Sani Top Chalets: Comfortable accommodation in a stunning location
There are increasingly few places where a hotel has a complete monopoly on a stunning location: however, such is the case with Sani Top, where the next hotel in Lesotho is at Mokhotlong, a good two hours drive on a sump busting road.
Sani Top Chalets are what you'd expect from a remote location in an outpost of the colonies -which is what this was when the chalets were established - providing somewhat shabby but hospitable no frills accommodation. Its chief charm is that it is a convivial sort of place, with the sort of atmosphere that prompts absolute strangers to strike up conversations in front of the blazing wood fire in the pub.
The chalets are stone walled rondavels with thatched roofs, which are both comfortable and weatherproof. They come equipped with lots of blankets, hot water bottles and gas heaters which should keep the chill at bay - in any season other than summer (and sometimes even then), you'll need them!
Travellers should bear in mind that the hotel is not on the electricity grid: in the evening, they switch on the generator which provides light and electricity for a few hours (so if you need to charge batteries or appliances, take this into account).
I must comment that when we visited (January 2012), we found the 'hands off' attitude hotel management (whose approach is best described as 'laissez faire') to be somewhat disappointing, resulting in a hotel that is apparently overstaffed yet needs prompting to do fairly basic tasks (such as lighting the fire in the evening). Later on in our trip when we were in Underberg, we heard that the hotel had been sold, so hopefully the new management will be more interested in doing more than going through the motions and will engage with staff and service providers to improve their service delivery.
The hotel's main claim to fame is that it has the highest pub in Africa and is popular with intrepid tourists looking to celebrate either their ascent of the Sani Pass or their traverse of the Roof of Africa. The restaurant has a small menu: warm, nurturing, ribsticking 'home cooking' served in generous portions. Chances are that this is exactly what you want after a challenging drive, washed down with a Maluti lager or two (or maybe something stronger) to sooth your frazzled nerves.
It would be a real pity to drive the Sani Pass and not stay here for the night: let's face it, if you're going to have a celebratory drink or two to mark your achievement, it's not very prudent to then climb behind the wheel of a car and negotiate what is a diabolical road in either direction. Also if you're just passing through, you don't get the opportunity to appreciate the various moods of the pass at different times of the day, which would be a great shame given that you've made a lot of effort to get here in the first place.
This is an ideal location to reward yourself with some 'down time', and I would recommend staying here two nights if at all possible. This gives you an opportunity to recuperate from your journey and take advantage of the splendid hiking and pony trekking opportunities that the surrounding area has to offer.
The chief attraction for hikers is the opportunity to conquer Thabana Ntlenyana - the 'pretty little mountain' - which at 3,482m is the highest point in the Drakensberg (and indeed, the highest peak south of Kilimanjaro). This is a long day's hike from Sani Top, and can also be reached by pony: both options are likely to leave you aching from head to foot but fairly glowing at your achievement!
Even if you don't feel that active, the surroundings are very restful, and you could happily occupy yourself for a day wandering around close to the chalets, admiring the alpine flowers, watching the ice rats and marvelling at the stupendous views.
