Tag: royal portfolio

Birkenhead House Voted South Africa’s Best

Posted on by James

Travel and Leisure Magazine reaches more than 16 million travellers every month, and their team includes a network of hundreds of writers and photographers across the globe, all providing a local eye on the best places to stay, eat, see, and explore.

Each year the publication asks their readers to weigh in as to their best destinations, and these awards are sub-categorised by continent, by offering and by accommodation type. Winning one is very prestigious as it means that it is the travellers themselves that are endorsing your product, not just one or two judges that happened to visit the location.

Birkenhead House in Hermanus, part of the Royal Portfolio, was recently voted as the Best Resort in Africa by T+L readers, which is no mean feat, especially when you consider it has already received over 20 other awards since 2003.

Birkenhead House sets the standard for luxury hotels in Hermanus, a quiet seaside town just over an hour’s drive from Cape Town. With its exhilarating cliff-top position overlooking the whale watching paradise of Walker Bay, Birkenhead House provides luxury accommodation for those seeking time out to relax and recharge body and mind.

Surfers show their skills in the waves below, and during the summer months the sheltered coast of the town provides a refuge for literally tons of Southern Right and Humpback whales that move through the area, often only metres from the shore.

The hotel’s contemporary décor is an artful mix of beach-house and quirky opulence. The all-inclusive rate means that guests never need to leave the comfort of Birkenhead House, where all meals and drinks are included. Delicious, coastal-inspired cuisine made using fresh seafood and flavourful ingredients from the local shoreline makes for an unforgettable dining experience for guests. Every meal is accompanied by expansive sea views overlooking the Atlantic ocean.

For the more adventurous, Hermanus offers activities aplenty including whale watching, shark cage diving, golf, horse riding on the beach, hiking, surfing, mussel picking and even wine tasting. The Hemel-en-Aarde Valley is just a short drive away and is one of South Africa’s premier wine routes. Restaurant and wine-tasing opportunities abound in this delightful and picturesque part of the South African coastline.

The 11 rooms at Birkenhead House are located in three different houses which make up Birkenhead House.

Four types of room – from standard to deluxe superior rooms, all of which sleep two people – offer a range of accommodation options. All are 40 square metres and above and all are opulently decorated, offering magnificent sea or mountain views.

The Western Cape has more than enough to do just in and around Cape Town, but if you feel like a bit more peace and quiet, some country air and fresh salt spray, you simply won’t find a better place than Birkenhead House to recharge the soul.
Get in touch to find out about availability and rates…

An African House all of Your Own

Posted on by James

The Royal Portfolio has long been held in high esteem as an industry-leading brand of luxury hotels across South Africa.

From La Residence in Franschoek, the benchmark for opulent accommodation in wine country, to Birkenhead House in Hermanus, from where you can watch breeding pods of migrating Southern Right Whales literally a stone’s throw from your room, the selection of properties in the portfolio truly has something for everyone.

Royal Malewane, adjacent to the world-famous Kruger National Park, is seen by many as the jewel in the Royal Portfolio crown. This is their wildlife offering, and is viewed by many as the place that sets the guiding standard across the industry.
While the royal and luxury suites at the main lodge do an exceptional job of providing excellent safari options for couples and smaller groups, it is Africa House that is helping break new ground in the exclusive-use department.

Royal Malawane Safari Lodge. Client: The Royal Portfolio. Marketing director: Ross Bowers. Stylist: Nathalie Williams.

More and more we are seeing exclusive-use options popping up across the safari industry, and there is an ever-growing list of world-class lodges that have added this type of stay to their offering.
Camps of this nature are designed for larger groups and families, and being self-contained and with no other guests to worry about, offer complete flexibility when it comes to your personalised safari.
Head out on drive when you want, sleep in, meal-times when you are hungry… and all of this with only your close travelling companions. Although there are certainly hours of the day in which game drives are recommended (based on animal activity, weather and comfort levels), you can essentially do what you want, when you want in an exclusive-use camp.

Africa house offers two rate options; one for slightly smaller groups of 1-8 guests, that will have one guide, tracker and game drive vehicle assigned to them, and another for larger groups of 9-12 that will have two vehicles assigned.

The House itself features six vibrant and eclectic en-suite rooms, each leading onto a central courtyard, and each enjoying its own outside shower and deck.
In front of the villa sits an extensive main deck with a swimming pool, from which guests can enjoy spectacular open-air immersion into the African bush, watching the wildlife passing by and listening to ever-present birdsong from the overhanging woodland trees.

Africa House combines all the best elements of safari; superb wildlife sightings, experienced staff, opulent accommodation and fine dining, but the best part of it is you have it all to yourself, with not a care in the world, no set timetable, and the only decision to be made being how deep into the experience you truly want to go…