Stay for 3 nights for the price of 2 at The Bishops’ Court or The Constantia in Cape Town, The Franschhoek in the Winelands, or The Long Beach in Kommetjie.

The offer is valid for any bookings during March and April (excluding Easter).

Full gourmet breakfast, all beverages including premium spirits and bespoke wines, in-room mini bar, internet and email access, secretarial services and personal concierge services are included.

The rate excludes lunch and dinner, laundry service, in-house chauffeur transfers and tour services, special chef services and gratuities.

Contact Travel Butlers now to make a booking !

Aquavit is a charming guest house situated in Plettenberg Bay, offering stunning panoramic views of the Tsitsikamma and Outeniqua Mountains and the coastal beaches lapped by the Indian Ocean.

For the real romantics, Aquavit are offering a 3 night special package, including a private helicopter trip to a deserted beach, and overflowing picnic basket.

Click here to read more about this and to ask us to make a booking for you !

Hidden in lush riverside forest, offering spectacular views of the Marico River and the surrounding bush and its wildlife, Makanyane Safari Lodge offers you the ultimate luxury safari experience within the malaria-free Madikwe Game Reserve, which boasts 76,000 hectares of Big 5 game viewing territory. As well as elephant, lion, leopard, rhino and buffalo, the Reserve is also home to wild dog, cheetah, plains game including gemsbok, springbok, zebra and giraffe, and over 340 species of birds.

If you book to stay here before the 31st December 2009 for travel between 1st May 2010 and 30th September 2010 (excluding the period between 1st June 2010 and 31st July 2010), you can enjoy 3 nights for the price of 2.

Click here to ask us to check availability for you and to make a booking !

Stay for 4 nights for the price of 3 at Makanyane Safari Lodge in the malaria-free Madikwe Game Reserve.

Hidden in lush riverside forest, offering spectacular views of the Marico River and the surrounding bush and its wildlife, Makanyane Safari Lodge offers you the ultimate luxury safari experience. As well as elephant, lion, leopard, rhino and buffalo, the Reserve is also home to wild dog, cheetah, plains game including gemsbok, springbok, zebra and giraffe, and over 340 species of birds.

House wines, local beers and spirits, soft drinks and mineral waters, breakfast, lunch and dinner daily, teas, coffee and cakes, lunch (on day of arrival and departure if required), 2 game drives each day in open 4-wheel drive vehicles, spotlight game drives at night, game walks accompanied by an experienced ranger, transfers from the air strip in Madikwe Game Reserve, visits to hides, emergency medical evacuation insurance and use of gym are included.

This offer is only valid for bookings made before 31st December 2009 for travel between 1 January 2010 and 10 December 2010, but is NOT available for travel between the 1st June 2010 and the 31st July 2010.

Please click here to read more and to ask us to check availability and make a booking for you !

Ellerman House is a spectacular landmark in the premier Cape Town suburb of Bantry Bay, overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, and even more so now that it has just undergone an extensive refurbishment.

The bathrooms of the 11 elegant rooms, including the fabulous Ellerman Suite and East Wing Suite, have all been fitted with chrome fittings, and all the individually designed and luxurious bedrooms have new colours and soft furnishings, plus plasma TVs.

The entire house has also been repainted, and the staff are all eagerly looking forward to welcoming guests over the forthcoming season.

Botswana has experienced abnormally heavy rains during its flood season this year, which has led to exceptionally high water levels in the Okavango Delta.

The rain that fell was about 600 mm compared to the usual 400 mm, but it has been the distribution of the rain over the whole growing season which has made the difference. Many marshes are now full of water and will probably remain so throughout the winter, and some riverbeds, which have been dry for decades, are flowing strongly.

This has all had a positive impact on the majority of animals found in the region. The area is expecting a record crop of young antelope this year, which in turn, will have a positive effect on the predator populations in months and years to come.

Some lodges are also going to be offering catch-and-release fishing to guests. Guests will be be able to enjoy relaxing on a boat and soaking in the views while waiting for the fish to bite.

Other activities offered by lodges will include :

Eagle Island Camp is offering guests a combination of a helicopter and motorboat game-viewing experience. Guests start the trip with a helicopter flight over the main tributaries and then land on a deserted island to enjoy a champagne brunch, returning to camp via motorboat.

Nxabega Okavango Tented Camp and offering scenic boat rides from the camp to the Moremi Game Reserve. After an early breakfast at the camp, guests will depart at 7 am for a full-day boating adventure across the Delta. Guides will point out some of the main attractions including water lilies, reed frogs, dragonflies, unusual antelope species and an array of birdlife. A full picnic lunch will be served on a deserted Delta island. The adventure ends back at the camp in time for afternoon high tea.

The beautiful new Amani Spas at Earth Lodge and Bush Lodge offer a full range of treatments and therapies.

They complement Sabi Sabi’s ethos of creating a space at one with nature, where all things exist in harmony. Just weeks after opening, the spa at Earth Lodge has been named as a finalist in the annual South African Spa Awards, presented by Les Nouvelles Esthetiques. Winners will be announced in July.

On offer are holistic body, skin and beauty rituals, rejuvenating massages and soothing treatments designed to relax, harmonise and heal body and soul. Sessions are tailored to individual needs, and a popular option is a ‘couple’s package’ where guests enjoy treatments simultaneously in a special suite. Amani means ‘Peace’ in Swahili, and the new spas reflect this throughout each treatment.

At Earth Lodge, the Pango Room (‘cave’ in Ki-Swahili) offers a fabulous ‘rasul’ treatment – a cleansing mud treatment combined with heat, steam and shower. All the other spa treatment rooms are beautifully crafted in Earth Lodge’s distinctive style and offer a full range of spa therapies.

The Bush Lodge treatment suites all have breathtaking views of the unending bushveld. There is also an outdoor treatment area and shower.

Amani’s philosophy is “to create the ultimate African Bush Spa experience that is pampering, unique and memorable, by creating an enchanting ambience of absolute tranquillity that reflects the soul of Africa with its natural elements & textures.”

We are delighted to announce that we have added a new section to our website which customers can search on and book via Travel Butlers – Luxury Rail Journeys.

For an unforgettable part of your holiday to South Africa, why not include a rail journey on one of 2 luxury trains – the Blue Train and Rovos Rail.

The Blue Train travels between Cape Town and Pretoria, and offers guests an unforgettable combination of luxury train travel, world-class service, and fine dining, all set against a magnificent ever-changing backdrop of the beautiful South African countryside.

The journey takes 24 hours, and you choice of accommodation is in either a Luxury and Deluxe suites – both which offer the choice of twin or double bed sleeping arrangements, made up every night by your onboard butler with the finest bed linen. Private en-suite marble tiled bathrooms offer showers or deep baths for luxuriant soaking.

Dinner is a sumptious affair, served in the dining car and accompanied by a selection of tasteful background music, ranging from smooth jazz to light classical to the mellow tones of the Soweto String Quartet.

Rovos Rail offers several routes – Cape Town to Pretoria, Cape Town to George, Pretoria to Victoria Falls, and Pretoria to Durban. Journeys take 2 – 3 days, depending on the route. The classic wood panelled coaches are pulled either by steam, diesel or electric locomotives at various stages of your journey, and they take you through a kalidescope of stunning countryside.

The wood panelled sleeping coaches offer guests a choice of spacious air-conditioned twin or double bedded Royal, Deluxe or Pullman suites, with every modern convenience and comfort sitting comfortably alongside the period Edwardian features, including a bar fridge, and an en-suite bathroom with either a Victorian bath and separate shower, or just a shower. The elegant Royal suites in particular are the epitome in luxury – each suite takes up half a carriage, and has its own private lounge area.

The tented camp GwalaGwala, situated in the 13,000 hectare Kapama Game Reserve, has just undergone a massive refurbishment, and as a result it has changed its name from GwalaGwala to Kapama Karula.

The existing 7 tents have been given a total makeover and they have also built 5 new tents – all of which will be the epitome of luxury. Each tent has a ‘his and hers’ basin, inside and outside shower and sliding glass doors that wrap around the tent 260 degrees to offer guest the opportunity to have unrestricted views onto one of the most sought after locations – the Klaserie river. The tents are also air-conditioned and all other luxuries will be a given.

A new lounge, dining room, bar, pool and pool deck have also been built – all with unrestricted views onto the Klaserie river.

But the best news is that the rates have not changed. Guests can still enjoy a safari here until the end of November 2009 for just R1,395 per person, and then from 1st December 2009 until the end of April 2010 for R1,950 per person. Rates include all meals and 2 game drives per day in open vehicles on the Kapama Game Reserve.

Travel + Leisure Magazine USA has just completed its 2009 Worlds Best Service Awards, asking its readers to nominate destinations around the globe that “really deliver”.

The results were published in the magazine’s June edition, and Sabi Sabi is honoured to have been voted as 7th best hotel overall in the world, the only South African establishment in the World’s Top Ten category. Sabi Sabi’s Earth Lodge has also made the 2009 Conde Nast Traveller Gold List for Best in Ambience and Design.

In its 30 years of existence, Sabi Sabi has become renowned for succesfully balancing luxury and world class safaris, with genuine African warmth and hospitality – inviting guests to enjoy a personalised home in the bush experience. The caring management and staff play an integral part in the overall Sabi Sabi experience, offering superb service that complements the 5-Star accommodation, exciting Big 5 open Land Rover safaris and superb cuisine.

Marketing director, Jacques Smit attributes this international recognition to several factors: “People form the heart of our business. The majority of our team hail from nearby villages and they have an inherent connection with the reserve. They bring a special brand of African hospitality to our lodges that make guests feel instantly at home”.

Ask Sabi Sabi’s returning guests why they come back again and again, and the answer will be, “for the unforgettable experience made all the more memorable by the warmth and hospitality of the staff.” How true !