Royal Palm Hotel Umhlanga

South Africa , KwaZulu Natal - Durban
Umhlanga Ridge, Palm Boulevard, New Town Centre, Umhlanga Ridge, 8
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100 reviews shown

10/10

Exceptional

08 Mar 2026

Vironica

Excellent ,

10/10

Exceptional

22 Feb 2026

Bharat

Yes

10/10

Exceptional

30 Dec 2025

Eugene

Friendly staff, very helpful.

Partner

4/10

Poor

22 Dec 2025

Desigan

Amenities...

8/10

Excellent

13 Nov 2025

Adewumi

Spotless room, perfect stay

Self

8/10

Excellent

03 Jul 2025

Shiyam

Good hotel located in nice location

Overall all good but there is a room for improvement such as cleanness and the noise.

Friends_and_family Family

10/10

Exceptional

02 Jun 2025

Verified traveler

Perfect and comfy

It is about my 7th stay, perfect and comfy as always.

Business

10/10

Exceptional

26 Apr 2025

Verified traveler

Penthouse

Penthouse is a winner

Partner

8/10

Excellent

14 Apr 2025

Verified traveler

Great stay, just room services refused extra 2 towels, room had only 2 bath towels for night shower and none for the morning.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

09 Jan 2025

Sakhile

Awesome staff

6/10

Pleasant

18 Dec 2024

Jolene

Disappointed

The rooms are spacious however maintenance of the hotel and rooms are not 4 star standard. Hotel lobby and lifts are dirty. The rooms carpets are filthy. Some of the furniture needs to be replaced. The staff are extremely rude unfriendly. The only positive is the location

Friends_and_family Family

10/10

Exceptional

28 Oct 2024

shunmoogam

Overall good value for money spent
We have used the property many times .It needs some updating

Business_and_leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

06 Oct 2024

Kingsford

Good

10/10

Exceptional

01 Oct 2024

Lorraine

Home away from home

Royal palm hotel very much welcoming beautifully laid up

Friends_and_family Family

10/10

Exceptional

14 Sep 2024

Ron

Location

10/10

Exceptional

03 Aug 2024

Verified traveler

Good stay

Business

10/10

Exceptional

03 Jul 2024

Verified traveler

Great room

Great room, everything you need

Business

10/10

Exceptional

21 Jun 2024

Agent

The check in was seamless and they even ended upgrading us to a 3 bedroom free of charge. The rooms were clean and modern and conveniently situated within walking distance of Gateway. Great stay!

Friends_and_family Family

10/10

Exceptional

08 Mar 2024

lauren

Great location,spacious room,wonderful service

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

16 Feb 2024

Coreen

Neat and tidy friendly staff! situated right at gateway mall easy access to restaurants and shopping! after all a pleasant stay thank you 😊

Business_and_leisure Partner

8/10

Excellent

19 Jul 2023

Helmut

10/10

Exceptional

28 Jun 2023

MRJF

Great Location in Umhlanga for business

Great location and a good hotel with free parking! A short drive to the beaches and other tourist attractions with good shopping just across the boulevard.

Business

10/10

Exceptional

25 May 2023

Gustav

Being here before just a excellent place home from home

Leisure Friends

6/10

Pleasant

18 Mar 2023

Panayotis

In a good area lots to do opposite a shopping mall but the hotel is tied needs to be revamped. AIRCON not working T.V. not working cycling coming down. But great location.

10/10

Exceptional

11 Jan 2023

Gustav Du

More than what I expected will book it anytime really can recommend this place

Leisure Friends

2/10

Poor

01 Jan 2023

Muhammed

Damp and musty smell. AC not working. Stay away

At check-in we were not informed about breakfast or any other details.

The room smelt damp and musty.

The AC in the bedroom did not work. I called reception twice and was promised twice that someone would come to fix it. This did not happen. Durban during December is extremely hot and humid, so this was an extremely uncomfortable stay. We could not sleep comfortably at night.

In the morning I called to request a late checkout. This was due to us not having slept well at night, and my 2 year old daughter could not wake up in the morning. I requested 2 hours and was promptly told they could not give it to me. Keep in mind I am a Gold Rewards member. I was told I could get an hour extra, until 11AM. However, reception called me at 10:30AM telling me I had passed the deadline.

The breakfast was really bad! Cold pancakes, stale pastries, no fresh fried eggs offered, and bread not of a great quality. Terrible, terrible coffee! I could not drink it.

I will never stay here again, and I would never recommend anyone else to stay here.

Friends_and_family Family

2/10

Poor

27 Dec 2022

Mohamed

Terrible Rooms !!

Absolutely terrible rooms, filthy, smelling rooms. Needs urgent revamp, painting, new furniture, lighting, etc. Dirty curtains, lampholders, lamp shades, filthy carpets, etc. Noisy airconditioning, taps need fixing or replacement. Will not stay here again, be careful.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

26 Dec 2022

Zarina

Excellent Hotel fabulous rooms

The executive room in this hotel is as good as that you would find in a 5* hotel. Exceptional layout and decor. The hotel is across the street from Gateway Mall. Excellent location. This hotel is underrated and deserves to be a 5* fabulous

Self

10/10

Exceptional

20 Dec 2022

Verified traveler

Amazing accomodation
Thank you

Friends_and_family Family

10/10

Exceptional

20 Dec 2022

Dumo

Everything was nice 👌

Friends_and_family Family

10/10

Exceptional

17 Dec 2022

Varsha

Amazing staff and a great stay. Neat and well presented

Self

2/10

Poor

14 Nov 2022

Stefan

My Hotel Room had multiple defects,Safe was faulty,Bath Tub was loosing water,Door Lock was malfunctioning.
Room was invested with coackroaches

Business

8/10

Excellent

19 Oct 2022

Ian A

The location of the hotel is good and this is the third time I have stayed there. The rooms are really spacious and the bedroom can be closed off leaving a separate lounge providing privacy for business meetings. The one gripe is a charge for a cappuccino at breakfast notwithstanding the fact that I was booked on a bed and breakfast option. Very disappointing

Business

2/10

Poor

28 Jun 2022

Ashish

Woman Scream and Church Music

An extremely disappointing stay. Where do I start? The woman screaming for her dear life at 2am. The charge of R50 for 2 Wine glasses and a mention of how lucky we received Ice without being charged! (To be fair we were not charged at checkout). The Sunday morning wake up call from Banging music and vibrations on the windows and doors which sounded like a Church congregation but which I am unsure of. The taps that spray water everywhere on the counter in the bathroom. The clogged shower and finally the rock hard mattress which left me with a sore back. I have been to the Royal Palm on several occasions before Covid and can honestly state that this is NO LONGER a 4 star establishment. Better to stay at home.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

14 Jun 2022

It was excellent and staff amazing

Business

6/10

Pleasant

03 Apr 2022

Naeem

A royal treat

The rooms are comfortable and spacious.The only problem is the aircons do not work properly and in dbn you have to have a working aircon.That was the only discomfort.

Friends_and_family Family

6/10

Pleasant

01 Mar 2022

John

Hotel decor is somewhat dated. Had issues with my room lock on arrival which took some hours to resolve.

Partner

4/10

Poor

24 Jan 2022

Muhammed

WEEKEND STAY

Hi i have been staying for years at this hotel ,location is excellent price is in line with new AND upgraded hotels but ROYAL PALM STAYS the same they really need to invest and try upgrade the aesthetics of the place ,rooms ,carpets, oil the sliding doors , put handles on shower walls for the elderly to get in easily, noise was really bad , security and staff make a huge noise through the night and early morning cant sleep. Freedom the concierge was brilliant , paint the place like seriously and give me a free night when done cause i hardly slept and i will give my feedback after the Reno is done until then i will be using other hotel sin the vicinity like Hilton legacy and premier hotel , whre i have stayed recently

Friends_and_family Family

4/10

Poor

01 Jan 2022

RISHIBASHNEE VANIE

A disappointing stay overall, uncomfortable pillows, aircon not working, soaking arpets

6/10

Pleasant

13 Dec 2021

Juan

The training in your hotel is forgotten, sometimes land of nobody.

Supervision isn't there

You are lucky or getting guest for your location , but not for good service.

Wake up!

Business

2/10

Poor

28 Jun 2021

Verified traveler

Uncomfortable stay, not consistent with four star

Aside from not having user friendly entertainment channels on the TV we also experienced a problem with the TV remote. I called receiption numeorus times before call was answered and then waited about an hour for a replacement TV remote to be provided. There was loud music playing in the room next to ours and this went on way past midnight. I did not feel comfortable and safe in the hotel.

Friends_and_family Family

4/10

Poor

21 Mar 2020

KayG

Hotel furnishing not business friendly. Also a bit dated and shower drain clogged up so you can imagine all that is down there coming up and surrounding your feet. Also during power outage generator failed. Got to Marriott next door. Much better.

Business Self

10/10

Exceptional

27 Jan 2020

S R

Umhlanga getaway

Perfect location and good in room amenities

Friends_and_family Family

2/10

Poor

19 Dec 2019

Verified traveler

There is absolutely no security in that hotel .anyone is allowed to walk in and out .Be very careful if you staying at that hotel.

Business

10/10

Exceptional

15 Dec 2019

Akshar

Extremelu beautiful and clean rooms! The staff were very accommodating when i had a family emergency and had to reschedule as well.

Friends_and_family Friends

8/10

Excellent

01 Dec 2019

Verified traveler

The area was perfect as loads to do. Disappointed with front staff as not always helpful, they did try to help.

Friends_and_family Family

8/10

Excellent

30 Oct 2019

Nhlamulo

Brilliant Hotel but service should improve.

The hotel is superbly located with luxurious rooms, the only problem is the service for breakfast! The staff don’t look eager to assist and you cannot make sense of what is happening during breakfast. Besides the breakfast, the hotel is superb!

6/10

Pleasant

27 Oct 2019

Verified traveler

Average

The good:
Large rooms, great WiFi and awesome location right by Gateway.

The bad
Unfortunately though the room is old so be sure to bring a 2 pin plug. Bulbs were broken. Housekeeping knock once and let themselves in. The rate says \"free breakfast\" however you still have to pay extra for a cappuccino.

8/10

Excellent

18 Sep 2019

Anil

Family Getaway

We needed a few days away and had a great stay. The room was good and Baby enjoyed the space. Good access to fine restaurants, Gateway Mall and the Beach. The bathroom tub requires attention as water stopper does not hold water in (not a big deal though), our stay was lovely otherwise.

Family

4/10

Poor

01 Sep 2019

Lutchmee

This hotel needs a upgrade or maintenance. Staff need training too

6/10

Pleasant

01 Sep 2019

Verified traveler

I liked the attitude of people and their professional manners and when I needed help, they were there promptly. On arrival though, it took long time to put me in a room as the one allocated had just finished putting carpet and was really smelling. I also did not like the knocks at the door at 0830 for cleaning which meant I was woken up and I had to go out to let the cleaning happen, and came back nearly 4 hours later, and the room hadn’t even been cleaned

10/10

Exceptional

26 Aug 2019

Rob

Durban Umhlanga visit

Absolutely excellent from check-in to check-out. Staff were helpful and friendly and altogether professional in their approach. Breakfast was fantastic and the room was lovely. I look forward to the next visit.

Family

10/10

Exceptional

19 Aug 2019

Debra

Amazing.

My stay was amazing. From the first experience at the reception desk until the time I checked out.

10/10

Exceptional

16 Aug 2019

CHANTAL

AWSOME ACCOMODATION FOR LONG WEEKND

EXCELLLENT

Family

10/10

Exceptional

02 Aug 2019

Verified traveler

Hotel could not find my booking

Th only problem that I encountered with the hotel was that when I arrived they told me that I did not have a booking and took them 2 hours to find a room for me. I’m not sure if this was the fault of the hotel or Hotel.com but it was a big inconvenience waiting for so long. But otherwise the stay was really good.

10/10

Exceptional

01 Aug 2019

Shamim Banu

Stay at Palm Hotel

Stay at hotel was excellent. Very friendly and helpful staff. My stay there was an absolute pleasure and it comes highly recommended.

8/10

Excellent

15 Jul 2019

Verified traveler

The same overall was good. Great location. The hotel decor is abit outdated. The suite itself was spacious an beautiful. My biggest issue was checking in... the lady that was assisting us was rude an unfriendly. We received bad service from her on both days. The cleaning staff were more friendly than the receptionist. Don't know if i would be back

Partner

6/10

Pleasant

17 May 2019

David

Very Average Stay.

The Hotel is closer to a three star than 4 for sure.
Rooms are tired and towels are threadbare.
Was clean but wont be returning

8/10

Excellent

14 May 2019

Verified traveler

Good Location

Great stay. Directly opposite Gateway Theatre of Shopping. Rooms okay. Open bathroom, which does not have a door seems to be the new trend. I don't understand how designers design such rooms that leave you with so little discretion whilst showering or brushing one's teeth. It's stupidly designed. Other than that, the stay was good and location excellent.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

23 Feb 2019

Jaskarn

A nice hotel in a good location. Friendly, helpful staff and nice food options. I will be staying again.

10/10

Exceptional

09 Nov 2018

MRJF

For the Mall Rat

On business, hotel right across street from a modern mall and restaurant district - no views but great facilities.

8/10

Excellent

28 Sep 2018

Verified traveler

Great value for money!

Great value for money! Very big room, almost like an apartment with a balcony.

10/10

Exceptional

29 Aug 2018

Joy

very nice

10/10

Exceptional

30 Jul 2018

Verified traveler

Our stay was amazing. Customer service was 5 star. The fitness facility = 5 star.
Within close proximity to all the action.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

25 Jul 2018

Charl and Sharon

Excellent Stay

We were very happy thank you

Partner

8/10

Excellent

22 Mar 2018

Dev

Great hotel and excellent value for money. Would recommend to anyone. They just need more or better TV channels.

10/10

Exceptional

23 Feb 2018

Dev

Not a Matchbox

Was a great place to stay and feels like a home and not a cramped hotel room. Big bath and shower so not a matchbox. Ample space and value for money.

10/10

Exceptional

20 Nov 2017

Naledi

The place is great. overall cleanliness was good except the balcony was dirty as well as the cushions.
The ceiling also had mould from the aircon humidity.

10/10

Exceptional

16 Sep 2017

Desire

The staff are fantastic at this hotel. All friendly and nothing is too much to ask them.

Partner

8/10

Excellent

24 May 2017

Roy

nice comfortable hotel near shopping centre

nice spacious clean rooms . across road to huge shopping centre.
only drawback is furnitures a bit aged but overall very comfortable rooms.

8/10

Excellent

18 Apr 2017

Verified traveler

Royal palm getaway

The room was nice and bathroom was gorgeous. But lots of noise at night, like furniture was being moved / dragged. People talking loudly in the corridors. Breakfast was good. Staff friendly and location excellent.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

14 Apr 2017

Sagie

Excellent service

Well received and well looked after. a terrific experience.

10/10

Exceptional

16 Mar 2017

Black Trek

Perfections

This hotel completely exceeded my expectations. The location is very convenient but everything about this property was spot on.

10/10

Exceptional

04 Feb 2017

Mohamed

Convenient for Gateway Mall and Beaches

Conveniently located hotel across the road from Gateway shopping centre and less than 5 mins to the beach by car. Wifi was spotty and complicated to use (you needed to set up a sep AlwaysOn account), and was limited to only 200MB a day. Junior suite was spacious, and looked into a court yard at the back of the hotel. Only 20 mins to airport. Breakfast was simple but adequate. Staff were friendly and responsive.

10/10

Exceptional

16 Jan 2017

Iain

very convenient for restaurants

8/10

Excellent

19 Dec 2016

Joseph

awesome

Family

4/10

Poor

12 Dec 2016

DrBob

Ten year old pictures will always come undone!

Have to say this hotel needs about US1.5M in renovations. Broken doorlocks, unsecured access to balcony. Filthy elevators and very poor staff management out of kitchen to room service or service in restaurant. I would not stay here again unless they dramatically spent time and money on improving this hotel plus staff management.

4/10

Poor

05 Dec 2016

Ashish

Downright disgusting breakfast in a good hotel.

Terrible breakfast,limited choice,no cutlery. Downright disgusting with no pride taken by the \"chef\"
Suggest to fire the team at the restaurant who do not care.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

31 Oct 2016

Verified traveler

The stay was good, will be coming back again. Try and improve on free wi-fi, some of your competitors offer 2GB per day. The breakfast is excellent.

Partner

8/10

Excellent

19 Oct 2016

Wayne

Great location, big rooms and friendly staff

Great location and good service, I would definitely use again

Family

6/10

Pleasant

19 Jul 2016

Sundresin

The hotel rooms were clean and spacious. The bar fridge and micro were great additions as we were travelling with young kids. The position of the TV was not ideally situated - in front of the bed and not in the lounge area.
The hotel got a bit noisy on Thursday evening - loud talking and banging of doors.

Family

8/10

Excellent

26 Jun 2016

Mimi Dlangalala

Visiting the Royal Palm Hotel was a fun experience, it was comfortable, safe and warm.

6/10

Pleasant

26 Jun 2016

Linda

Good hotel, close to amenities

Hotel was fine, but not so impressed with internal security, mentioned it, but they just said they agreed, but it had been like that for a long time?? For 2 people would have preferred 2 double beds rather than 2 singles. Breakfast was fine, but everything seemed to have chilli in it, felt they catered mainly for a non-European clintelle, which is fine but difficult if you don't like chilli for breakfast. I would think though, when asked, they would provide an alternative so not much of a problem as long they inform you of this.

Family

6/10

Pleasant

03 Jun 2016

Verified traveler

This was like a three star hotel.

Nice stay, except that they do not have drows in the bedroom, so I was cold watching tv.they need to change the floor rugs, need to put blankets in the wardrobe. As a four star hotel, needs to be comfortable bed and proper dovet inners.

8/10

Excellent

18 Apr 2016

Verified traveler

Great

Room was nice and staff was very friendly and breakfast was also nice.

6/10

Pleasant

12 Apr 2016

Likonelo

Horrible the stuff is unpleasant and not helpful at all. We complained about wifi acess we did not used 200mg allocated daily to us. the service is terrible, i dont see myself and family coming back there ever.

Family

8/10

Excellent

05 Apr 2016

Marcris

i recommend this hotel

Lovely spacious well equipped rooms

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

21 Mar 2016

Neil

Nice hotel friendly staff

Nice hotel friendly staff room size really good

4/10

Poor

04 Mar 2016

Sanjith

Sorry you have just lost a customer!

The hotel has not been well maintained. I have stayed at this hotel before and have a high expectation of professionalism, neatness and overall service. Clearly the hotel group that has taken over the management of this hotel pays very little attention to what expectations customers have become accustomed to. For example the general feel in the room is that the walls and doors have dent marks all over which could be easily painted. The remotes in the rooms either do not have batteries or simply don't work. The staff are very helpful but can only do as much as the property allows them to - really feel sorry for them as not many people will return to stay at the hotel as I don't believe it's value for money, even after they upgraded me to the penthouse from the two bedroom apartment. Sorry I won't be back!

Partner

8/10

Excellent

14 Feb 2016

Verified traveler

location is the best as it is in front of a mall
hotel staff is horible, room not ready at 3:40pm!!

10/10

Exceptional

30 Jan 2016

David

Our stay at the Royal Palm Hotel ,Umhlanga

We stayed six days and were sorry to leave. Excellent breakfast and service. Wonderfully placed opposite the Gateway Mall for movies (IMAX & Cinema Nouveau), shopping and eating out. My son is in a wheelchair and their facilities were very good. We appreciated the large comfortable rooms.

Family

10/10

Exceptional

28 Jan 2016

Dinesh

Twin cities palm hotel highly recommended

Excellent- spacious comfortable rooms. Short distance to the Gateway complex makes it convenient for leisure activities and shopping.Very safe environment.Enjoyed our stay.

Family

8/10

Excellent

15 Jan 2016

Verified traveler

Excellent location next to the shopping mall

Was very pleased with the staff attitude but was disappointed with the floors where they did not scrub the floors in the kitchenette area but overall was happy.

10/10

Exceptional

24 Dec 2015

C S

Perfect location, fantastic service.

Enjoyed our stay. Will definately be back.

Family

8/10

Excellent

07 Dec 2015

Adele

Luxury Hotel Conveniently situated

The Royal Palm Hotel is conveniently situated close to Gateway Mall. All one has to do is walk across the road where one can find many different restaurants and shops. What a pleasure!

Family

10/10

Exceptional

01 Dec 2015

Mpho

Excellent

The hotel standard and service is always on point. Keep it up!

8/10

Excellent

22 Nov 2015

Tyrone

Good but could be great

The hotel is well positioned in Umhlanga New Town opposite Gateway Theatre of Shopping making all the restaurants, shopping and beach a short commute away. The rooms are generally nice and spacious, better than an average hotel, however, the property lacks ongoing maintenance and the rooms are clean rather than spotless as one would expect. It remains a great option in Umhlanga, especially at the price, but could really be great if management cast a more detailed eye over the cleanliness and ongoing maintenance.

10/10

Exceptional

21 Nov 2015

Verified traveler

the hole hotel service was extrodinary

it was very nice and the brakefat was nice and the service was excelent and looking forward to visite the next time

Partner

6/10

Pleasant

28 Oct 2015

Mveleli

The TV's downstairs and upsets when not playing quality picture and had SABC channels only.