The Palace of the Lost City
Sun City's 1992 palace, Gary Player golf and the Valley of Waves
About this stay
The Palace opened in 1992 as the centrepiece of the Lost City, Sun City's themed precinct built around the legend of a vanished African kingdom: painted ceilings, mosaic floors, carved tusks and bronze wildlife sculptures by Danie de Jager. It has 326 rooms and suites, some facing the pool, some the gardens, and a few with views over the Pilanesberg hills. Guests of Sun City's hotels get complimentary entry to the Valley of Waves water park, a short walk away, while the Royal Spa and the 18-hole Lost City Golf Course sit within the same precinct. Pilanesberg National Park, outside the malaria zone, is a short drive from the resort gates, which makes a morning game drive easy to fit around the pool.
- Opened in 1992, 326 rooms and suites
- Complimentary Valley of Waves entry for hotel guests
- Royal Spa inside the hotel
- 18-hole Lost City Golf Course by Gary Player
- Short drive to malaria-free Pilanesberg National Park
- Rated 9.2 across more than 5,400 reviews
Our take
The Palace is the one Sun City hotel built as a spectacle in its own right: 326 rooms behind a lobby of painted ceilings and Danie de Jager bronzes, opened in 1992. I would book it for a short family break or an anniversary that mixes water park, golf and a game drive, all without a malaria prophylaxis question, since Pilanesberg is outside the risk zone. I would not book it for quiet or for a bush experience: this is a large resort hotel inside an entertainment complex, and the animals live in the national park next door, not around your room.
- Check the Valley of Waves maintenance dates before a winter stay: the water park closes for several weeks each year, in 2025 from mid-May to late June.
- Ask for a pool-facing room if you want to watch the children from the balcony, or a garden-facing one if you prefer the quieter side.
- Time a Valley of Waves visit around the Bridge of Time, where a staged earthquake with rumbling and smoke goes off roughly every hour.
- Golfers should play the Lost City course early and keep an eye on the par-three 13th, where a crocodile pit guards the front of the green.
- Leave for Pilanesberg at the opening of the park gates: the first hours after dawn are when lion and rhino are most often active.
Why we love it
- Free Valley of Waves entry for hotel guests
- Gary Player's Lost City course and its crocodile hole
- Malaria-free Pilanesberg game drives nearby
- Lobby of painted ceilings and Danie de Jager bronzes
Why guests love itAlmost everything a family needs sits inside the Lost City precinct, which is why the Palace works with children: the Valley of Waves is free for hotel guests and a short walk from the rooms, and Pilanesberg National Park, outside the malaria zone, is close enough for a game drive before breakfast. That combination is hard to find elsewhere in South Africa. The trade-offs are real, though. The hotel is large, the public areas fill with day visitors on long weekends and school holidays, and the casino side of Sun City is part of the setting, even if gambling is restricted to over-18s. Winter brings shorter water park hours and an annual maintenance closure, so families planning a May or June trip should check the dates first. With 9.2 across more than 5,400 reviews, guests clearly rate the service and the setting.
Guest reviews
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