When I was in South Africa in May, I had the rare pleasure of visiting the Oyster Box hotel in Umhlanga Village, a few minutes’ drive north from the city of Durban. I say “rare” because most Americans who do visit South Africa don’t make it to KwaZulu-Natal province on the east coast, and they miss one of the best places in the country.
With 187,000 hotels in the world, I won’t presume to name the top hotel in the world, but Oyster Box is up there on my list. It’s a unique experience. You could not have quite that experience anywhere but exactly in that place. And it’s a rich experience. You like curry? Think curry. And the whole experience of the hotel is that rich.
In fact, the curry buffet at the Oyster Box’s Grill Room restaurant is one of the things the Oyster Box is famous for, one of the reasons people are drawn to the hotel from all over the world.
South Africa’s East Coast
The east coast of South Africa, the Indian Ocean side, is phenomenal. Of the big cities of South Africa, Durban runs far behind Cape Town and Johannesburg in terms of international recognition. But it is, in my opinion, just as superlative and worth experiencing as they are.
Durban is the busiest port of the whole continent of Africa. It’s a beach town on the shore of the warm Indian Ocean, with a subtropical climate comparable to that of Miami. As with Miami, it is also a major city and industrial center. And it is teeming with cultural richness, shopping, restaurants and nightlife.
All of the three largest cities of South Africa are strikingly diverse in terms of their respective cultural and ethnic components. But each has its own mix, its own cultural flavor, flowing from their distinct histories within the larger history of South Africa.
Durban’s cultural mix is heavily weighted with Indian culture. In fact, Durban has the largest Indian population of any city outside of India. That culture brings its own flavors of festivals, music, dance, fashion and food. And that, brings us back to the Oyster Box.
About a 20-minute drive north from Durban’s Golden Mile of beaches and hotels, is Umhlanga. (It’s pronounced as if there’s an S before the H: “Umshlanga.”)
At that point along the coastline is the Umhlanga Rocks Lighthouse. I regret the overuse of the word “iconic” today, but this is one place that can legitimately be called iconic. The old lighthouse, a tall white cylindrical tower with a red top, an observation deck and a red light to signal ships, standing next to the shore is an arresting sight.
It’s one of those things that seem to stick out from the background with an extra dimension, as if it transports you through time, and gives you a little twinge of wonder.
The lighthouse is still active, though it’s unmanned. That is the spot where the Oyster Box sits, right behind the lighthouse. When you dine on its terrace overlooking the ocean, the lighthouse stands between you and the ocean.
The original Oyster Lodge at that site was a cottage constructed in 1863 of Burmese teak, corrugated iron and concrete. It was a navigational beacon.
In 1952 the cottage and grounds were purchased by Ken O’Connor and his sister Kay O’Connor Hill. They built it up, created a tea garden and a restaurant, and in March 1954 opened as the Oyster Box Hotel.
A generation later, the Tollman family bought the Oyster Box in 2006 in rundown condition. They did a major restoration, and expanded it, but kept it strictly within the original design of the hotel. They added a story to the building that houses most of the guest rooms. But it’s impossible to detect any difference between what was original and what was added. Even with the expansion, it’s not a massive hotel. It has 86 rooms, suites or villas. It’s still a fairly exclusive experience.
After a two-year renovation, the Oyster Box reopened in 2009. They retained as many of the hotel’s original features as they could, including the vintage revolving door at the entrance, the reception area with its bold black and white terrazzo tile and wrought iron balustrade.
They got the chandeliers from the Savoy in London when it was torn down. Under the direction of Beatrice Tollman they put together a delicious series of environments, from the lobby with its regal spiral staircase; to the Palm Court with its high ceilings and chandeliers; the Lighthouse Bar with elegant red plush seats; the outdoor deck with its red and white tables and chairs; the two pools; the beach and the many styles of individual rooms. Altogether they make a massive feast for the senses.
There’s much more: a wine cellar, a spa, other bars, meeting facilities, an art collection spread throughout the property, much to explore and enjoy.
The hotel has some credentials as one of the playgrounds of the rich and famous, having welcomed guests such as the English princes William and Harry; King Goodwill Zwelithini, the king of the Zulus; and Prince Albert and Princess Charlene of Monaco.
Other famous guests over the years include Bill Gates, Charlize Theron, Hillary Swank, John Cleese, Josh Groban, Khloe Kardashian, Nicky Minaj, South African President Jacob Zuma, Sean Penn, Sigourney Weaver, Susan Sarandon and Eddie Izzard.
Red Carnation
The Oyster Box is one of 17 hotels owned by Red Carnation, which is a hotel group, but not a chain, because each of its properties is unique, distinct from the other hotels of the brand. The properties, in England, Scotland, the U.S., Ireland, Switzerland, Botswana and South Africa, are of many different styles. But they share a level of quality and attention to detail in design that does unite them in their widely diverse styles. Each reflects the character of its own environment more than any brand symbols that unite it with its sister hotels. Oyster Box reflects a style from British colonial times.
The Red Carnation collection includes Ashford Castle in Ireland, the Chesterfield Mayfair in London, the Twelve Apostles on the Atlantic shore near Cape Town. But even in such star-studded company, the Oyster Box is one of the most distinguished of the group.
Full Circle
Red Carnation is part of the Travel Corporation, which is the parent company of a number of tour operators including Trafalgar, Insight Vacations and Contiki Holidays. The Travel Corporation is owned by the Tollman family of South Africa. One of the world’s largest and most successful travel conglomerates, it was founded by the late Stanley Tollman. Though he built a worldwide travel company, he originally came from South Africa.
Although Red Carnation only brought the Oyster Box into its collection in 2006, its significance in the history of the Travel Corporation goes back much farther. It was actually the setting of Stanley Tollman’s proposal of marriage to Beatrice, the woman who became his wife. Beatrice was the guiding light of Red Carnation. Her acute sense of style and her highly refined taste permeates the entire collection.
The love story that had its first chapter at the Oyster Box goes something like this:
Stanley proposed to Beatrice at the Oyster Box, and he said, “Someday I will come back and buy this place.” It’s one of those brash claims a young man may make as he courts the woman he wants to marry. But in this case, he actually made good on it. It’s the stuff of fairy tales. And so is the Oyster Box.
David Cogswell is a freelance writer working remotely, from wherever he is at the moment. Born at the dead center of the United States during the last century, he has been incessantly moving and exploring for decades. His articles have appeared in the Chicago Tribune, the Los Angeles Times, Fortune, Fox News, Luxury Travel Magazine, Travel Weekly, Travel Market Report, Travel Agent Magazine, TravelPulse.com, Quirkycruise.com, and other publications. He is the author of four books and a contributor to several others. He was last seen somewhere in the Northeast US.