Karkloof Safari Spa

Karkloof Safari Villas | World's best spa hotels

"This sublime wellness retreat is one of the largest ‘safari’ spas in Africa. Karkloof is a 7,500-acre private game reserve that feels like an African version of Jurassic Park. You’ll see wild animals roaming freely but there’s no need to panic, there are no hungry lions hiding in the undergrowth. Expect mainly herbivores: dainty tan and white antelope, lanky giraffe, and skittish zebra. The lodge also runs a pioneering white rhino breeding programme. The style is throughout is lacquered and lavish: deconstructed chandeliers, a grand piano in the lounge and fireplaces as big as London bedsits. A villa highlight is the bath tub positioned so you can draw back retractable doors and see the magical morning light on the mist-covered hills, along with the waterholes where game come to feed. Relaxing here is a serious business: with a grass-roofed eco spa and a soundtrack of tinkling water features. There are 17 treatment rooms, hydrotherapy pools and therapists cherry-picked from top international spas. If you cut through this lodge, the word decadent would run right through the middle. " - Susan d’Arcy