The Edward Hotel

Fantastic stay had most memorable birthday surprise prepared by the hotel management/staff Sonwabile and Jean you ladies are wonderful.... thank you

When I checked in the clerk tried to get me to pay more for a sea view, when my reservation clearly stated "partial sea view" as a minimum. Good thing I had a printed copy of the reservation. We got our sea view but the clerk was rude, too. The restaurant food (menu) is good and a good value. But the kitchen is incredibly slow....30 minutes to get a wrap and salad. The service at the morning buffet is dismal. The hotel gave us key that stopped working on purpose after 18 hours. They said this was for security...but they should tell you if you need to get a new key each day. The furnishings in the room were somewhat dirty. And all potential visitors should know that this hotel is on the edge of the red light district and each the beachfront walk is not safe after dark. You can tell that the hotel was once very nice, but it is not even 3 stars now.

The Edward has an unique old world atmosphere, attentive and friendly service, and breakfast on the verandah used to be a special attraction. It still is, but it is not as practicable as it used to be. I'd like to suggest that when staff are asked why the hotel is called 'the Edward', they should be able to recount some of the relevant history. None seemed to know if Edward, Prince of Wales, stayed there.

Old run down building. Staff were poor upon checkin. Had a letter delivered the day of arrival which they lost !!! Only to find it a couple of hours later. Room safe had incorrect instructions,so didn't open. Durban is great, but go elsewhere plenty of choice

We enjoyed sitting on the balcony and watch the passersby.

Overall very nice

There were constant errors in service from the car not being delivered on time; at breakfast coffee and tea not served unless asked for. Similarly on room service the coffee and teas were never replaced until asked. Making the beds was a long and drawn out event. The beds would be stripped and made up hours later. In the bathroom there would be one toilet roll at any one time and we had to ask for a roll to be replaced.

This is my personal opinion. we got to the hotel at 2pm and the room was not ready. a few minutes wait was not a problem. there was a terrible smell in the bathroom. We asked the cleaner to please clean it again and we even offered her something extra. was never resolved. We possibly wasted more perfume in the bathroom than we would have used on ourself in two weeks. When we booked this stay it never mentioned anything about breakfast been an extra. On arrival we asked the receptionist and her comment was that we only sell rooms and breakfast is extra, so I asked her where does is say that the stay is hotel only and her bold and bland response was can you get hold of the website you booked through.It was a wonderful way to start a holiday. to be honest , would not stay there again.

South Africa is a beautiful country, but unfortunately for the European traveller there are many areas that are not safe to visit or stay in. It's a shame to say but the Hotel Protea Edward is situated in one of these areas. Right out side the hotel are children's paddling pools, a fair, and a massive amount of locals hell bent on partying. When leaving the hotel the atmosphere is intimidating. The litter and rubbish was so overbearing we wondered if any of these locals had any respect for their beautiful country. Being European you really stick out. In fact we heard on the local radio that someone was stabbed and killed on the beach in central Durban on the last night of our stay. The noise and children screaming, with enjoyment, goes on well into the night, and because its all happening so close to the hotel, and the noise is so loud, the rooms are far from relaxing. We were told by some locals later on our that we should have stayed either to the south or north of Durban because the areas are far more friendly. Durban city centre is worth seeing but this can be done in a 3 hour tour, so unlike us, there is no point in staying in the centre. During our stay at the hotel we had an horrific experience (Expedia and Marriot were made aware). The hotel management promised us massive compensation but unfortunately on our return to the UK they changed their mind. It was my fault because I wish I had recorded the conversation with the management. Hotel lacked European standards.

The pace at which check in is done takes longer than it should. There is no parking out front and I had problems getting into their parking as I can only pay for parking once checked in.