lmoneylsauce

My fiance & I are looking to Honeymoon (next June) in South Africa, but have never been. We're thinking of staying at the Cape Grace for several days in Cape Town & then doing a safari---we've heard positive things about Londolozi & Singita--what are your experiences/advice? We want something upscale (it's our honeymoon after all Also, we are considering doing an extra week in either the Seychelles or Mauritius--what's the real difference between these islands?

jasher

Hello,

Congratulation on your wedding -- and on picking a wonderful place for your honeymoon!

I've just returned from a June/July trip to Botswana and South Africa where I stayed at both Singita and Londolozi. I've stayed at Londoz several times, and without fail I've had a wonderful time there -- for a honeymoon, I would recommend Londoz Tree Camp, which has only 6 rooms and doesn't allow children. This is a lovely little all-suite camp where each room has a private plunge pool and a personal butler.

As much as I love Londoz, after staying at Singita on this trip I would have to admit that I think it would make an even more incredible honeymoon destination. Singita has just finished redecorating both Ebony and Boulders -- I have some photos if you'd like to see them as the Singita website hasn't been updated yet. Ebony looks a bit more modern than it did, and Boulders is now much more rustic looking. The suites are larger than those at Londoz, and have heated plunge pools (very important in the South African winter) -- most plunge pools in the Sabi Sand are not heated. In addition to great game-viewing, there is a gym (also a rarity in the Sabi Sand), a full spa, and wine-tasting (from one of the best cellars in South Africa) and gourmet food. The cellarer, Francois, is an expert on South African wine and can design a customised tasting to suit your interests -- I did a tasting with him during my trip.

For your Cape Town stay, I'd encourage you to look at some of the luxurious boutique hotels in addition to the Cape Grace (which is also an excellent hotel, but a bit larger than some people prefer). If you like historic hotels, Ellerman House might appeal to you -- it's one of my favourite hotels in Cape Town.

http://www.ellermanhouse.co.za

The Twelve Apostles is another boutique hotel which has been very highly recommended by some people on this board:

http://www.12apostleshotel.com/

Go for a room with a sea view if you stay at either place.

If you enjoy food and wine, I'd suggest taking a few days off your beach holiday and spending them in the Cape Winelands. which are home to some of South Africa's besst restaurants. A great place to stay there is Le Quartier Francais:

http://www.lequartier.co.za

Even if you don't stay there, do try the food -- I've had one of the best meals of my life there, on par with the French Laundry in Yountville.

Both the Seychelles and Mauritius will give you a great luxury beach experience -- it depends on whether you prefer 'barefoot luxury' or 'regular' luxury. IMO the Seychelles offers more of a barefoot luxury experience, whereas Mauritius offers something a bit more civilised, closer to what you might find in Bali or Thailand. You can get a sense of the difference by looking at the accommodation. In the Seychelles, one of the premier places to stay is North Island:

http://www.north-island.com/

In Mauritius, the top places are Le Prince Maurice and the One and Only:

http://www.princemaurice.com/

http://www.oneandonlyresorts.com/

Either way, you'll have a really superb beach experience.

Cheers,
Julian

lmoneylsauce

Julian,

Thanks so much! I would love to see pictures of Singita, and my fiance and I adore wine and food and were considering Le Quartier Francais but of course we weren't sure how good it was (it's so nice to hear first-hand accounts) and it sounds like it's something we'd love. The Ellerman House looks fantastic, we do tend to prefer the smaller boutique hotels to larger ones, my one concern is that did you find it to be too removed from the city & things to do? Or is it easy to get to/from there into Cape Town?

Thanks!
Lindsay

capetownfolk

Ellerman house is lovely is downthe road from me, but yes it is removed fromthe city and waterfront but if you have a car its 10 minutes drive

12 apostles will be too remote- great views but justa nice hotel on the side of the road - good to go for dinner one evening perhaps and they have a great bar witha singer there quite often.

Cape Grace is lovely and the restaurant and whiskey bar there are also excellent.

mayritius in June you will get lots of winter specials so maybe book when you get to cape town or try www.suninternational.co.za and pick up on the local deals/ prices.

anyway have fun

jasher

Hello,

If you adore wine and food, I'd definitely make Singita your top choice for your safari - the cellar there has to be seen to be believed, and Francois conducts great tastings. Drop me an email if you'd like me to send you the pictures of Singita.

Personally, I didn't find Ellerman House to be too isolated from the city. Room 4 is generally considered the honeymoon suite, though IMO several of the other rooms would make equally nice honeymoon suites.

The Twelve Apostles offers a free shuttle to/from the V&A waterfront, so you won't have any problems getting back and forth.

Personally, I find most of the Sun Intner

jasher

Oops, accidentally posted too soon!

At Ellerman House, I'd recommed looking Rooms 7 and 11 as well as Room 4 for a honeymoon suite.

Personally, I find the Sun International hotels a bit too large and impersonal and overpriced for what you get - but everyone has their own opinion. If you do go with one of their hotels, don't book it through their website as those prices are rather high.

Cheers,
Julian

capetownfolk

would only ever consider sun international for mauritius and their web site for an idea of off season prices

Clematis1

Lmoney, about the Cape Grace that you're considering, we stayed there. While it is not as intimate as the ones Julian recommended, it did not strike us as a big hotel. It felt like our private club. Instead of a large reception counter in US hotels, there were 2 or 3 desks with helpful people who acted as your conceirge. You also had the benefit of the privacy of being in a hotel. What we loved was being able to just walk out and be right at the waterfront with the shops and restaurants. Very easy for just running out to get one last souvenir. They also had a car that took us to dinner at a restaurant further away.

However the Ellerman is where the royal family stays and being Julian's fav, we will try it sometime.

We also went to Singita Boulders and had the best time there. We were there in June too and saw the big five, saw amazing game such as eles surrounding a lost rhino, a leopard in a tree with a kill, baby lion cubs, cheetahs who had just eaten. I prefer Boulders to Ebony but look at Julian's photos. The Ebony lodge is neat but you can go there for lunch.

pjammin123

I too love Singita and everything said is true. BUT, if you want an experience that is equally luxurious with excellent game drives yet substantially less money per night than Singita you may want to consider a camp I recently stayed at called Mateya in the malaria free zone of Madikwe. There are only 5 rooms and the food, service, ammentities are equal to Singita. It now ranks as the #1 lodging I've stayed at anywhere in the world I believe. It is very upscale and you will feel pampered beyond your imagination and the game viewing was spectacular. I wrote a review on tripadvisor.com with more detail. IMO, it is a newer, undiscovered find that will quickly be receiving the same deserving distinction that Singita has received in the past. This would make for a perfect honeymoon. I'm almost hesitant to say too much for fear that their prices will rise before I have an opportunity to return.

gard

Hi

My wife and I went to South Africa a couple of years back and we went on a safari to Djuma Vuyatela Game Reserve and that was wonderful. I have posted a trip report with some pictures on my homepage http://gardkarlsen.com/djuma_vuyatela_safari.htm . Maybe you can get an impression of what to expect there. If you are spending a day or two in Johannesburg you should check out places like Soweto, Apartheid museum and Constitution Hill. Check out this trip report: http://gardkarlsen.com/johannesburg_...frica_2004.htm .

Have a wonderful trip to South Africa. Get in touch if you have any questions

regards
Gard
http://gardkarlsen.com - trip reports and pictures

jasher

Hello,

I agree that Mateya is very luxurious, and would be great for a honeymoon where you wanted to be pampered.

However, the game-viewing is very different in the two reserves. I've stayed in both areas, and for game-viewing the Sabi Sands is leagues ahead of Madikwe. Madikwe is a wonderful up and coming reserve, but IMO it will be a long time before it can equal the Sabi Sands. I've found that game-viewing in the Sabi Sands is consistently excellent, whereas game-viewing in Madikwe is quite uneven - very good at times but very scarce at times. If it was my honeymoon, I wouldn't want to risk it.

Cheers,
Julian

petlover

I will be visiting Mateya in January on our first trip to South Africa. I too looked into various properties but my TA who is also a good friend who has been to most all the camps felt that Mateya was the most bang for the buck when it came to luxury camps. She has been there several times and always had excellent gaming viewing. I hope we will be as lucky! She has a review and some nice photos taken while she was there:

http://www.bkafrica.com/P_Mateya.htm

I have a 2nd trip to South Africa planned in 2008 and will be at Leopard Hills.
Happy Honeymooning where ever you decide to go!

Roccco

I am very excited about my own upcoming stay at Mateya in early November. From Mateya it will be a 90 minute? drive to the Botswana border and into Gaborone where I will fly to Kasane and onto Kwando. No overnight in Joburg necessary.

If I don't see wild dogs on this trip I am just going to throw myself to the lions!

petlover

Rocco, from everything I've read about Madikwe you will see wild dogs. Please let us know all about Mateya when you return.

bombasticlife

I stayed at Twelve Apostles, it was beautiful. Did Sangita also, you will love it. I put some info and pictures on my site. Check them out if need more info. http://www.bombasticlife.com

mandelieu

We recently returned from a trip to South Africa, staying at both the Cape Grace and Singita Ebony. I've never stayed at Ellerman House, so I can't comment on that, although we did drive by and it is located a bit out of town. The Cape Grace was lovely and did not feel like a "big hotel." The service was very personal and I was particularly impressed with the concierge staff. The location is excellent since you can easily and safely walk to the waterfront where restaurants, shops and activities are located. We used the hotel's complimentary shuttle service several times and it was a very nice perk. I think that Singita is the perfect honeymoon destination. The service was excellent without being smothering, the rooms are beautiful (we stayed at Ebony but also visited Boudlers), a massage on the deck next to the private plunge pool is wonderful, and the rangers and trackers are great. We couldn't find anything wrong with the place and would go back without question. Just one note: someone wrote that the plunge pools are heated. At present, only some of the pools are heated. I believe they said that the plan is to heat the rest but I'm not sure of the details of the plan. Enjoy your honeymoon!

lmoneylsauce

Wow, wonderful. Thanks so much for all of this info!

Vbchot

Hi there,
My wife and I had been to Beachcomber Hotels. We reside at Le Canonnier and Dinarobin. That was fantastic. We had special offers and free nights. Here is the link to Beachcomber offers.
http://www.beachcomber-hotels.com/offers/index_en.htm

Arbizulu

Hi There
Have recently been to Mauritius and thought the Taj Exotica was great. All rooms have a private pool and they go out of their way to make a Honeymoon special..Just a thought!!Here is a link to their website..http://www.tajhotels.com/Luxury/Taj%...US/default.htm

Txtrav1

I can also highly suggest Mateya for your safari portion of your honeymoon. My wife & I were married at Mateya this past May and honeymooned for 5 days with them before heading over to the Marlin Lodge in Mozambique.

Mateya will cost much less, but from what I have heard from many sources, is just as nice as Singita or Londolozi. Mateya is 6 star in our opinion. Staff is fantastic, accomodations superb and the chef.......want to keep him a secret as we feel his food rivals some of the best we have ever had anywhere

The policy at Mateya is that honeymooner's are given their own vehicle with ranger & tracker (Sakkie & KK are fantastic). Normally, it would be only 4 per vehicle, but it will be just the 2 of you. Game sightings were plentiful, so don't worry about not seeing much. We were overwhelmed with all we saw in 5 days.

The folks at Mateya will bend over backwards to give you a trip to remember. My wife & I can't wait to go back for an anniversary + see other parts of southern Africa

Best of luck in whatever you decide