Protea Hotel by Marriott is epicentre of Umhlanga food scene

It is a bit of surprise, at first hearing that the hotel doesn’t serve dinner and that the standard rate does not include breakfast until you realise that there are so many varied food and beverage offerings directly on the hotel’s doorstep.

Food and drink scene

The Umhlanga area has many food and drink options to choose from, which is less than three minutes’ walk from the hotel, beach, and lighthouse. These include the recently opened Mythos Greek restaurant, and Rocomamas, which are good stops for people coalescing daytimes around the Vovo Tello and the upscale 14 on Chartwell, as well as the popular neighbourhood pub, The George which grows crowds larger as the beer flows.

Guests can look forward to on trend three-star hotel lodging in the 15-floor tower block, with sea views from most rooms, which was completed in October 2016. Many of the rooms, especially the corner ones are designed to convert into two-bedroom-family suites with an outer passage door. Each room also has a drawer concealed electronic safe, which is large enough for your laptop computer, and the separate bathroom with toilet has a powerful walk-in-shower which has plenty of space to store toiletries.

Convenience at your doorstep

If you’re planning to stay just a few days in Umhlanga, you may find that an airport pickup for around R350, only about 20-minutes-drive away, will be more cost effective than hiring a car, as there is so much to explore on foot, with parking costs at R55 per day. There is also a taxi rank at the exit of the hotel, so you would hardly ever have to wait for a ride.

When you consider the room-rate saving compared to its five-star neighbours, for many, the choice to head to the Seattle Coffee for a decent early morning Java, more than makes up for the in-room instant coffee/ tea offering.

Although having food and drink options on your door step is great, perhaps the most useful and essential for an incident-free holiday is the 8am to 8pm, open-daily upscale pharmacy and clinic facility where you can stock up on everything you need – from suntan lotion to beach balls, etc. Oh, and if you’re missing the joys of a luxury hotel spa, there are two-day spas within easy reach.

On our visit in July, the hotel’s pool and conferencing facilities were shuttered for refurbishment, but once all improvements have been completed this property will be among the largest in the area with 120 existing rooms plus 130 new ones in the tower block.