Blue Waters Hotel

Location Spotlight: Blue Waters Hotel (Exterior)

Durban Film Office | Filmmakers’ Location Guide

A Retro-Coastal Facade with Timeless Oceanfront Glamour

Set along Durban’s iconic Golden Mile, the Blue Waters Hotel offers an unmistakable mid-century modern façade, ocean-facing balconies, and a prime beachfront location. With its curved, whitewashed walls, symmetrical architecture, and sweeping views of the Indian Ocean, the exterior of this historic hotel delivers instant visual identity for scenes requiring coastal luxury, nostalgia, or a stylized urban resort vibe.

Coordinates

📍 Blue Waters Hotel (Durban Beachfront):
Decimal: -29.836519, 31.043497
DMS: 29°50'11.5"S 31°02'36.6"E

Why the Blue Waters Hotel Exterior is Cinematically Striking

🏨 Mid-Century Coastal Architecture

• Built in the 1950s, the hotel boasts a symmetrical modernist design—a visually rich option for retro-style productions, travel sequences, or establishing shots for urban beachfront glamour.

🌊 Unobstructed Ocean Backdrop

• Situated directly across from North Beach, the setting allows for dual framing:

  • The curved hotel façade in the foreground

  • The rolling ocean and surfers in the background

• Ideal for day-to-night transitions, beachside arrivals, or slow reveal shots.

🚗 Great for Drop-Off Scenes & Street-Level Shots

• The main entrance and drop-off driveway allow filming of check-in scenes, luxury vehicle arrivals, or urban lifestyle commercials.

• Wide sidewalks, palm trees, and adjacent cafés offer authentic Durban beachfront energy.

🎥 Highly Versatile Urban-Coastal Setting

• The exterior can double as:

  • A vintage international hotel

  • A corporate retreat location

  • A fictional beachfront resort

  • A stylized 70s/80s era South African backdrop

Ideal For

• Romantic comedies, travel series, or resort dramas

• Period pieces set in the 1960s–1980s

• Music videos with tropical or retro vibes

• Commercials or fashion shoots needing high-glam coastal architecture

• Opening scenes for films set in Durban or arriving by sea

Quick Facts

• Location: Snell Parade, North Beach, Durban

• Distance from Durban CBD: ±5–10 minutes

• Nearby Landmarks: Durban Ice Arena, Suncoast Casino, North Beach

• Permit Required: Yes – via Durban Film Office (and hotel permission for frontal or branded use)

• Best Times to Film: Early morning (for soft light) or golden hour (for nostalgic tones)

• Lighting Tip: South-facing façade lights up beautifully during morning hours

Explore the Blue Waters Hotel Exterior

Whether you’re filming a coastal love story, a retro travelogue, or a stylized Durban city sequence, the Blue Waters Hotel provides that iconic, instantly recognizable energy that grounds your story in place and time. Its enduring elegance and beachside symmetry make it one of Durban’s most cinematic exteriors.

Contact the Durban Film Office to coordinate permits, location recce, and hotel liaison for your shoot.