South Africa is considered to be one of the most friendliest destination for gay tourism in Africa along with other former colonies , tourist don’t feel the threat if they act normally and most of the hotels chains in the capital are gay friendly hotels Durban.
While not as vibrant as Cape Town, you will find a gay scene in Durban. One of the best places to find gay-friendly events, bars and accommodation is Durban Pride.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in South Africa have the same rights as non-LGBT people. South Africa has a complex and diverse history regarding the human rights of LGBT people. The legal and social status of between 400,000–over 2 million lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex South Africans has been influenced by a combination of traditional South African mores, colonialism, and the lingering effects of apartheid and the human rights movement that contributed to its abolition.
Durban, a coastal city in eastern South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal province, is known for its African, Indian and colonial influences. Refurbished for soccer’s 2010 World Cup, the seafront promenade runs from uShaka Marine World, a huge theme park with an aquarium, to the futuristic Moses Mabhida Stadium. The Durban Botanical Gardens showcases African plant species.
Top attractions to visit in Durban
- uShaka Marine World
- Durban Botanic Gardens
- The Valley of a 1000 Hills
- Phezulu Safari Park
- uShaka Wet ‘n Wild
Best for day trips in Durban
- Full-Day Isandlwana and Rorke’s Drift Battlefield Tour from Durban
- Hluhluwe Imfolozi Safari & Emdoneni Wild Cat Project Private Day Tour
- Durban City Private Day Tour
- Hluhluwe Imfolozi Big 5 Safari Tour from Durban
- Full-Day Small-Group Anglo-Zulu Battlefields Tour from Durban
See more day trips in Durban on GetYourGuide
1. Emakhosini Boutique Hotel 4* – Gay Friendly Hotels Durban
Located in Morningside, Durban, 4.9 km from North Beach, Emakhosini Boutique Hotel offers spacious rooms. This Halal hotel features an outdoor pool and a large terrace with lounge area.
Emakhosini Boutique Hotel has modern rooms with wooden furniture and carpeted floors. Each of the air-conditioned rooms has a flat-screen satellite TV, a work desk and an electric kettle.
Guests can start their day with a breakfast buffet, or enjoy their breakfast in the privacy of their room. The 3 On Lumsden restaurant serves Halal Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner daily. A coffee shop is also available.
The hotel is beautiful, upmarket and quiet.We stayed at this establishment for six days .Staff are very friendly and service is excellent. Rooms are spacious and comfortable.The food was great and the venue was beautiful.Would definitely stay there again. I recommend it.
The hotel is most conveniently located only minutes away from amazing entertainment venues, shopping malls, nightlife and the spectacular beachfront!
The management & staff are the absolute best – very accommodating, friendly, highly professional and always willing to go the extra mile to ensure our stay is more than comfortable in every-way.
The rooms are generously spacious, well maintained & promptly serviced.
The relaxed ambience in the restaurant & bar & the excellent service makes it the perfect place to enjoy the most delicious meals – the menu has plenty of variety & the chef is always willing to go out of his way to prepare something to suit your taste buds!!
This is definitely the place to enjoy a great holiday.
The rooms were cozy, clean and fresh. The staff were ever so courteous and friendly. They responded promptly to any requests.
The food was lovely, the Exec chef was ever so pleasant and assisting wrt our special meal requests and the waiters were friendly.
We’ve received only good reports from all our delegates and everything was done well by your organisation.
We really appreciated the excellent service, and the fact that staff were always prompt and kind when assisting us.
How much does a room costs at Emakhosini Boutique Hotel ?
Prices start 46$/night for Standard Double.
Where to book online – Emakhosini Boutique Hotel – Gay Friendly Hotels Durban – you can find the best hotels deals in Durban during The Durban International Film Festival which is celebrated with much enthusiasm in Durban on Booking.com or Trip.com or Hotelscombined.com and see more reviews on TripAdvisor.
2. The Edward 4* – Gay Friendly Hotels Durban South Africa
Situated 100 m from the beach along Durban’s Golden Mile, The Edward overlooks the Indian Ocean. Decorated in an Art Deco style, the hotel features features a panoramic roof-top pool, ideal for sunbathing and sundown cocktails.
Guests will add their name to the long list of princes and presidents, millionaires and celebrities that stayed overnight since The Edward opened its doors in 1911.
Half of the recently refurbished rooms offer uninterrupted ocean views. They are all decorated in a classic style with wooden features and rich fabrics, but also include satellite flat-screen TVs and an intimate reading area.
Facilities of the hotel also include a gym and room service. Guests can enjoy walking or cycling on the promenade adjacent to the hotel.
The Edward hotel in Durban harks back to a time of Victorian elegance. This world-famous hotel in Durban, South Africa has played host to princes and presidents, field marshals, millionaires and movie stars since 1911. Whether you are travelling for business or leisure purposes, The Edward is ideally situated on the Golden Mile.
Take off your shoes and feel the soft, beach sand between your toes. Make sure you have your swimsuit because a dive in the warm waters of the Indian Ocean is hard to resist. Cool off whilst you walk along the promenade, which allows you to walk from uShaka Marine world to Suncoast Casino. For those travelling on business we are situated 5 minutes away from Durban CBD and the ICC (International Convention Centre). We are within easy access to all major highways and King Shaka Airport is a mere 35 minutes away so getting to all those meetings is not a hassle.
Return to our graceful and stylish rooms, which are all equipped with LCD TV’s, en-suite bathrooms, executive work desks, wireless internet access and over half of the rooms have remarkable sea views. The Edward, with its personalised friendly service and extremely comfortable rooms offers a luxurious holiday experience or a professional business trip.
Hotel on the Golden Mile. Beautiful views of the sea, garden park and the promenade from the balcony of your room. Lovely setup, room smart neat, tidy and comfortable. Beautiful dining area opens up into the golden mile with sumptuous meals.
It is a very grand hotel set on the promenade next to the Indian Ocean. The room was very nice and ours was at the front and had an ocean view. It was very nice and served its purpose.
Every room service request was handled promptly and carried out exactly according to request(we asked for extra coffee sachets, bath towels, cutlery , wine glasses etc) The bed linen had clean crisp white comfortable bedding and housekeeping did not bother us once, it was as if they planned to do everything at our pace, we were never made to feel rushed We were blown away by the buffet breakfast, it was hot, delicious and fresh.
A hotel with elegant character in the public lounges, bar area & dining room. The hotel bedroom was comfortable & clean but probably ready for updating a little. We had a room with a sea view & balcony which was good to watch the world go by along the promenade. Good location. Excellent food. There was the choice of buffet food or a la carte, we enjoyed the wonderful buffet breakfast but took the a la carte for evening dinner as we felt there was just too much food!! All the staff were excellent, helpful & friendly.
From the time you enter this great majestic old school English hotel to the charming flowing entrance foyers to the most amazing welcome from the friendly staff and reception, we checked in and sat at the local watering hole for a thirst quencher, The Casurie Bar located inside the hotel, and enjoyed Mannie the barman. With our bags ported up to our rooms, we found ourselves in comfortable spacious bedrooms with welcome water and fruit upon arrival, lovely comfortable beds.
The pillows need more firmness and the bathroom need a makeover. Morning breakfast was a feast buffet and enjoyed freshly brewed coffee and fruit juices. Well worth a visit. Charming old school English hotel. Stunning views of the ocean and beachfront promenade, a hive of activities for any tourist.
The hotel is spacious well maintained with a grand dining room with chandeliers and bar furnished in dark wood.
We were fortunate to have a sea-view room which was excellent, very clean, well serviced and overlooked the magnificent front and promenade of Durban, vibrant both day and night. A great place to watch the world go by.
We ate in the hotel on both nights, once in the restaurant and once on the terrace overlooking the promenade. and on both occasions were very satisfied with the standard and quality of the food. Breakfast was the usual buffet style with plenty of choice and we would particularly recommend the omelette which were made to order in front of you.
Perhaps the only downside was the pool which was located on the top floor at the back of the building and was a little small with views over Durban (not the best)
Overall a good place to stay and within easy reach of uShaka Marine World, wouldn’t hesitate to stay again.
How much does a room costs at The Edward ?
Prices start 101$/night for Double Room. The Superior Double Room is 370$/room per night with breakfast included – if coming on a honeymoon this is the perfect choice for gay couples.
Where to book online – The Edward – Gay Friendly Hotels Durban – you can find the best hotels deals in Durban during The Durban International Film Festival which is celebrated with much enthusiasm in Durban on Booking.com or Trip.com or Hotelscombined.com and see more reviews on TripAdvisor.
3. The Oyster Box 5* – LGBTQ Friendly Hotels Durban
Overlooking the Umhlanga and , The offers 2 outdoor pools, an award winning spa and free Wi-Fi. Gateway Shopping Centre is 2 km away.
The rooms at the 5-star Oyster Box are decorated with rich fabrics and furnishings. They include satellite TV, Mini Bar and tea/coffee making facilities. Some guest rooms offer a private lounge area, patio and plunge pool.
The Ocean Terraces Restaurant overlooks the Indian Ocean and offers a delicious seafood and . The Grill Room offers up the best premium steaks and seafood dishes. Guests reserving Half-Board reservations are offered a signature set menu, hosted either in The Ocean Terrace or The Grill Room.
Standing majestically on Umhlanga’s beachfront just 15 minutes from the airport, overlooking the Indian Ocean and the iconic lighthouse, we are South Africa’s most cherished hotel and a national treasure. Discover our timeless elegance and enjoy a multitude of dining options, including our famous curry feast and High Tea, and indulge in our award-winning spa amid tropical gardens.
Same Sex marriage is a very controversial topic, but my partner and I were welcomed with arms wide open. We were assisted by the amazing Ginny Eslick, wedding coordinator at the Oyster Box. Without the assistance of this wonderful women, we would never have the wedding we had. Ginny is so much more than a wedding coordinator, she is an angel who goes above and beyond on all occasions.
We booked into the honeymoon suite a couple days before the wedding, and wow we were blown away. The room was really big and oozed luxury and sophistication. We had enough room for our whole wedding party to get ready in the room!
I can’t thank all the staff from The Oyster Box enough for making our wedding so memorable. We have only received such positive feedback from all our guests.
The service in this hotel is above and beyond the normal and deserves more than 5 stars.
Rooms were fairly spacious and the views on the ocean were magnificent.
Breakfast was simply exceptional! I can highly recommend to take as much time as possible to enjoy it, well worth it.
We really liked the Indian style restaurant for dinner.
Really like the hotel and would love to get back next time we are in the area. Definitely recommend staying here.
he Oyster Box is possibly one of the finest hotels I have ever stayed in all my travels around the world. Thanks to the BA nonstop flight from London, the KwaZulu-Natal region is now within easy reach.
From the moment you checked in you knew you were somewhere special, the welcome glass or 2 of sparkling wine to the orientation tour showing you where your room and everything was, service was exemplary, sadly as the flight arrived so early the room was not yet serviced but the luggage was stored and delivered to the room when it was available. I loved the signature red carnation in everybody’s uniform, the little touches made all the difference.
The room was a garden loft and while there no sea view, it was not an issue, a
the sea view was minutes away. The room itself was very spacious and luxurious, the bed was amazingly comfortable to sleep in , the finest cotton bedding, lots of wardrobe and drawer space to unpack and feel at home.
The bathroom was as big as my dining room , two wash basins, separate shower and toilet cubicles and a tub ! The toiletries were all sourced from SA, sea salts for the bath, lovely bars of soap and gels, all refilled and replaced after use. 2 choices of robes to wear in the evening when you retired back to your room, turndown was done every evening and a chocolate left on the side with some water. Just superb service. The housekeeping team also deserve an award for working so quickly and efficiently, doing a great job like super ninjas.
Breakfast was absolutely fabulous and the most perfect start to your day. Sparkling wine, different kinds of juice , smoothies you were spoilt on what to choose. Everything you could possibly want was available, eggs benny, oysters (obliviously) smoked salmon to the full English, omelets, pancakes , pastries , where do I end? The cold cuts of meat and fruit selections were awesome too. Beware of the monkeys !
The whole hotel was so very well maintained and managed, the staff were all excellent, nothing was too much, smiles and service was the order of the day, you just did not want to leave. The pool area was spotless , there was also loungers on the lawns so you could enjoy the sea views from there, sadly the famous lighthouse on the beach was covered and undergoing repairs so I missed the iconic view.
The location is perfect, numerous bars and restaurants with a few minutes walk away from the hotel, a Spar and Pick n Pay nearby, the walk along the promenade in either direction was great exercise and the you could enjoy the lovely sand and warm sea waves of the Indian ocean. It knocks spots off the Beverly Hills hotel next door, it is in a different league.
From being collected at the airport by the delightful, and knowledgeable Simphiwe, in a luxury van complete with cold towels and drinks to the picture perfect poolside looking out onto the Indian Ocean, this hotel is unique and hand curated down to every last detail. Our garden suite was stunning, complete with our own courtyard and small dipping pool.
Definitely one of the best hotels in South Africa. Amazing luxury rooms with so much attention to detail and little luxuries. Getting a newspaper in the morning was a lovely touch. Amazing food, wonderful service and of course the view over the pool and Indian ocean with the iconic lighthouse. Thanks very much for the experience.
How much does a room costs at The Oyster Box ?
Prices start 451$/night for Classic Room with Garden View. The Deluxe Suite with Sea View
is 1368$/room per night with breakfast included – if coming on a honeymoon this is the perfect choice for gay couples.
Located on the lower ground level with private plunge pools and terraces, the Deluxe Suites provide guests with luxurious bedrooms and separate lounge areas.
Where to book online – The Oyster Box – Gay Friendly Hotels Durban – you can find the best hotels deals in Durban during The Durban International Film Festival which is celebrated with much enthusiasm in Durban on Booking.com or Trip.com or Hotelscombined.com and see more reviews on TripAdvisor.
