The best hotels in South Africa
From safari lodges to beachside boltholes, here's our pick of the best that the rainbow nation has to offer
In terms of an all-singing all-dancing time travelling escape to the end of the world, with the appealing advantage of no jet-lag, South Africa beats the rest. A 12 hour flight from London during winter can deliver you to the southern most tip of Africa in summer, where Cape Town's unique beach, city, mountains trifecta sees it reign supreme as one of the most beautiful cities in the world. From there it's a choose-your-own adventure, where the well-trodden options include road trips around the picturesque Western Cape, tastings in the wine regions or game drives within Kruger National Park – home to the world's first luxury wheelchair-accessible safari.
As a firm favourite for destination weddings and winter sun escapes, the rainbow nation more than delivers when it comes to places to stay. Sometimes the lodges or camps operate at destinations in themselves. For a shortlist of the best, here we round up the best hotels in South Africa. For more game reserve recommendations, see our expert South Africa safari guide.
Loapi Tented Camp, Tswalu Kalahari Reserve
It’s not often you go on safari and have wildlife sightings all to yourself. Visit the Serengeti or Masai Mara during the great migration, and you’ll see as many land cruisers as wildebeest. At Tswalu, South Africa’s largest privately owned reserve located in the Kalahari, it’s the exact opposite. Here, space and exclusivity are at the core of the property. With limited private flights arriving daily from Johannesburg and Cape Town, and only three accommodation options on the 441-square mile property (which sleeps a total of 40 guests) there’s hardly another soul to be seen. Accommodation comprises six private homes (four one-bedroom, and two two-bedroom) spaced some 100 metres apart. They are standalone houses with private chefs, butlers, trackers and guides. Locally-based GAPP Architects designed the glass, steel and canvas structures to expansively take in the views, which are positively staggering. Set at the base of the Korannaberg mountains, the houses look onto a valley of grassy plains that bleed into distant mountains rising into a cloudless sky. In the rooms, the outdoor shower has desert vistas and the indoor window seat floods with afternoon sun; a perfect nook for a wintery afternoon nap. With your own private chef who cooks in the house’s kitchen (it can be closed off for privacy), meals here are entirely customisable. For sundowners in the veld, the “car-bar” is far from basic – expect sweet potato slices topped with pickled radishes, and gin and sodas with zingy local gin as well as fine Chenin Blancs and Pinot Noirs from all around the Cape Winelands and beyond.
This article originally appeared on Condé Nast Traveller