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Royal Portfolio – Vineyards, Whales and adventure of the Big Five!

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Author: Diana Carter

Royal Portfolio – Vineyards, Whales and adventure of the Big Five!

If you had to choose only two continents that you want to visit in their lifetime – select Africa. 2 times……. (R.Elliot)

One of the most interesting countries in this continent is of course South Africa – the largest economic powerhouse of Africa – the country is beautiful and controversial, with incredible natural beauty, the 50-year history of apartheid, the country in which we find slums, but the great luxury hotels, of which beauty and standard in Poland, we can only dream of.

I love to go back to South Africa – it has so much to offer! Beautiful beaches, the opportunity of close contact with wild nature, getting to know a nation so linguistically and culturally diverse, the best wines from local vineyards. You already have the benefit to watch highlights of this country, such as Table Mountain, a safari in the Kruger National Park and Route 62, we can focus on the best hotels visiting South Africa.

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Royal Portfolio in South Africa is a unique collection of 3 small hoteli- residence.

The first, which I want to tell you is that it is just an hour away from Cape Town, in one of the most beautiful towns in South Africa – Franhchoek, also called “the culinary and winemaking capital”

La Residence consists of 8 apartments, each furnished with great taste and not very common nowadays in hospitality, swing. The owner Mrs. Liz Biden has spared neither finances nor the time to design something that arouses sincere admiration and delight for its guests.

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As she once told me, “My husband is a banker and loves to make money and I love art and interior design, so we perfectly complement each other; Thanks to his money I can design my hotels and pursue my dreams and designer fantasies. ” And rightly so. Great effects of this conjugal symbiosis we see in hotels with the Royal Portfolio, and therefore here at La Residence. The omnipresent African art and furniture from various parts of the world and almost baroque interiors and fabulous location among the vineyards contribute of the uniqueness of this place.

The meals at La Residence and method of administration, could serve as a canvas for a thick book; I remember even beef steaks, so tender that you could cut them with a fork, delicate salads with from the garden, freshly prepared fish from the ocean …. Meals crowned classic ‘fondant au chocolat’ taste of heaven. Perfect, but unimposing staff read our minds – restaurant managers trying to understand the nature and adequately propose a type of wine. It should be stressed that La Residence produces its own fine wines.

La Residence is also a place neither inflated nor rigid. Guests feel, they say like they are in a wealthy friend’s home. Here one does not hurry, the service is used to pamper guests. Amazing charm of the place and its first-class service, among others visited by Sir Elton John, and his concert graced the opening ceremony of the hotel and that is La Residence your suite.

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For families with children a separate part of the estate of La Residence is provided; beautiful villas with 2-3 bedrooms, private pool and a separate lobby and restaurant where comfort and their parents can feel very much at ease. Personal lobby to the villa, an open kitchen where you can cook along with the chef, so there is a truly a homely atmosphere there.

After a few days staying at La Residence and tastings in the surrounding vineyards discover two terrible truths: first – my dresses shrank in mysterious ways, second- each, visited vineyard seems to be better than the previous …. This is an unmistakable sign that it is time to hit the road …. To watch the next hotel’s ‘gem’ from the collection of Mrs. Liz.

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Birkenhead House is a boutique hotel – the villa is situated on a rock, in a neat and rich town of Hermanus and Walker Bay in the bay right on the shore of the ocean. Happy luck would have it, I had the opportunity there to celebrate his next “18-ste ‘birthday :-) . Support duly took over this event, but of course, like every woman after 30-something, I’d rather ignore this ‘special occasion’. Delicious cake and the best vintages will visit our table without prior organization, not to mention the rose petals on the bed and waiting in the apartment a bottle of delicious, chilled Cap Classique (South African version of champagne), which supposedly always greets guests in Birkenhead House.

At any time of the day you can present your meal on individual request and the chef will prepare a dish that his dreamed up. Birkenhead House in the price offers breakfast (can be served in bed), lunch and dinner as well as afternoon tea and cocktails, served in the hotel lobby. All this adds up to a peculiar and very exclusive form of ‘all inclusive’.

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However, the reason why I came to Birkenhead House was another …. Whales. In the high season from June to December, you can watch from the windows of the hotel and terrace. Hermanus is the ‘whale’ capital of South Africa. While staying at Birkenhead House Service can be arrange a boat trip to watch them from just a few meters!

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Some are of the opinion that the most interesting form of observation of these giant mammals is watching them with a microlight aircraft, flying along the coast. For seekers ‘strongest’ experience I recommend diving with sharks at a distant 50 kilometers Gansbaai. When we include all the area attractions of Hermanus, then I suggest flight from Cape Town to Kruger Park, or travel from Cape Town to Pretoria by Rovos train, and continue to stay in the third estate of the Royal Portfolio series.

Royal Malewane – is exclusive villas on a private game reserve, adjacent to the Kruger National Park, which are considered the most luxurious accommodation throughout the African continent.They may equate to only a few other lodges in South Africa such as Singita Sabi Sands Reserve or Morukuru in the Park Madikwe. I recommend this place especially for those of you who for several years had the dream of seeing the Big Five, but have fear in your heart, as to safety, hygiene or quality of accommodation in the bush.

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Although many times I was on safari trips in African countries, including Zambia and even Gambia, every time a visit to the Kruger Park and peripheral reserves fills me with joy. Extremely rich fauna and several different ecosystems create a unique landscape and climate. If we are here in the summer (our winter), our eyes will enjoy juicy lush greenery and an incredible amount of beautiful birds. On the other hand The country’s winter is the perfect time to observe and photograph animals in low grass and leafless trees. Fortunately, such a treat to encounter a drunken elephant, feasting on a fermented morula fruit may have happened to us all year …

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Malewane Royal Reserve is the land of the African Big Five. A good amount of animals are here to see including; lions, leopards, cheetahs, hyenas, rhinos and even rare wild dogs. Not to mention the so-called: McDonald bush, or impalach with a specific M on its rump, of which here are thousands. The meat of which is delicious and it is known to everyone in the bush; lions, hyenas and chef at the Royal Malewane and his guests.

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As with propagate stress-free driving, I would recommend to stay here for about 4 days. You will then rest assured that you will not miss anything either of the Big Five, or the culinary creations or spa treatment. Someone would have thought that spa treatments are not needed in the bush, but everyone still may suffer from the cause of stress from watching a leopard’s breaking attempt to capture a bird and not always having a professional camera and … the decision of what wine to choose again until the next dinner.

Example program Location:

2 nights at La Residence + 2 nights at Birkenhead House in Hermanus – from 1,920 USD for 1 person in the room / suite 2 people.

7 night Royal South Africa: 2 nights at La Residence, 1 night in Birkenhead House in Hermanus, 4 nights safari in Royal Malewane – 5,590 USD for 1 person in the room / suite 2 people.

The price includes: accommodation in the most beautiful suites, meals, wine tastings, all drinks including alcohol. Price does not include flights or transfers.

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