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Any international tourist coming into this country would know about a few iconic tourist destinations to include on their must-see list.
This may include the Kruger National Park in Mpumalanga, the Garden Route in the Western Cape, Durban’s Golden Mile and, of course, the Sun City resort in the North West.
On December 3, The Palace of the Lost City, the majestic five-star resort, celebrated its 30th anniversary.
The celebrations that took place at the Palace’s courtyard lorded over by the famous Shawu, the elephant statue at its centre, saw guests and celebrities start the evening off with a fitting national pop anthem, the emotive African Queen song by Vicky Sampson.
Setswana actor and musician Stoan Seate emerged from the shadows, spewing rhymes and clan praises to command the stage as the MC for the night.
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Sun City’s general manager Brett Hoppe, dressed in a black Madiba style shirt embossed with bold leopard prints on the sides, took guests on memory lane, sharing about the audacious plan by Sun International Group to develop a grand five-star hotel in the bush in 1992 that has for the last three decades enthralled the rich and famous from all over the world. He said:
According to Hoppe, an estimated R200 million was spent renovating The Palace.
Partner at Muirhead & Associates who took on this design challenge, David Muirhead, explained that their job was to maintain the essence of the original hotel.
“To capture the fantasy of a lost African city and evolve it, it was essential that we kept the hotel’s integrity and vision of its founder, Sol Kerzner, intact while being sensitive to the brand’s history,” he said.
Bold animal prints and iconic flowers command pride of place in each room.
My suite had my favourite animal print, the zebra, in high-back chairs blended with stones, greens, golds and bronzes with touches of slate grey and other animal prints, such as leopards and cheetahs, splashed in cushions and curtains for an opulent look.
Guests were treated to a variety of meals, from mini rice and stew dishes to an assortment of hors d'oeuvres, including all kinds of fish, chicken and beef, as well as a fully stocked sushi bar.
Drinks flowed the whole night as Jaziel Brothers, who also featured former Malaika bandmate Bongani Nchang, belted dance hits and sing-alongs.
It was not only the cake that the palace rolled out for the night as the media clamoured to interview The Palace’s food and beverages manager, Pule David Mokonopi, who kick-started his career in the resort 30 years ago as a security guard straight after passing his matric.
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More precious was the bound memory book in his hands, with each page holding a keepsake signature and messages from some of the hotel’s celebrity guests.
From global kings, queens, rock stars, presidents and sports personalities, Mokonopi has had the opportunity to either personally serve them or meet them when they visited The Palace.
He ponders over a page with Michael Jackson, then skips to pages signed by members of Queen and Elton John, remembering the day he served them like it was yesterday.
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Although celebrating the hotel's birthday and his anniversary, the day was also bittersweet for Mokonopi, who shared that his mother, Cecilia, who had cancer, was currently in hospital.
Mokonopi says he is grateful to his mum for teaching him life lessons that propelled him to persevere and work his way up to his current position.
Of the many esteemed guests he served, from being Elton John's and former late state president Nelson Mandela's butler, he said Madiba stood out because of his humanity.
“I grew up thinking you did not need to look anyone in the eye as a way to show them respect but the hotel business taught me a different culture - that you exuded confidence when looking people straight in the eye.”
This year, as Mokonopi turns 50 and manages 186 staff members at The Palace, he says he is looking forward to a good retirement, while the hotel continues on its next 30-year milestone.
