Umhlanga's landmark Cabana Beach has won a prestigious award - the coveted RCI Resort of the Year title.
"You always hope you'll get it, but it still came as a surprise to learn we'd won," said delighted general manager, Ron Klämbt.
It was the first time Cabana Beach has taken the top title from RCI (Resort Condominiums International), the largest timeshare and resorts exchange in the world with more than 2 000 resorts worldwide.
Against more than 140 resorts in South Africa, Cabana Beach was deemed to have performed the best in all aspects of service, from customer facilities to courtesy and friendliness.
The Southern Sun resort has 217 suites, ranging from "small" rooms - they are actually doubles - to large three-bedroomed duplexes.
About 42 000 guests stay at the resort every year, a large number of them coming from Germany and Britain during the European winter.
More and more Americans and Asian guests are also visiting.
Cabana Beach has a high 93 percent occupancy rate. It has a waiting list of people wanting to buy timeshare at the Spanish-themed resort which offers "a good, quality family holiday".
The resort also won two other honours at the awards ceremony in Gauteng: one in recognition of the front-office team, and a "gold crown", the highest achievement for service excellence. Cabana Beach has won more than 10 gold awards over the years.
Cabana Beach's success is due to the "brilliant" staff, said the German-born Klämbt.
"I'm extremely happy for the staff. Some of them have been here for 20 to 30 years. This award is such recognition for them," said Klämbt, who impresses on his staff the importance of everyone - from porters to receptionists and the cleaners - having a smile on his or her face.
"Everyone greets everyone here with a smile. And the answer 'no' is not an option to a guest's query."
"Everything is about that. It's much harder to teach someone to smile than it is to teach them to make a bed."