The best of bush, game, spa and wellness venues
Combining business with a little bit of pampering never hurt anyone. So, why not take your conference or meeting outside the office and enjoy a spa treatment while you’re there?
With a face – or a view in this case – to launch 1 000 ships, The Twelve Apostles Hotel and Spa in Cape Town is a place where dreams and business deals come true. With world-class facilities, first-class meeting and event rooms, excellent catering facilities and a dedicated team of professional event organisers, the property presents the perfect environment for conferences, executive business meetings and events.
Squeezed between two beauties – the Twelve Apostles mountain range and the temperamental Atlantic Ocean – the setting, along with the promise of an indulgent spa treatment, is bound to inspire business savvy minds.
The four contemporary, fully equipped and air-conditioned conference rooms provide complimentary Wi-Fi. The rooms can be adapted to suit each group’s requirements, from conference set-ups for up to 70 delegates to cocktail functions for up to 90 guests. The break-out areas encourage delegates to inhale some fresh mountain and sea air.
Event organisers can choose from a range of additional services and facilities, including gourmet picnics for alfresco-style meetings on the mountain slopes, traditional braais, educational wine tastings, stargazing excursions, spa treatments and private screenings in the hotel cinema.
Moving from beach to bush, Lukimbi Safari Lodge, located on the Lwakahle River in the Kruger National Park, offers breath taking views, abundant wildlife, spectacular sunsets and memorable meetings. The lodge’s conference centre comprises AV equipment, a big screen, conference packs and four break-away rooms. The 40-seater venue can be easily adapted to suit different requirements. The on-site conference consultant will guide and plan a personalised programme to suit your needs, making organising your conference or meetings all very easy.
Some of Lukimbi Safari Lodge’s exciting and informative team building activities include a basic tracker course, fear factor meets amazing race, a potjie competition and wildlife quiz.
Whether you want to build teams, inspire change or create a new vision, Bushmans Kloof Wilderness Reserve & Wellness Retreat, at the foothills of the Cederberg mountains, is the ideal getaway to give groups time and energy for meetings, strategy planning sessions and workshops with no interruptions.
The conference room, a peaceful and exclusive space for up to 32 people, is equipped with modern equipment and complimentary Wi-Fi. The Homestead is a great venue for team building lunches, dinners and meetings, and The Manor House Deck is ideal for brainstorming sessions under the old wild fig trees. Then there’s The Makana for workshops, breakfasts, cocktails and dinners, and the River Boma, which is just perfect for casual presentations, sun downers and after-dinner drinks under the stars. After a long day at the conferencing, nothing beats a long soak in the spa’s heated pool, a toxin eradicating steam in the Crystal Steam Room or a relaxing treatment.
If you’re more of a city slicker, the option of pampering is still there. Hidden away in a leafy Randpark suburb in Johannesburg on the Randpark Golf Course, the Fairway Spa invites you to let go. The brand-new spa is the ideal place to unwind after a back-breaking business deal and it’s right on your doorstep.
Beneficial therapy, chosen from specialties around the world and each entirely restorative, is performed by professional staff in one of the 11 private treatment rooms. Packages include individual treatments, day packages, corporate conference spa packages and packages for non-golfing delegates who don’t want to be excluded from the company’s corporate golf day. All these packages can be customised to suit your specific requirements. Sensational hydrotherapy offerings include a Rasul chamber, flotation tank, steam rooms, an eight-seater Jacuzzi and outdoor swimming pool.
Legacy’s Kwa Maritane Bush Lodge and Bakubung Bush Lodge, both located in the malaria-free Pilanesberg National Park, offer fantastic conferencing, meetings and leisure facilities. Kwa Maritane Bush Lodge specialises in conventions, breakfasts, lunches, seminars, cocktail receptions, dinner dances, banquets, private dinners, product launches and team building exercises. Its banqueting and conference department staff is happy to guide you through the process of putting together the perfect catering to your specific requirements
Bakubung, or ‘People of the Hippo’, will provide you with everything you need to get in touch with the bush. For function dining, Bakubung has created a ‘self-selector’ menu, allowing you to tailor your culinary requirements to your own taste. Their team of experience banqueting and function coordinators will help you relax and enjoy the occasion; they have everything sorted.
With Africa’s business rising, it’s only right we include a couple of venues that our neighbours have to offer. The luxurious Cresta Mowana Safari Resort & Spa, on the banks of the dramatic Chobe River in Botswana, is a place can experience true comfort, superior accommodation, delectable African buffets and only the best in true African hospitality. Interact with the exquisite natural surroundings, conduct a business meeting here and there, and relish a massage at the brand new spa – all in a day’s work!
The Polana Serena Hotel in Maputo offers the full spectrum of amenities. The hotel epitomises the luxury of a bygone era and offers guests an extraordinary experience characterised by a magical mix of colonial charm and African appeal. The restored grand ballroom can accommodate 250 guests and 500 in a banquet-style setting. There are four meeting and boardrooms with full AV support that can accommodate between 14 and 50 guests each. The Polana foyer and sea view terrace can be converted to accommodate as many as 70 and 120 guests respectively.
Bush, beach, spa, Africa… it doesn’t get better than this.
