aha Gateway Hotel

South Africa , KwaZulu Natal - Durban
UMHLANGA, Cnr Centenary Blvd & Twilight Dr, Umhlanga Ridge
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100 reviews shown

10/10

Exceptional

12 Jan 2026

Sherita

Friendly staff

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

29 Jun 2024

Nlambiwa Ludo

The proximity to the mall is fantastic!

Business Self

6/10

Pleasant

25 Feb 2023

Busisiwe

Nice property.

Leisure

8/10

Excellent

12 Jun 2022

Gregory

I didn't give this property five stars just because there was loud music playing in a conference room or bar until midnight. I had a beautiful wall of windows in my room but unfortunately it did not block the sound well.

Leisure Self

10/10

Exceptional

22 Mar 2022

Bless

The staff was super friendly, I received the utmost customer services ever. Overall, the hotel is exceptional.

Partner

6/10

Pleasant

15 Feb 2022

Gert

I have stayed here a couple of times before and it seems that every time I come back the hotel has slipped a little further down on my list of places to stay in Dbn. My food that I had was certainly not up to standard (the night I had dinner at the hotel). The parking had drastically escalated in price and, if you come back later the evening, you may need to park off-site as space is limited. It is not that the staff were unfriendly but they certainly weren't welcoming and eager to to make your stay enjoyable. A decent stay if you get it at a special rate but not worth the \"standard rates\" I feel.

Business

8/10

Excellent

02 Jan 2022

Jazz

Value for Money

Reception is good. And efficient.
The room was OK, altho my partner wanted a bath tub as the pic had showed that.
Parking catered for at the mall, so it's safe.
The breakfast was good.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

31 Dec 2021

Kefiloe

Beautiful...loved it.

Friends_and_family Family

4/10

Poor

25 Oct 2021

Gunilla

Very disappointed and expensive with no service

I had paid for my stay but there were extra fees I still had to pay on checking in. I was soo tired and exhausted and asked to make all payments on checking out (since i had already paid for the actual stay) but was refused. I had already paid 2600R for the room and they wouldnt let me pay 50R on checking out. I had to park on the street and then check in and then get the parking and then drive around to the back street to be able to park.
On morning of checking out room
Service barge into my room when i am on the toilet asking to get my used towels(!?). Despite the fact that on checking in they agreed for me to check out 30 mins later.
When you enter the room there is a tub next to your bed (doesnt make sense) and there is a balcony but a wall in front of it so literally no view.

Self

10/10

Exceptional

09 Aug 2021

Brandon

The best hotel I've stayed at in a long time.

So my wife and I ended up at the aha Gateway Hotel actually by chance. The original hotel we had booked at closed down and didn't notify us or hotels.com as we later found out from customer support.

On arrival we were greeted by the on duty manger, I believe her name was Sene. She was incredibly helpful and friendly, and helped lifted my wife and my spirit after the rough day we were having.

We dropped our our bags off in our freshly cleaned room and headed down to the bar for a much needed drink. We were met again by incredibly friendly staff who heard about our ordeal and made some wine a food recommendations. The wine was superb especially for only being like $13 (180 Rand) and the food was good (I'll openly say I'm a tough person to please over food).

Our short stay can be summarized as a wonderful and relaxing. The staff really make the hotel great. My wife and I have actually booked in for another 5-nights for the end of the month.

Something to note, there was something I was unimpressed by during our stay and after making that known on a customer survey the management of the hotel called us to find out how they could improve, which is above and beyond in my books.

I've stayed at a lot of hotels internationally and in South Africa including the Pearls, and this was the first time I've ever been contacted by management to learn how they could do better.

I will go as far as to say when my wife and I visit Durban in the future this will be where we stay.

Partner

2/10

Poor

25 Nov 2020

Gerald

Stay away if you like peace and quiet

Hotel is clean, the type of selfish inconsiderate people that this hotel draws, leaves much to be desired.
Shouting in the hallways at 4am is not on.
No one was at reception to complain to.
This happened to us 2out of the 3 nights we were there.
Brought this up to reception and all we got was “sorry about that”.
Stay away.

Partner

4/10

Poor

01 Aug 2020

David

Hotel management lack of accountability for the issue raised by the customer, no hot water in the room after notifying 10h before, no milk with cereals, iron not working properly, air conditioning making noise on the heating status, no parking security, door open after 10pm for anyone to access,...

Friends_and_family Partner

10/10

Exceptional

02 Feb 2020

Verified traveler

The property has walking access to the gateway shopping mall, a great bonus with exclusive shops and places to eat. Parking is also available. The rooms are modern and clean

Friends_and_family Family

8/10

Excellent

26 Jan 2020

Verified traveler

Excellent service, and close to amenities

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

19 Jan 2020

Peter

Excellent hotel

Beautiful hotel well positioned in Umhlanga Ridge. Very comfortable superior room, bath strangely positioned in the room. Very good breakfast with a wide selection of hot and cold items.

Partner

4/10

Poor

31 Dec 2019

Mohammed Imraan

Not very happy been peak time

Just wanted to say how my holiday turned out .on the 1st night the aircon was not working and they gave me a fan to use .my wife and I are people that cannot sleep without aircon .when I phoned reception they said they can only help in the morning and also they could NOT move me into another room.I really felt that my one night was not worth it and I should definitely get a refund or a free night since I was put in so much of inconvenience. Also when we went down for breakfast and we wanted to know if the potatoes we fried in the same oil as the other food as we are muslims and we are worried about eating haraam food .the staff were very rude and they laughed at us.Then also one of the days when we came back to the room there was a lady that came out of the toilet and she had her own card to the room.She did not even say anything to us to say that she was just checking if everything was in order but rather hurried out of the room.How can people just enter the room at any time,what about our personal belongings. Just to mention also that the aircon also troubled for one more day after that .Also one of the lifts were not working and this also was very irritating and inconvenient because been peek time in December and have to wait for some time for the one lift to come .Also after I checked out and the hotel called me for some feed back,and they told me that how is it possible that your family is here and they dont have any complaints and that we had such a bad time .

Partner

8/10

Excellent

09 Dec 2019

Verified traveler

Nice

Nice hotel overall as long as you have a room on the back since there is lots of traffic noise.
Great breakfast and good service from all staff.
Only disappointment was the pool that does not deserve to be called a pool...

Business

2/10

Poor

05 Dec 2019

Balakrishna

worst hotel in the world

My paid reservation was cancelled ... I had a shouting match with a clerk for 2 hours ...no senior management were available . Worst experience , EVER . TAKE THIS HOTEL OFFF YOUR LIST .

Friends_and_family Family

10/10

Exceptional

06 Oct 2019

Patricia

Great stay

Very comfortable room. Recommend improving brightness of bedside lighting.

Family

8/10

Excellent

29 Jun 2019

Mahomed

AHA GATEWAY

All in all being attached to the Gateway Shopping Centre has its advantages as you can go directly to the centre without crossing any roads .

10/10

Exceptional

01 May 2019

Punkaj

Good stay with close proximity to eating and shoppertainment.
Suggested that during next revamp, replace carpets with tiles(personal preference).
Good breakfast service

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

27 Mar 2019

Verified traveler

The property could do with a bit of upgrading. It was difficult to move the suitcases on the carpeted areas. Zamazuli , at the front desk , was very helpful. Brian drove us around to see some touristy locations

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

05 Mar 2019

Mogamat Shahien

Central location

Good service and location

Family

2/10

Poor

07 Feb 2019

mohamed

Room and bathroom in one

Lifts are old and doesn’t have hotel feel more like visiting old building lift
Room and bath room in one no divider very cold feeling
Really dint enjoy my stay couldn’t wait to check out

10/10

Exceptional

13 Jan 2019

Lindokuhle

birthday outing

It was an amazing trip and excellent service from very friendly staff

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

08 Jan 2019

Lindokuhle

It was an amazing trip. The staff were very friendly and very helpful.

Top class service, am thinking making this my yearly trip for my birthday

10/10

Exceptional

02 Jan 2019

Naadirah

Staff was very friendly and helped alot during breakfast. Room was very clean and comfortable. Service was excellent.

Partner

8/10

Excellent

02 Jan 2019

Sandile

The hotel needs to revamp the carpets and their decks( both the pool and restaurant outside deck. Buy more umbrellas for outside the restaurant, I mean you can’t have only 2 umbrellas for the restaurant

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

30 Dec 2018

CHRISTINA

We had an enjoyable stay at AHA GATEWAY. The room was clean and the staff very friendly, efficient and accommodating. The food was excellent. Will definitely stay here again.

8/10

Excellent

20 Dec 2018

Kay

Holiday

It was a really good stay

Partner

8/10

Excellent

16 Dec 2018

Dawn

Beautiful place

My stay was Beautiful, I would recommend a stay at your hotel.

Partner

8/10

Excellent

26 Nov 2018

Verified traveler

Quite a fair stay. The rooms were great, breakfast was good. Check in was substandard.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

19 Nov 2018

corinne

should be rated at least a 4 to 4.5 star hotel

I have no idea why this hotel is rated 3star. It is at least a 4 star hotel in every way. Modern design, great service, large beautifully designed rooms with floor to ceiling glass but great black out capability. As a hotel designer, this hotel is really top notch. Best breakfast I have had by far while in South Africa. Close to mall with lots of shopping and restaurants and just a few minutes drive to the waterfront. The only negative thing was our rooms looked on to a waterpark (not best view), but otherwise perfect experience and would highly recommend.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

14 Nov 2018

Wieger

8/10

Excellent

05 Nov 2018

Shirley

Nice hotel next to shopping centre. Tidy and secure.

6/10

Pleasant

10 Oct 2018

Verified traveler

Great but noisy

I have stayed here many times before and will again - it is a very central place to stay, with great service and hospitality. But I hit a few snags this time around. First my room card did not work and I had to have it reset - this happened more than once meaning you cannot access the elevator as it is room key sensitive. Secondly I could hardly sleep with the noise level from the cars racing up and down during all hours of the night. I checked more than once if my windows were all shut as it was extremely loud and felt like they were racing in my room.

8/10

Excellent

09 Oct 2018

Verified traveler

good

Good

Partner

6/10

Pleasant

26 Sep 2018

Suraj

They need to change the layout of the dining area. A single table that seats 4 would be more convenient than the big tables. You have 1 person sitting at a table for 10 and they don't let others sit there as they waiting for \"family\" to arrive. Rather use smaller tables so singles and couples can also find tables. Bigger groups can put tables together.

8/10

Excellent

03 Sep 2018

Jasodha Sandhya

Lovely comfortable stay,great location

Partner

8/10

Excellent

31 Aug 2018

Nobantu

Nice time to relax and wind down

Very good service friendly and helpful staff location is central

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

14 Aug 2018

Barney

We spent two nights in a standard room. Only complaint that I have is the lack of a small fridge. Free parking was included in the price which is s plus. Breakfast was also very good. For shoppers you can’t eish for any better location.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

04 Aug 2018

Michael

A pleasant stay in Durban!!!

Very nice hotel. However, a 10:00 checkout was way too early. I did convince them to extend mine to 11:00. It would also have been nice to have a complimentary airport shuttle service. This may have been a bit too far of a distance though.

8/10

Excellent

11 Jun 2018

Deena

The staff were friendly. The rooms were clean and tidy. Breakfast was a good spread. The location is fantastic, adjoining a huge shopping mall, with direct access to the mall from the hotel. I checked in at 01.00 and and a staff member walked with us to the mall to get a late night bite, in one of the eateries that opens all night. all told it was a very good week-end.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

09 May 2018

Zaid

Very happy with the turn around

Huge improvements in housekeeping since my last stay a few months ago. The room was clean and well-maintained. The drains worked and water was not backing up in the sink like last time. And there wasn't grime or dust covering the surfaces. I was pleasantly surprised. Also very happy to see that they made the egg station a vegetarian station so that it is more accessible for people with specific dietary requirements when it comes to handling of meat products. Overall, it was a stay that was really enjoyable, relaxing, and comfortable.

10/10

Exceptional

30 Apr 2018

Lerato

The staff is amazing and the hotel is beautiful!

Family

8/10

Excellent

20 Apr 2018

Amba

home away from home

awesome weekend

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

03 Apr 2018

Verified traveler

Convenient stay

Great service. Breakfast was good, fresh and nice variety. Very conveniently located to Shopping centre and central to Durban and surrounds incl beaches. Lift was a bit shaky and a button was missing one evening which was scary.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

25 Mar 2018

Nice hotel by the mall but the fridge is missing

Missing fridge and weird orientation of toilet. Bathtub is in the bedroom. Room is big but could be better oriented.
Overall pleasant and I feel safe there

10/10

Exceptional

05 Mar 2018

Raveen

Great!

Partner

8/10

Excellent

19 Feb 2018

Lishkar

good

good

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

05 Feb 2018

Verified traveler

Great location, lovely service.

10/10

Exceptional

23 Dec 2017

sirish

Nice Hotel with good location

Great place to stay and excellent location close to shopping mall & restaurants. Rooms were well furnished and staff very friendly and helpful

10/10

Exceptional

27 Nov 2017

Fazel

Excellent service. Maybe be more Halal friendly

Partner

8/10

Excellent

20 Nov 2017

Hlengiwe

Convenient for exploring Umhlanga

Had a good stay at aha Gateway Hotel. Check-in can be improved by providing all pertinent information like how the elevator works to guests. WiFi is slow for the location, expected much better connectivity. Room was comfortable. The delicious breakfast was the highlight of our stay.

Partner

6/10

Pleasant

16 Nov 2017

John

Good location but Aircon not working - not the first time

10/10

Exceptional

13 Nov 2017

Raeesa

Great weekend away

Great stay, wish check out time was a little later

Family

4/10

Poor

13 Nov 2017

MISS LELANIE VAN DER

Not sooo nice

The parking space is very limited and you have to park in the gateway mall.. it was raining during check in time and nobody helped us with out suitcase .. we had to carry it up to to the hotel . Very loud noises from early in the morning tI'll very late at night what makes it unpleasant .. was nice but won't use this hotel again

Family

10/10

Exceptional

06 Nov 2017

Ahmed

Great Saturday Evening

Great experience, friendly staff at reception as well as breakfast area.
Wifi strength needs to improve.

Partner

8/10

Excellent

24 Oct 2017

K Motsoane

Service is Great

I had to be moved to another room , becausse the one i was initially checked inn ... was smelling like someone had smoked in it. Once I reported, front desk acted promptly to move me to another room. Which was fresher, and had everything working well, it ticked all the right boxes my stay was rather too short ... breakfast was great too.

10/10

Exceptional

30 Sep 2017

Jerry

Great value for money

Amazing experience

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

14 Aug 2017

Jen

Double-check for noisy functions

Always check whether the next door Gateway Wave House is having a function - as the music is deafening! Most unpleasant. Staff advise me that Wave house doesn't always give them a good amount of notice... ! I'm sure Wave House should give notice a lot earlier - or the Hotel must discount those noisy room if you ca'nt be moved! Always ask to be moved to a quieter room. The hotel also sometimes has it's own functions - the noise from which can go on after 10pm!

10/10

Exceptional

08 Aug 2017

Barney

Value for money

The service at reception was very efficient and friendly. The room is very neat and clean. Parking was free which is unusual. The breakfast which was included in the price was quite good as was the service of the staff. Overall a very pleasant experience

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

07 Aug 2017

Amba

Great ven

Good

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

29 Jul 2017

ANNAMARIE

happy client

I was so happy as always with this hotel !!!

Partner

8/10

Excellent

28 Jul 2017

Chiandra

Good, clean hotel however the housekeeping department could use some work as they took over two hours to bring us towels, otherwise we received excellent service.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

10 Jul 2017

Verified traveler

Loved It!!!

My stay was amazing!!!!!! The staff so helpful and friendly..I loved it!!!

Partner

8/10

Excellent

10 Jul 2017

Janet

Very nice hotel. Friendly helpful staff. Beautiful rooms. Central. Great breakfast

10/10

Exceptional

19 Jun 2017

Black Trek Travel

Absolute gem

It was so great wwe really enjoyed the hotel and al its services

Family

10/10

Exceptional

16 May 2017

Deane

Great place to stay

What a great location. And the rooms are very spacious. So much counter space. We loved the whole feel and look of the hotel. Breakfast was very good and even the room service was professional and the food delicious.

Partner

6/10

Pleasant

11 May 2017

Verified traveler

They allow,smoking!!!!!

10/10

Exceptional

02 May 2017

Nomfundo

Awesome

Perfect stay

8/10

Excellent

27 Mar 2017

PRABASHNEE

Cosy, Perfectly situated, Clean hotel

Lovley stay. Will stay again for sure.

One suggestion....English Breakfast - was cold. It should be hot.

Family

8/10

Excellent

30 Jan 2017

Verified traveler

We enjoyed our stay at this beautiful hotel that were very generous to upgrade our room as there was a booking error. The only downfall is that they charge for room service (such as bringing glasses and ice to the room) and the pool deck bar looked like it had not been functional in over a year. The room was very clean and tidy, very spacious and everything was in working order. The breakfast we had was also amazing

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

23 Jan 2017

Thola

Nice hotel conveniently located

Beautiful hotel, perfectly located and close to all amenities. The beach is 5 mins away by car and King Shaka International airport is 20 mins away.

8/10

Excellent

09 Jan 2017

VANESSA

CONVENIENT AND CLEAN

It was a great stay.

Family

10/10

Exceptional

09 Jan 2017

Hester

Value for money stay

We were pleasantly surprised at the accommodation - didn't expected what we got - we got way more! Friendly staff, great food.

Partner

8/10

Excellent

03 Jan 2017

Karabo

Home away from home with a touch of class

This hotel is absolutely on point but this time I was unhappy with the beds they gave us for a family of four.

As usual the linen was clean and the service was excellent. The food was great but like I said the booking was not aligned to a family and that really made it an unpleasant vacay. Although it did not dampen the mood

Family

10/10

Exceptional

15 Nov 2016

Lindiwe

very friendly staff

Very comfortable

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

30 Aug 2016

B.L. Zebub

Extreme value for minimal price

The aha Gateway Hotel provides fantastic rooms, unparalleled service and excellent food with an unbelievable price. A similar room in the US would have been 3x more than I paid, and that does not include the fantastic breakfast.

Next door to shopping and not far from the beach, I would absolutely stay there next time I am in Durban.

6/10

Pleasant

26 Aug 2016

Gavan

Mid level business hotel

Mid level business hotel only. Fine for shopping at the gateway centre or for overnighting on a business trip but not in walking distance to Umhlanga Rocks where the best eating places are. Needs a clean up as both tiled floor and carpets are dirty. Shower and toilet recesses in the rooms also need a decent clean. Just ok . . .

10/10

Exceptional

10 May 2016

Verified traveler

Was excellent really enjoyed my stay !!!!

Family

6/10

Pleasant

05 May 2016

Verified traveler

Nice hotel but staff service could be better

- The room was registered in my name but in the wrong gender.
- The staff member who welcomed us to the hotel did not check my records properly and and asked for payment upfront even though I made payment online when booking the room.
- We did not have breakfast at the hotel on one of the mornings because the dining area was fully booked. The staff did not ask for our room no. but promised to place us and ended up placing people who arrived after us instead. We decided to leave and have breakfast elsewhere.
- The hotel parking was not available - we had to park off-site at the mall as the hotel parking was apparently full: 2 days in a row.

Partner

8/10

Excellent

04 May 2016

MR N

Staff make this hotel great

Staff were very friendly and always willing to help.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

04 May 2016

Tercio

Fantastic

Hotel was great , rooms were clean and linen was great
The breakfast was very very nice , and been able to walk from the hotel into gateway
shopping centre was fantastic
Will be back soon

Partner

8/10

Excellent

03 May 2016

Gonasegran moonsamy

it was short and comfortable

Partner

8/10

Excellent

01 May 2016

Kaamini

Great location and a fair price.

The hotel is good, clean and very conveniently located if you plan on visiting the Gateway Shopping Mall. Situated adjacent to the Mall, so you don't need to drive. Breakfast was very good, a wide variety and well prepared. Depending on the type of room you book, the bathroom and toilet is in the same room as the bedroom, so open plan. They bathroom and toilet do have doors however for some people the open plan set up could be uncomfortable if they prefer more privacy.

The staff are not well trained. Check in staff are extremely unfriendly, don't even greet. The staff at breakfast were just the same. They walk around aimlessly instead of attending to guests. They don't offer you coffee, you need to ask. There was a couple at breakfast trying to find a high chair for their baby and the staff just stood around watching as the guest carried the chair himself to the table. They should have helped instead. They clearly have no customer service training or they're very unhappy with their jobs.
Check out was just the same, really unfriendly person at the reception desk. I had to ask for an invoice instead of being asked if I needed one and that too seemed like to much of an effort for him to print it out and hand over to me.

8/10

Excellent

31 Mar 2016

Verified traveler

Great breakfast, bring earplugs for the traffic

Iron and ironing board only on request, often had to wait for delivery, on Saturday night we waited 50 minutes and had to call reception three times to request. We were in room 120, a higher room, not by the road might be better but from our room the traffic was really loud, people revving at the crossroad throughout the night and early morning. On the plus sides breakfast and wifi were good

Partner

8/10

Excellent

28 Mar 2016

ronald c

Ron Knott-Craig

A bar fridge would be useful

6/10

Pleasant

23 Mar 2016

STEVEN

GREAT ROOM, DIRTY RECEPTION

The rooms we clean except that the one sheet on the bed was worn thin.
The bath in the room was a great touch.
The reception and entrance floor tiles need an upgrade, they we cracked and make the reception area look like the floor needs a good clean. Not a good impresion when you first walk into reception.
The location is great for shopping and restaurants with the hotel being right next to gateway shopping centre.

Partner

8/10

Excellent

11 Mar 2016

Verified traveler

we checked in pretty late in the evening ,great hospitality,hovever the aircond did not work

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

29 Feb 2016

Verified traveler

Clean comfortable rooms. Excellent location and excellent breakfast

10/10

Exceptional

25 Feb 2016

Richard

Great value money

We arrived late and tired after a 10 hour drive and getting lost in Durban in the rush hour. At check-in the staff could not have been more understanding and helpful including showing us round to the car park and obtaining another ticket when I lost ours! The safe in the room did not work but this was repaired very quickly. Without exception all the staff made us feel welcome and were extremely friendly and helpful.

Partner

8/10

Excellent

18 Jan 2016

David

Should be a 4 star rated

Smart accommodation, should be rated a 4 star. Really great breakfasts, need to attend to odour on the -1 parking level.

Family

8/10

Excellent

14 Jan 2016

Xoliso

It was great and I have no regrets.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

06 Jan 2016

juan

work on service

Service was bad, hotel was great, i wont go again to the same hotel the hotel has potential, they just have to work on their service, they have a girl working at reception that doesnt know what she is doing.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

06 Jan 2016

Verified traveler

Great Hotel

We checked in quite late on Saturday evening and the manager on duty was very helpful, he did everything he could to make sure my boyfriend and i didn't have to sleep on 2 separate beds as when we made the booking on hotels.com that was the only room available (2 single beds) so we had to take it. the room was a decent size, it was clean and we were very happy with our stay. i found it quite pricey, but i know that was due to it being holiday season. i would definitely recommend this hotel.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

03 Jan 2016

jok

Wonderful hotel!

Great location, wonderful modern facility near a huge, modern mall with all of the stores you can think of. Wonderful!

8/10

Excellent

26 Dec 2015

Verified traveler

Gateway hotel

Lovely place and location. Good friendly staff, porter was very helpful. except on arrival we were notified of music concert that took place outside on Sunday night until 10:30pm. Thereafter there was music from the wave house until 3:[email protected] proved to be very disturbing. Music from wave house was often played.on the whole I liked the hotel and enjoyed the stay.

Family

10/10

Exceptional

07 Dec 2015

German

The Best for the price

6/10

Pleasant

26 Nov 2015

Khetha

Great

Great experience