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Holiday to South Africa & Seychelles
Kenneth LaCroix, 11th July 2023It was definitely a once-in-a-lifetime vacation experience. The trip exceeded our expectations in every way! It was very expensive, but it was worth it. There were a lot of little added touches at each destination for our anniversary celebration. Thanks for all the bubble baths, champagne, flowers, etc!
Accommodation Visited
OR Tambo City Lodge
“City Lodge was nothing fancy, but it was clean, and had a wonderful breakfast with outstanding coffee in the morning. We just stayed here because of our flight's late arrival.”
Makanyi Private Game Lodge
“There are hundreds of safari lodges to choose from! This is one area I spent a lot of time researching and reading tons of reviews. I requested recommendations from Mahlatini and they gave me several choices in each area. I specifically asked them about this one and they agreed it was a good one. Makanyi is definitely worthy of those wonderful reviews. Beautiful lodge with warm and friendly staff that make you feel like you are family, incredible food and drinks and most importantly unbelievable game drives with amazingly close-up views of the Big 5 and more. All of the staff there are wonderful, but our ranger Alfie and tracker Timba were extraordinary. I'm sure there are other outstanding game lodges, but you cannot go wrong with Makanyi!”
Babylonstoren Farm Hotel
“Babylonstoren is a beautiful farm hotel. The staff was great, and the food was wonderful. Unfortunately, we were unable to go to some of the activities offered due to my wife suffering from a bad sinus infection on the first day. The staff did direct us to the best clinic nearby and checked on my wife frequently to see how she was doing. We really enjoyed the carnivore meal on the second night and made friends with everyone seated at our table. I loved the breakfast here; the croissants were huge and as delicious as some of the bakeries in Paris!”
Morukuru Beach Lodge
“Originally, Monica at Mahlatini suggested Grootbos Private Nature Reserve for the whale-watching portion of our trip. Grootbos had great reviews, but through some of my own research I found Morukuru Beach Lodge in De Hoop Nature Reserve and I felt it seemed more like what I was looking for. I'm sure Grootbos is fantastic, but I definitely am glad that I chose Morukuru! This is a very isolated property that is spectacular. Like Makanyi, the staff here were wonderful, warm and friendly and made you feel right at home. Beautiful rooms with spectacular views of the Indian Ocean. I came here just hoping to get a good look at a Southern Right Whale and instead, we saw hundreds! They were completely breaching, slapping their tails and spouting everywhere! We even spotted a rare albino calf with its mother one afternoon while sitting on our balcony viewing them through the binoculars. The food was outstanding as well. This is another do not miss resort.”
Kensington Place
“This is a small boutique-type hotel in Cape Town. Very nice room with a wonderful view of the city, Table Mountain, Lion's Head, etc. The staff was very friendly and helpful with sightseeing and restaurant recommendations. The breakfast was delicious. The location is convenient with lots of restaurants nearby. If you're looking for an amazing upscale meal in Cape Town I highly recommend the Pot Luck Club. It was about 20 minutes from Kensington Place and the food was fabulous.”
Anantara Maia Seychelles Villas
“This resort is just about as close to perfect as it gets. Absolutely beautiful in every way. Your private villa has everything you need and a view that you'll never forget. My wife and I enjoyed it so much, we seriously never wanted to leave the property. The food is amazing, and you can have it at your villa, on the beach, in the restaurant, on the helipad, just about anywhere you can imagine. After all the activities at the previous properties we stayed at, this was just the relaxing wind down we needed. Our private butler Mary took care of our every need. We were some of the last guests to receive the all-inclusive option at this property, I'm not sure how this will affect the overall rates or total experience here.”
Staff Review
“Katarina did an outstanding job of coordination during the whole process, especially with the one glitch that occurred. Up until our original flight to the Seychelles, the trip and transfers had been flawless. Unfortunately, on our first flight to Seychelles, there was a mechanical cancelation that caused quite a bit of confusion and an extra 2-night stay at a Johannesburg airport hotel. Air Seychelles really messed up initially, it's a long story, but they did not handle it well at all. But I can say that they did at least pay for the airport hotel and meals for those 2 extra days. Mechanical cancelations happen, unfortunately!! And Anantara Maia was very nice by not adding any extra charges for missing our first 2 nights and honored our full four-night stay! That was outstanding from their manager, Christian. And of course, most of this occurred late on a Friday afternoon when it was difficult to contact anyone. Katarina and Emma Compodonico at Mahlatini were able to get us out of this jam and reschedule our flights and salvage our time at Anantara Maia. Overall Mahlatini did an outstanding job planning, coordinating and getting us out of our only jam on the trip. Well done.”
