Hotels in Port Elizabeth Reveal History and Hospitality

Port Elizabeth is South Africa’s “friendly city”, a flagship for typical Eastern Cape hospitality. The vibe is relaxed and slow for a large city (without being sleepy). Families love it – to visit or stay permanently – as it’s one of the best places to raise children.

If you’re visiting, make a booking at one of the hotels in Port Elizabeth like the Garden Court King’s Beach. It has a prime location near the pristine beach, which stretches as far as the eye can see. It’s not unusual, but always very special, to spot a school of dolphins swimming past.

Hotels in Port Elizabeth, like this one, provide a level of comfort and convenience that make a holiday worthwhile. The Garden Court King’s Beach is in the suburb of Humewood, a short distance away from Hobie Beach where sailors rig their catamarans to launch in Algoa Bay. It makes for a very colourful spectacle on a busy day.

You don’t have to venture far from the beach and or most of the hotels in Port Elizabeth in search of entertainment. The Boardwalk Casino and Entertainment World has transformed the beachfront of the neighbouring suburb, Summerstrand, with a complex that includes a casino, sports café and retail component developed around a man-made lake. For those utilising the hotels in Port Elizabeth for business purposes, there is a convention centre in the complex as well as a conference centre at the Garden Court King’s Beach hotel. Downtime is well catered for with a variety of restaurants, specialty shops, a cinema, an amphitheatre and children’s entertainment facilities at the Boardwalk.

Golfers will delight in the undulating fairways that lie within thick coastal bush at Humewood Golf Club, one of South Africa’s top 20 courses. It’s only 2km away from hotels in Port Elizabeth.

Some argue that the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, constructed for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, rivals the Cape Town Stadium in aesthetic appeal. It’s also in the area, offering a capacity of 48 459 people for concerts and sports matches.

The award-winning Red Location Museum, constructed in tribute to the liberation struggle during the apartheid era, is a must-see in the area of New Brighton while No. 7 Castle Hill Museum showcases some of the city’s English Settler history. Built in about 1829, the building has yellowwood floors and beams, and a restored slate roof, and is filled with early Victorian furniture and other household goods that a typical middle-class English family would have used.