Whistletree Lodge

"Afro-Edwardian" luxury at a good price

I spent a couple of days here recovering from my volunteer stint at the Lion Park (I needed a proper bath, for example.) The UK organizers of the volunteer scheme booked us into Pretoria Backpackers and charged us R200 a night for the privilege. When I found out the five-star Whistletree Lodge charged only R400 more, I didn't hesitate.

The hotel is in a large compound (tennis courts, pool, spa, mature trees etc) and is in a modern building. There are about 20 rooms, all are decorated in a Anglo-Boer War theme (the property quartered soldiers during that era). Each room is decorated to evoke a chapter in a (fictional?) love affair of the period. The owner collected antiques for 30 years and the interior is sumptuous, just encrusted with Oriental carpets and brass. Breakfast (included in the price) is huge and truly outstanding, dinner less so. There are lots of art and nature books scattered around if you need something to read. A cruet of sherry is on each nightstand. There are fridges and a coffee/tea maker in each room. I would highly recommend the Whistletree Lodge, and it's a great value.

Unique Quality: The pool and tennis courts are really pleasant, the grounds are a nice place to chill for a few hours. The neighborhood is upper-middle class residential and very safe. You can safely walk to a shopping center about a half mile away for groceries and other necessities. There's a large plastic-surgery clinic a few hundred yards down the street -- I was tempted to get some laser work done, and the Lodge would be a great place to recover ;) If you want to go to Hatfield (pedestrian-friendly shopping, bookstores, antiques etc.), any of the big shopping malls, the Union Buildings etc., you'll need a vehicle. Management can ring for a car and driver; this costs about R100-150 each leg of a trip, which adds up. I suppose you could negotiate if you wanted the guy all day.