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Luxury escape from the city
When you live with the stresses and pressures of Johannesburg life, getting away is such a wonderful nice-to-have. And if you can afford to do it, it is often a situation of just how fast can you get there.
OWN CORRESPONDENT
So, spending a few days at the 150-acre Lethabo Country Estate, which is 45 minutes out of town, is a gift because as you set foot out your car, it feels like you are in the bush somewhere. And as you step onto their guest deck and see the sun set over the Crocodile River, it is hard not to heave a sigh of relief and let those pressures subside and set aside the stress.
While this is clearly not the Hilton, where you know exactly what to expect down to the logo on the gown, Lethabo is an eclectic upmarket guest estate with each option for accommodation being totally different and an experience in luxury.
It is family friendly, but it also caters to the romantic in all of us. While families have room to roam, lovely walks to try and animals to visit, there are many uber-romantic spots where men have got down on one knee to ask that ultimate life-sharing question.
The estate is designed in such a way that couples and families hardly need to know that the other is there at the same time.
The calming water is a central theme through the estate, with the guest accommodation built around the running river. Many guest quarters have their own private dip pools and all have luxuriant Jacuzzi spa baths and wrap-around bush, waterfall or river views.
The languid relaxing atmosphere is conducive to time out, switching off from the rat race and either spending quality family time, or having a romantic escape, or both.
Lethabo offers delicious ethical eating, with sumptuous lunches using organic ingredients from the estate’s vegetable garden.
The estate is an old hand at catering to kosher guests, arranging kosher food to be collected from Johannesburg and serving it within the strictest regulations. However, guests are also welcome to bring their own, as there are facilities for self-catering in most of the units.
In the lounge-restaurant area, guests can while away hours playing on the grand piano or just listening to the river while reading a good book.
Each unit offers a selection of books for almost every palate, as well as exclusive magazines, to entertain you as you put your feet up on the king-size beds or on a hammock overlooking the fabulous view.
Returning from a weekend at Lethabo feels more like having undergone a long languid beach holiday than a quick escape from the city.