Tsogo Sun’s Southern Sun Elangeni & Maharani Hotel on the Durban beachfront, KwaZulu-Natal, now features a multipurpose venue, offering panoramic views of the coastline and beachfront.
The venue, called Sky, located on the 31st floor of the Maharani Tower, is part of a R220 million refurbishment of the hotel. Sky is a complete renovation of Raffles bar and serves as a venue for events including conferences, banquets, private functions and celebrations. It can accommodate up to 250 people with 300 square metres of floor space.
Conference facilities at the hotel include 17 meeting and conference rooms and two fully-equipped business centres.
“For the space formerly occupied by Raffles, the development team came up with concept of a truly multipurpose venue,” said Tsogo Sun CEO Marcel von Aulock. 
The group will also undertake a R100 million renovation of the Garden Court Marine Parade, which will include a refurbishment of all rooms, public areas and the conference space. This project is scheduled to start in April and will take about a year to complete.
“Durban has put a lot of effort into relaunching and repositioning itself, particularly as a vibrant conference and meeting destination; it has also put a lot of resources into bringing large events to Durban – and this is now bearing fruit,” said Naledi Moyo, Deputy City Manager of Sustainable Development and City Enterprises for the Ethekwini Municipality. “The response by the private sector, and particularly by Tsogo Sun, has been a large-scale investment into the type of facilities and aesthetic appeal of the city that are vital to the future of the city.”