The Royal Portfolio comprises four luxury properties in three spectacular South African locations.

Royal Malewane offers you the opportunity to experience the bushveld with every creature comfort you could wish for, while Birkenhead House and Villa set on Cape cliffs overlooking a beautiful bays affords the opportunity to view big game of a different kind - whales and dolphins.

The beautiful Franschoek valley in the Western Cape is a lovely setting for La Residence, which is appropriately designed along the lines of a French country château.

Each of these lodges is situated to allow guests to experience three of South Africa's many landscapes and cultures. And in each, Royal Portfolio has created an exclusive and luxurious place to come home to after a busy day of sightseeing, hiking or game viewing.

Royal Malewane is an exclusive, luxurious lodge that accommodates just 20 guests at a time. Situated within the Thornybush Game Reserve near to the Kruger National Park, Royal Malewane offers privacy, personalised service and superb game viewing.

Royal Malewane consists of eight palatial and freestanding suites, each with a fireplace, antique furniture, a canopied king-size bed and an extravagant bathroom. They provide the ideal place to return to after a day of exciting game viewing.

Facilities include one of the most exclusive spas on the continent. Guests can enjoy treatments either at the spa or in the sala with only nature surrounding them, or in the privacy of your suite.

With fine French antiques, Persian carpets and Ralph Lauren bed linen, La Residence is all about guests enjoying the finer things in life. Its five luxuriously furnished suites each have a private balcony from which to enjoy the views of the Franschoek Valley.

La Residence also boasts a home movie room, a private library and a courtyard with a secluded pool.

Royal Portfolio's Birkenhead House is a regal residence in Hermanus on South Africa's Western Cape coast. A prime whale watching location, Hermanus is a bustling seaside town just an hour and half's drive from Cape Town, with many nearby attractions worth exploring.

Perched high on the cliffs above Walker Bay, Birkenhead House, and adjoining Birkenhead Villa, is named after a British troop ship that sank in Walker Bay in 1852. Decorated with rare maritime antiques, it still has many modern conveniences guest will appreciate - a gym and treatment centre, a dual level swimming pool in a sheltered courtyard and world-class cuisine.

Back to top

Attractions

Each of the Royal Portfolio lodges offers its guests a wonderfully luxurious experience in stylish surrounds. A stay here is guaranteed to be exclusive and private and you will enjoy personalised service throughout.

Birkenhead House and Birkenhead Villa are set in a seaside town on the Western Cape coast whose charms include - but are not restricted to - being one of the best places from which to watch whales during the May to November months.

The spa at Royal Malewane near the Kruger National Park is one of the most exclusive spas on the continent and a real drawcard.

The setting of La Residence in the Franschoek Valley of South Africa's Western Cape is an attraction in itself. Franschoek is a great base from which to explore the winelands, and still within easy distance of Cape Town, allowing you to sample all the highlights of this cosmopolitan city - and then return to the privacy and luxury of La Residence.

Back to top

Activities

Activities on offer at Royal Malewane include twice daily game drives and a walking safari as part of the package. In addition to these, are the options to visit the Hoedspruit Cheetah Research and Breeding Centre, a tour of the Valley of the Olifants - which takes in the Cheetah Project as well as the Blyde River Canyon, and the Moholoholo Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre.

There are also helicopter flights, ballooning trips, golf and horseriding safaris and trips to Mapusha Weavers, a community project involving the talents of local Shangaan and Mapulaneng Sotho women. Elephant-back safaris are another memorably and popular activity you could consider.

Guests staying at La Residence can enjoy swimming, tennis, mountain and village walks as well as all the attractions of the Cape Winelands - the historic estates and the superb restaurants. Optional extras include helicopter trips, golf, private wine and cheese tasting, paragliding, trout fishing and many others.

There are spectacular walking trails on the nearby cliffs and in the mountains near Birkenhead House and Birkenhead Villa, as well as whales to spot between the months of May and November when they come to the Cape to mate and calve.

A smorgasbord of other activities include: cruises to Dyer Island where you're likely to see penguins, seals, great white sharks, sea birds and, hopefully, whales; day trips to the internationally recognised Grootbos Private Nature Reserve where a botanist will take you through the largest private fynbos conservation area in the world; tours to taste local cheeses, lagers and stouts in nearby Stanford; wine tours in the beautiful Hemel en Aarde (Heaven and Earth) Valley and birdwatching.

Thrill seekers and sporty folk will be happy too with shark diving, quad biking, deep sea fishing, sea kayaking, scuba diving and golf - all within range of the Birkenhead's home comforts.

Back to top

Services

Each of the Royal Portfolio's lodges is designed to create an exclusive retreat where guests can relax and experience the area's attractions in comfort and style.

Part of the service at Royal Malewane is a personal chef and butler, private game drives and up to four complimentary massages per suite per day.

Guests who are booked exclusively at La Residence are provided with a private butler, chef and a chauffeur with a car.

Back to top

Food and Wine

Dining at a Royal Portfolio accommodation is a grand affair with the very best china, silver and crystal with which to enjoy excellent, fine cuisine.

Back to top

Accommodation

Royal Malewane is an exclusive, luxurious lodge that accommodates just 20 guests at a time. Situated within the Thornybush Game Reserve near to the Kruger National Park, Royal Malewane offers privacy, personalised service and superb game viewing.

Royal Malewane consists of eight palatial and freestanding suites, each with a fireplace, antique furniture, a canopied king-size bed and an extravagant bathroom. They provide the ideal place to return to after a day of exciting game viewing.

Facilities include one of the most exclusive spas on the continent. Guests can enjoy treatments either at the spa or in the sala with only nature surrounding them, or in the privacy of your suite.

With fine French antiques, Persian carpets and Ralph Lauren bed linen, La Residence is all about guests enjoying the finer things in life. Its five luxuriously furnished suites each have a private balcony from which to enjoy the views of the Franschoek Valley. La Residence also boasts a home movie room, a private library and a courtyard with a secluded pool.

Royal Portfolio's Birkenhead House is a regal residence in Hermanus on South Africa's Western Cape coast. A prime whale watching location, Hermanus is a bustling seaside town just an hour and half's drive from Cape Town, with many nearby attractions worth exploring.

Perched high on the cliffs above Walker Bay, Birkenhead House, and adjoining Birkenhead Villa, is named after a British troop ship that sank in Walker Bay in 1852. Decorated with rare maritime antiques, it still has many modern conveniences guest will appreciate - a gym and treatment centre, a dual level swimming pool in a sheltered courtyard and world-class cuisine.

Royal Portfolio Top Accommodation

View all Royal Portfolio Accommodation