Sun City shares important information with visitors

Sun City’s Vacation Club has sent messages to visitors advising them to use an alternative route to get to the resort because of a large pothole reported on the R556. 

The message calls on visitors to ignore the road signs on the N4 that direct vehicles towards Sun City via the Majakaneng off-ramp and instead use an alternative route through Rustenburg. 

This adds significant time to the journey, but it is a far better road to travel on, as this journalist and his family found out. 

The route to Sun City via the Majakaneng off-ramp has always been uncomfortable since large speed bumps were added to the road to ensure travellers adhered to the speed limits through various mining towns and informal settlements. 

This was not helped by the steady deterioration of the road surface’s quality over the years, which did not escape the fate shared by an increasing share of South Africa’s infrastructure. 

It must be noted that this is not helped by the vehicle of choice, an Audi A4, which requires cautious driving on South African roads at the best of times. 

However, as regular visitors to Sun City, the Vacation Club’s message still took us by surprise. The road was uncomfortable but manageable, and any detour had us triple-checking directions. 

The message began with the usual notice about which lane to use when entering Sun City and where to proceed to check in, given that the Vacation Club’s reception is being renovated. 

Following on from that was the unusual “Traffic Advisory: R556 Route to Sun City Resort”, explaining to us how we should get to the “Lost City”.

“Please be advised that a large pothole has been reported on the R556, leading toward Sun City Resort,” the message read.

“To avoid any inconvenience or potential vehicle damage, guests are advised not to use the Majakaneng offramp at this time.” 

“Instead, please continue along the N4 and follow the alternative route through Rustenburg > Phokeng > Boshoek > Ledig to access the resort safely.” 

The message, sent by the Sun Vacation Club team, was helpful in ensuring our trip to the resort without vehicle damage, albeit it was about half an hour longer. 

It must be said that the N4 was a pleasant road to drive, as many of South Africa’s national highways are, with Raubex currently upgrading the road to ensure the dual carriageway runs from the outskirts of Hartebeespoort through Rustenburg. 

However, it is also a sign that an increasing share of the country’s major infrastructure is deteriorating, and it is beginning to affect the continued operation of businesses as usual. 

After years of watching the road deteriorate, it seems that the widening collapse of local governments has finally caught up to South Africa’s most iconic resort near the Pilanesberg. 

The resort provides thousands of direct jobs and thousands more indirect jobs, and it also plays a critical role in diversifying the North-West Province’s platinum-mining-heavy economy. 

Returning to the glory days

The message comes at a time when Sun City is undergoing a sort of revival, with its parent, Sun International, pumping hundreds of millions of rands into upgrading the resort. 

This includes the renovation of the Vacation Club’s reception and the overhaul of what is commonly called the “Old Section” into The Reserve, with its double-decker units now rivalling the newer units. 

The new section of the Vacation Club has not stood still, with it now being referred to as The Aviary and getting a new outdoor trampoline area. 

However, much of the investment has gone into revamping two of the oldest and most luxurious parts of Sun City – the Hotel and the Palace. 

Sun International has invested around R400 million into these two areas, and it is beginning to yield results, with faster revenue growth and improving profit margins. 

Sun City has had to reinvent itself over the past 30 years as gambling was legalised throughout South Africa, opening the resort up to significant competition. 

It was once a near monopoly on gambling for residents in the north of South Africa, as the resort was located in Bophuthatswana, where gambling was legal. 

The end of this near-monopoly forced Sun City to rework its offering into a hospitality resort and conference venue, competing against any number of hotels in the country. 

This required immense investment in the Palace, the Cascades, and Sun City Hotel, and resulted in the creation of the Vacation Club. 

The highly successful pivot was costly, and Sun International avoided further investment in the resort on this scale until recent years. 

New CEO Ulrik Bengtsson has praised the impact of the investment in Sun City, with it yielding stronger revenue growth and widening profit margins. 

Focusing on the luxury, high-end elements of the resort included an overhaul of the Sun City Hotel with its casino and the Palace. Work remains ongoing at parts of the hotel as of May 2026. 

Crucially, the Palace and Cascades have regained some of their status as luxurious hotels in the middle of the South African bush, with both receiving touch-ups. 

The Palace also has a new fleet of BMW 7-series vehicles to transport guests around the resort, with Cascades residents getting their own fleet of X3s. 

While small, this goes a long way towards boosting the ultra-luxurious impression the hotels give off, and dovetails with their touched-up interiors.