Estate Living Magazine Issue 30 Smart Environments June 2018 | Page 66

Sun City’s
reinvention as
something other than
just South Africa’s
‘sin city is by no
means complete"
Southeast Asia, and India as well as travellers from Europe,
South America and Russia who, thanks to a weakened Rand,
are prepared to undertake long-haul flights to try their luck.
The brand continues to play off its historical association with
golf by hosting some of the world’s largest and most expensive
tournaments. There are no membership requirements for
either of the two courses. The Gary Player Country Club is
ranked as one of the top three courses in the world, and the
Lost City Golf Course one of the top 30. The first Million Dollar
Golf Challenge carried that amount as the purse while the
Nedbank Golf Challenge last year made its debut as part of
the European Tour with a purse of more than R120 million.
A resort of this magnitude requires astute logistics, and Sun
City is self-sufficient in almost all regards, with their own water
and sewerage systems, and electricity substations. They also
have their own in-house public transport and security facility
as well as a fire department and clinic.
Sun City’s reinvention as something other than just South
Africa’s ‘sin city’ is by no means complete. An even bigger
menu of activities, a larger Sun Vacation Club, and a host of
other developments are on the cards.
At capacity, the resort can take more than 15,000 people a
day, which is usually made up of 70% locals to 30% foreign
guests. In December 2017, the hotel was fully booked, day
visitors queued in cars, as did staying guests, and the Valley of
Waves was packed. While it is not really fighting for relevance
as, according to De Lima, ‘there is no real competition in
South Africa or Africa for that matter’, the resort still markets
aggressively to ensure it retains its market share.
The fact that it has survived the last three decades, however, is
testament to its longstanding appeal. What was once deemed
an untested venture is now seen as a no-brainer, and although
it has no permanent residential sector, it has been suggested
that some of the bigger mixed-use estates, such as Steyn City
and Pearl Valley, have been partly inspired by the success of
this legendary development.
A South African institution that put the country on the
hospitality map the world over, Sun City is the perfect example
of how you can reinvent yourself without losing any of your
appeal, status or class.
By Zeenat Moosa Hassan
64 | www.estate-living.co.za