What an elegant hotel. Beautiful spacious rooms, the staff is attentive and friendly. There’s a lot of restaurants around the hotel to choose from, the ocean is within a walking distance.
I’ll definitely stay here next time I’m in Durban!
My first time at this hotel. Very disappointing. Lets elaborate: 1. The initial meeting when checking in was very pleasant, but unfortunately dealing with the morning crew was just painful. L*nd* was just plain uninterested when I asked about room options, I almost got the impression that he was being spiteful because I was taking up his time. No*iph* was also unpleasant to deal with. Even though I am a gold member she just demonstrated a rigid attitude to any of my requests. Thanks to Basheer who I escalated to and who upgraded and even discounted my parking. 2. It seems that unless you escalate even a simple thing like requesting a towel to a duty manager then it doesnt happen. We were ignored when we asked for liquid soap and a replacement iron and only received towels after escalating. Thanks to duty managers both named Andile for supporting me in this regard but these are really not things that I ask for that require begging. Overall this hotel didnt make me feel like a gold member or like someone who visits Durban on average 8 times a year and is always looking for a hotel. It seems that its only Hilton by name and soap products and not by culture. I would like the Hotel GM to contact me to discuss how this hotel will actually make me feel like a (Gold) guest going forward.
This is a comfortable business hotel. Rooms are decently sized and bathrooms are okay too, the washbasin is a small one though. Couple of bummers : Gave one glass bottle of water, replenishments were in the form of plastic bottles. If you ask for the same glass bottle (which I do because of environmental reasons), they don't give it. Breakfast was very decent and overall service was good. A big issue is that they dont have room service for food. They have only beverages that can be ordered to your rooms! The reason is 'we have many restaurants around us'. I found this to be funny. Hotel is well located and opt for higher floors for good views.
The Oyster Box never disappoints, we are repeat visitors to the property and the property quality and service is always outstanding. The rooms we stayed in has had a fresh paint, new wall artwork and the towels were fluffy and fresh. I always travel with my own pillow, the housekeeping washed the cover, pressed it and returned it to me at no additional cost. The pool service and the staff around the pool is attentive, professional and quick with the orders. Two lovely gentlemen went out of their way to make our experience around the pool extra memorable, Sibonelo and Simphiwe. Our only disappointment was no bubbly in the room on arrival any longer, all our years visiting a special touch was a cold bottle of bubbles in the room on arrival. Thanks Oyster Box, keep it up, always such a treat to visit this premium property.
This review relates mainly to one specific issue, but it was the reason that I selected this hotel over the other choice I had. I run but do not like running on the road in cities I do not know. I therefore selected Coastlands as it has a fitness centre. My other option didn't. There are two treadmills in the fitness centre, both essentially unusable. The one is stuck in about a 3 degree incline and cannot be flattened. The other had a dilapidated running belt that was torn and which kept ”sticking” or ”stalling” every third or fourth step of my left foot. I've never seen such dilapidated equipment at any other hotel I've stayed at. There were also button covers missing and buttons that did not work. While the room was clean and nice, there was no lighting above the desk which made working on a laptop difficult. The water spout control on the bidet was broken. The plug on the sink leaked water at a rapid rate.