Luxury hotels, hotel suites and fine dining restaurants in South Africa

Vacations in South Africa

 Dramatic scenery, exotic animal life, urban life with one of the world’s most famous food cultures, plus the pleasures of wine country: South Africa is a vacation dream come true and holidaymakers that taste its charms are converts for life.

Our luxury hotels in South Africa span a footprint that crosses the country and ticks off many of its key draws for visitors–from the big city feel of Cape Town in the south west, with its wild Atlantic coastline, nearby Stellenbosch wine region and picturesque Garden Route, to the north of the country, where lodges, hotels and restaurants nestled in game reserves can be found, ideal for safaris–and relatively close to its urban centers like Johannesburg and Pretoria.

Discover urban retreats with stunning ocean views and private wine lodges at the heart of vineyard landscapes, each with their own pool. Enjoy the view from clifftop, forested safari lodges built in traditional, grass-roofed styles that give the perfect vantage point for spotting the Big Five and other animal life. Relax in modern, luxury settings that blend contemporary conveniences with natural surrounds, including off-grid eco-lodges that overlook the Indian Ocean. Our luxury hotels in South Africa showcase modern décor mixed with traditional African crafts, alongside impressive collections of art and sculpture.

Fall in love with flavor: our fine dining restaurants in South Africa

 African flavors blend with European and Asian culinary influences in our brand of creative cuisine. In our gastronomic restaurants in South Africa tradition meets modernity, in dishes of exquisite presentation. As with all our Relais & Châteaux properties around the world, our gourmet restaurants in South Africa focus on the freshest, best examples of locally sourced and sustainably produced food and drink that communicates a sense of place on the plate. Enjoy it all in sophisticated dining spaces or go wild in the open air–imagine a wilderness location, with just storm lamps, bonfires and starry skies to light the setting, perfect for romantic getaways in South Africa, drinking delicious wine while meat sizzles on the barbecue.

And let’s talk more about wine. This unique terroir and microclimate shaped by the sea and the mountains near Cape Town makes for a winning combination, giving grapes a rich intensity. In our luxury hotels in South Africa you can encounter cellars of several thousand bottles with numerous examples of delicious vintages. Better yet, get out into the vineyards themselves to discover the joys of new world wine–including innovative horticultural approaches alongside the vines that include eclectic mixes of plant-life, water features and outdoor, contemporary sculptures. These hotels in South Africa are havens of peace and tranquility that feel a world away from your regular existence.

Go wild in nature with our best luxury hotels in South Africa

 The richness of the wildlife in South Africa is hard to describe–its breathtaking panoramas include plains and savannah, forests, waterfalls and rivers, where you’ll see lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo and rhino (the so-called Big Five) as well as zebra, giraffe, antelope, cheetah, warthogs and numerous species of birds. Discover it all from renowned nature reserves and game parks, including Kruger National Park and the Sabi Sand Game Reserve.

Our luxury hotels in South Africa offer experienced rangers to ensure you get close to the action, safely, while some of our boutique hotels in South Africa offer special schemes aimed at children where they’ll become mini rangers as they understand the need for conservation. After dark, get swept away by Zulu songs and dances in a traditional boma–a traditional wooden enclosure built around a fire–before settling into the nocturnal sounds of the wilderness.

In our coastal locations you can enjoy whale watching, explore the renowned fynbos shrubland vegetation or take a guided coastal walk where you could spot octopus, starfish, abalone and sea urchins. Get an adrenaline high sandboarding down dunes in nature reserves.

Eco hotels in South Africa help preserve this natural beauty

 Our 5 star hotels in South Africa are dedicated to playing their part in protecting their natural surroundings, and invite guests to participate where possible. Some properties participate in elephant orphan rehabilitation schemes, or have developed an expertise in understanding their local leopard population. Others work with local communities to deliver education to rural populations. These kinds of schemes are crucial ways that our properties promote responsible travel to South Africa. We also carefully look after our own green spaces and grow much of our own food organically in order to preserve the local biodiversity.

Relais & Châteaux in South Africa

 In addition to the allure of the incredible scenery and wild animals of this epic country, guests are also often drawn back to our hotels in South Africa because of the warm hospitality and attentive service they receive. It all makes for an unforgettable African adventure.