The golf course , always one of my favourites , was in its usual good shape , especially considering the time of year . WCS also offers golfers an ideal base camp from which to explore the South Coast ’ s other fine courses , including Selborne and Port Shepstone , which can also be played on the drive down , and San Lameer and Southbroom . After spending three very comfortable nights hosted by Irvin Shange , WCS ’ COO , and his team , we set off back towards the Elangeni & Maharani hotel on Durban ’ s beachfront . It had been 31 years since I drove from the South Coast to Durban and I got straight to the Elangeni hotel with no GPS assistance , so at least the old hippocampus is still working !
The Maharani was still ‘ hibernating ’ from the lockdown , but the Elangeni section of what has now been combined into one ‘ big ’ hotel ( 700 plus bedrooms ) was operational .
Wayne Smith , the unit ’ s GM , was hopeful that Durban would enjoy a good December season and concurred that reopening the international borders was another step in the right direction . He also observed that golfers have always been a target niche for this hotel and added , in broader tourism terms , that the whole industry needs to get back to operational norms as soon as possible , because the various layers of the sector are so highly interdependent . The Elangeni ’ s location means Durban ’ s nightlife and attractions are on the hotel ’ s doorstep , while the beachfront is a gentle lob wedge from the hotel ’ s foyer . Golfers have easy access to the city ’ s golf courses at Durban Country Club and Royal Durban and can venture slightly further afield up the N3 towards Kloof and Cotswold Downs Golf Clubs . Wherever the golfers play , there is the excellent chance that they will not even be missed by their families – which happily is the point of the exercise !
Stopover number four was at the Beverly Hills Hotel in Umhlanga , unashamedly a luxury hotel , which has been a perennial favourite of ours for many years . The connection stretches back over five decades ,
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