The Palace of the Lost City at Sun City

Sun City

Sun City, a legendary resort in the heart of a semi-desertlike region, stands out for its splendor, its magnificence and its unbounded luxury. Hotels, casinos, golf courses, aquatic parks, clubs, cinemas, restaurants and a congress center are all services that have forged the reputation of this city-hotel, a true kingdom of pleasure and recreation. Opened in 1978, Sun City was the dream of Sol Kerzner, a man with a passion for the grandiose and the spectacular. Built on the land of the ancient kingdom of Bophuthatswana, the only Bantu homeland of a puritanic South Africa where games of chance and gambling are not prohibited, this huge complex has become the South Africa’s Las Vegas.

“I always believed in Sun City”, Kerzner explains. I brought gambling here, big stars and I organized concerts with Jean-Michel Jarre.” That’s where I would meet my friends, Frank Sinatra, Liza Minelli and Shirley Bassey.”

Among other exceptional events, Kerzner introduced the “One Million Dollar Tournament”, the biggest poker competition on the African continent as well the election of Miss World. In 2001, Agbani Darego from Nigeria became the first black woman to receive this coveted award. She was officially crowned in the Sun City Superbowl. Sun City merits all the superlatives that have been heaped on it, and although it has become a source of inspiration for multi-millionaires in search of games and architectural challenges, it remains to this day, unequalled.

When myth becomes reality

“What had we discovered that had lain dormant for centuries? : a temple, a city, the necropolis of a great nation?” The Canadian explorer Gilarmi Farini, in his search for the Lost City of Kalahari, could never have imagined that a century later, a sumptuous palace would be erected on the site, inspired by his own writings. In the heart of Sun City lies The Palace of the Lost City, the vestige of a long forgotten legend. At the end of the 1980s, Sol Kerzner commissioned architect Trishia Wilson to design a four star hotel, the latest establishment created by the Sun International hotel chain. Inspired by the legend linked to the site, the palace reminds one of an ancient king’s domains. Marble columns and pillars, epic frescoes and mosaics, and metal and bronze statues adorn the superb interior. Opened in 1992, Lost City unquestionably dominates the buildings adjoining it by its opulence and its extravagance. Guests at The Palace of the Lost City at Sun City have the privilege of taking full advantage of all the activities provided by the Sun City Resort, among them two golf courses designed by the legendary South African champion, Gary Player, which are equal to those designed in other parts of the world by Tiger Woods, Nick Faldo and Jack Nicklaus. Sun City is ideal for family vacations, thanks to its privileged location on the edge of the Pilanesberg National Park which offers an unforgettable safari experience. The complex also possesses numerous infrastructures designed for children including The Valley of the Waves, the largest aquatic park in the world.

Sun City is an important vacation site for a great many celebrities. The Palace of the Lost City’s King Suite was the favorite of singer Michael Jackson. “He loved it so much that he constantly came up with new ideas for embellishing the hotel”, an employee of the palace recalls.