Sun City Hotel reclaims its name

Sun International’s very first casino and hotel property is reverting to its original name — the Sun City hotel.

Management renamed the hotel in 2016, when the popular Sun City resort underwent a R1-billion upgrade. It was called Soho to reflect the buzz and vibe of neighbourhoods of that name in London and in Manhattan, New York. Like those trendy districts, the hotel was zoned ‘always on, never off’.

But, changing the name of one of the most iconic hotels in South Africa requires acceptance from the public.

Graham Wood, Sun International’s Group chief operating officer for hospitality, said: “When we did the upgrade it seemed like an appropriate time to give the hotel an identity of its own, apart from the resort, but the new Soho identity never resonated with customers, and they continued to refer to the ‘Sun City hotel’. While we expected some resistance to the change, we were surprised by how resolutely people would cling to the original name. In response to our customers, now that we know how affectionately the Sun City brand is embraced by South Africans, we have taken the decision to restore the hotel’s original name.”

When the Sun City resort opened on 19 December 1979, it consisted of only the Sun City hotel.