisted I learn to spell).
This meant that while South Africa, because of its apartheid policies, lost out on many international artists because of a UN cultural boycott, Sun City was absolved from this ban because it was not “formally” in South Africa. This led to a host of global artists performing there in the 80s.
Stars like Dolly Parton, Queen, Elton John and Liza Minnelli played at Sun City in Bophuthatswana. They were reportedly paid handsomely by the apartheid government, in some cases, around $2 million, rumour has it.
But it also sparked a wave of protests. In a research paper Jonathan Richard Freeman wrote: “In 1985, Artists United Against Apartheid was a protest group founded by two Americans, activist and performer Steven Van Zandt and record producer Arthur Baker, to protest against apartheid in South Africa. The group produced the song Sun City and the album Sun City that year.
“Taking up the plight of South Africa and protesting against apartheid and racism, this album features a massive assembly of soul, funk, hip-hop, jazz, reggae, and rock artists. Musically, Sun City is firmly rooted in funk with strong, heavily percussive beats and a combination of P-Funk and African rhythms, with some seventies fusion jazz thrown in.”
The song opened eyes to South Africans’ oppression and it became a song of resistance, which was naturally banned by the apartheid regime.
The resort is still home to the iconic golf challenge which takes place every year and pulls in some major names in golf.
If you can look past the fearless monkeys at the resort and bypass the exorbitant costs of the hotels by purchasing through resellers, Sun City remains a gem of a holiday, catering for all ages and types. And for those in Johannesburg seeking a short staycation less than two hours away, I would highly recommend it.
Disclaimer: This is not a paid promotion, instead it is a review from a person who thoroughly enjoyed a recent visit to Sun City.