http://www.myimagehub.com/userfiles/dysan1/royal%20palm.jpg

http://www.myimagehub.com/userfiles/dysan1/WEST3.jpg


NAME: Royal Palm
LOCATION: Umhlanga Ridge New Town Centre
STATUS: U/C
FLOORS: 7
HEIGHT:
USE: Mixed Use (Hotel, Residential, Retail, Commercial)

The building consists of:

1) 3F offices on the Palm Boulevard side of the building (dont forget that all buildings on this road have access to the Palm Boulevard and the internal piazza which is a pedestrian high street environment)

2) Groundfloor retail on both sides

3) A Three Cities group suite hotel

4) Residential apartments

5) A 4F Atrium


More Detail

Royal Palm is situated in the centre of Palm Boulevard directly opposite the Gateway Shopping Centre in Umhlanga Ridge. Gateway is the largest shopping complex in the southern Hemisphere with upmarket retail outlets including banks, shops, entertainment, cinemas, hotel and conference centre. The site is close to Umhlanga Hospital and La Lucia Office Estate. Umhlanga New Town Centre will be a mixed use hub to be developed around a series of squares, parks & boulevards, surrounding Gateway Theatre of Shopping. It is a vibrant environment where people live, work, shop and play; a medium density, user-friendly environment that will revolutionize the way people, will live in the Umhlanga New Town Centre.

Royal Palm enjoys the finest position on the Palm Boulevard and the new Piazza which will incorporate a fountain, beautiful gardens and a Campagnille Clock Tower, designed to the highest standard by Morelands, built above the Royal Palm Parking areas. The complex provides 246 parking bays and comprises of 44 generous luxury residential apartments along with three floors of A-grade office suites for sale or rent. The double volume retail shops for sale or rent have shop frontage on Palm Boulevard and the Piazza offering retailers maximum exposure.

Royal Palm offers, as it is in close proximity to the conference centre and executive office park, an optional rental pool facility with the potential Vat refund of 14% to furnish apartments to hotel standards which will then enjoy the benefit of high daily rentals to executive and overseas visitors. This converts your apartment into a high yielding investment which will be administered by Royal Palm Asset Management Executive Letting.

This stunning new landmark offers the investor or end user the option to enjoy benefits of investing into the largest new development in the heart of Umhlanga New Town Centre to be situated on the exclusive Palm Boulevard. This is an opportunity to secure ownership in this exclusive address which will not be repeated again.

The building is now u/c and has been enlargened to include a total of 91 apartments, 3000m2 of retail space and 3000m2 of commercial space...therefore a total of 29500m2 of space, making it the largest development on Palm Boulevard.

All units are sold, and many have been resold 3 times since launch. All units will part of a suite rental pool for business men and holiday makers, and total profits will be shared amongst all owners. Completion is Dec 2006

I like it..........esp. the light-well/gables.

its a facasinating design, and the largest dev on the boulevard! Got word that it has secured 2 international tenants for the retail section on the boulevard, and hopefully the 2 restaurants will be great!

Oooh maybe its a Buckle.....*i LOVE buckle*

whats buckle?

its like a diesel :)

traditional luxury style ;)

I just can't get over how many projects they have going in the Umhlanga cbd... holy motha

its a massive amount of dev in the cbd. total of 42 buildings, 22 being residential (of these 22, 19 are sold out and are onto resales).

12 of the resi's are u/c and 11 other buildings are u/c too!

i will post a graphic of all the dev sites somewhere...just dont know where i should post it

THIS DEVELOPMENT IS NOW PURELY A SUITE HOTEL DEVELOPMENT!

It will be run by the Three Cities group to complement their 1500 seater Conference centre (1on1) that is 100m away.

Today...

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c128/dysan1/IMGP1691.jpg

on the left

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c128/dysan1/IMGP1685.jpg

nice..things looking good.

Construction of the Legacy will start pretty soon

Well this baby is nearing completion and hand over is in early Dec. I dont know weather the suite hotel will be open then tho.

Ok just checked the three cities website. on it they state that this suite hotel will be open over the december period offering 96 suites. here are some more images

http://www.threecities.co.za/images/dev_pics/royalpalm/images/rp_front_artist.jpg


View from Palm Boulevard
http://www.threecities.co.za/images/dev_pics/royalpalm/images/royal_palm_dev1.jpg

View from the Piazza
http://www.threecities.co.za/images/dev_pics/royalpalm/images/royal_palm_dev2.jpg


In the suites
http://www.threecities.co.za/images/dev_pics/royalpalm/images/5.jpg

http://www.threecities.co.za/images/dev_pics/royalpalm/images/3.jpg

Looking good. In fact, this whole strip, along with the backroads are looking amazing. Thanks for posting. Methinks I might bring some meetings / conferences to this area in the future... This one, and the Point Waterfront.

Well the 1 on 1 convention centre is in the area...on palm boulevard. it takes up to 1500 people

Here is the nearly completed Royal Palm Suite Hotel

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c128/dysan1/IMGP5991.jpg

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c128/dysan1/IMGP5987.jpg

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c128/dysan1/IMGP5995.jpg

Hectic, its looking Shweet, I must make a plan to go to Umhlanga during the day, & not at night when I cant see a blody thing

Dysan; do you have any progress information on when the Royal Palm Hotel will be officially open for business?
Does it have a 4 Star or 5 Star Rating?
Thanks for the professional updates you are always posting.

From what I was told by Three Cities Group when I enquired a few weeks back, Royal Palm was intending to open for Indaba (which is taking place now), a trial run of sorts, but the official opening is a few months from now (June/July, I think). As far as I can recall the hotel is a 4 star.

Dysan; do you have any progress information on when the Royal Palm Hotel will be officially open for business?
Does it have a 4 Star or 5 Star Rating?
Thanks for the professional updates you are always posting.

It will be a 5 star 94 suite hotel. It has a cigar lounge, 2 bars, 2 restaurants and a cafe. Included in the building is 4500m2 of A grade office space.

There has been a soft opening during the Indaba that is on at present, but the full and official opening takes place towards the end of june.

Thanks for the info guys...
I am an investor, and have been stuck out of the country with very little progress news.
Dysan - Is it possible for any photos of the current progress?
Keep up the good site... Very informative.
Go sharks.

^^ get some new pics this coming week, but the exterior has not changed much from the last pictures i posted. the awnings are going up tho and paving has been completed. sadly i cant get into the building yet as that is not allowed.

Dysan - E-Mail me at garyoffshore@yahoo.co.uk and I will give you Alan Rankin's cell #... I am sure he would love to show you around with your camera... He often escorts people on a Sunday afternoon.

^^ thanx, will do

The new Royal Palm Hotel in Umhlanga Ridge is open for business - Here is the hotel's signature restaurant

Dining : Royal Palm - DISH Restaurant


The signature restaurant of the Royal Palm, DISH, is a fusion of contemporary dining sophistication. DISH offers patrons an opportunity to experience opulent dining with a modern twist. With a unique concept of four distinctive areas under one roof, the restaurant is a refreshing place to enjoy a couple of cocktails or a scrumptious meal. A simple yet effective colour scheme of black and cream, coupled by differentiating textures, welcomes diners to this innovative dining experience. The restaurant includes a bar area, lounge, dining room and outdoor courtyard, each one offering something different to the other to accommodate all.



The focus of the main floor area is a vibrant, circular bar, with four seating arcs surrounding it. This innovative seating plan offers patrons a chance to be part of the dynamic energy at the bar, while enjoying privacy in one of the secluded arcs. Comprising a funky dining room table surrounded by wingback chairs and lengthy leather lounge suites, the lounge enjoys a relaxing ambience. Here, diners can snack on delicious finger foods whilst sipping exotic cocktails. The main dining room area seats up to 60 people and enjoys an elegant and sophisticated atmosphere. With a selection of table styles, including a chefs table seating 8 people as well as other options available, the dining room accommodates small and intimate dining arrangements. Restaurant goers can also enjoy the DISH ambience outside, as the restaurant’s sliding folding doors open up onto a spacious courtyard and enjoys an elegant café feel, offering a taste of Al Fresco dining. With such a variety of offerings, DISH serves as a definite hotspot for Durban diners.

Durban hotel introduces a New York feel
August 17 2007
By Barbara Cole

The city's newest hotel, built by six local developers, brings a New York influence to the region's hospitality industry.

The reception area at the four-star Royal Palm Hotel, opposite Gateway shopping centre in Umhlanga, is huge, while around the sides are three floors of commercial offices and two floors of retail space, something that has never been seen before locally.

It has been built by developers Alan Rankin, Eddie Viljoen, Wilfred van Stuyvesant, Chris Watkins, Gavin Atkinson and Mark Turk.

The R130 million building is managed by the Three Cities Hotel Group and according to general manager Ellen Aucamp, who heads the all-female management team, it is in the "perfect, perfect location".

"It is just up the road from the beach and very close to Gateway where our 1-on-1 conference and events centre is," said Aucamp, who is also responsible for the centre.

"Our corporate guests can go to the conference centre for their meetings and be accommodated at the hotel, which is also ideal for leisure guests."

While one side of the hotel faces one of the biggest shopping centres in the country, the other side faces on to the Piazza area in Auroro Drive, where residents have already moved into their new apartments.

The Royal Palm is the first business to be up and running in the Piazza and observers say that when all the tenants move into the other restaurants and businesses, it will have a similar inner-city living atmosphere as the Nelson Mandela Centre in Sandton.


'Perfect, perfect location' The Royal Palm - a "non-smoking" hotel - boasts 94 rooms, including 14 penthouses.

Although the hotel is not self-catering, every room has its own kitchenette, mini-bar and microwave. And every room has its own covered balcony.

The theme is contemporary with an Eastern flair.

The restaurant is called Dish, which is used by hotel guests and locals and visitors alike, and is owned by executive chef Shaun Munro, in a joint venture with Three Cities.

The proud Munro says that Dish is "not just a restaurant, but a lovely place to be."

There are four separate areas, including a "chill" zone, and a chef's table, an idea Munro picked up from a Gordon Ramsey restaurant in London, where up to 10 guests can be seated around the same table, enjoying a custom-made meal.

"Generally, when that many people need a table, the restaurant just pushes a couple of tables together. But this is a specially made table," said Munro.

The Dish caters for those who like fine dining as well as those who just want to pop in for a jumbo muffin, a home-made burger, or a glass of champagne.

Munro said the restaurant can seat 60 guests with 40 outside in the Piazza, but really does not want it to be a "pack 'em in" place.

Munro himself prefers supervising in the open-plan kitchen and moving around the restaurant chatting to guests.

He is not bothered about the other restaurant due to move into the Piazza.

"The more the merrier," he said.