Don Suites, South Africa now on lastminute.com

The Don is here.

No, no, no not Marlon Brando in Francis Ford Coppola’s 1972 Oscar Award winning film about naughty Italian/Americans. 

From the moment you arrive at The Don Suite Hotels you’ll experience the freedom to stay your way in a fully serviced home-away-from-home. Don Suite Hotels offers more than the comforts of a hotel room – instead they provide a fully serviced suite with the convenience of well equipped self-catering style kitchen, spacious, separate lounge/dining rooms and a workstation area, as well as additional family bedrooms and secure parking.  Guests may choose between a luxury studio, one, two, or three bedroom suites with features that both surprise and please. From the up market luxury of a hotel with 24-hour reception, DSTV, dry cleaning and laundry services, to barbeque facilities, Don Suite Hotels are guaranteed to satisfy

You will find the properties across out site at lastminute.com but here is a little information about just a couple of them so you don’t have to look very far.

The Don Rosebank – Johannesbrug

The Don Rosebank is conveniently situated within walking distance of Rosebank Mall and is easily accessible from Jan Smuts Avenue, a main north to south route. It is also within walking distance of the new Gautrain Station at Rosebank. To get you going, a full English or Continental breakfast is served in the breakfast room. A room service menu also offers light meals in the evenings or you may cook up your own in the fully equipped kitchens that are serviced daily.

The Don Beach Road – Cape Town

At Don Beach Road life is a breeze, as you are a stone throw away from the breathtaking Blue Atlantic, by the Don Sea Point at Cape Town. The airy Mediterranean architecture offers luxurious accommodation, with great opportunities for traditional sundowners exclusively from your very own sea-facing Suites.

The Don Eastgate – Johanensburg

The Don Eastgate is ideally located on the banks of tranquil Bruma Lake, conveniently close to the picturesque Fisherman’s Village, with its unique restaurants and shops and within walking distance of the world famous Bruma flea market. The Don Eastgate also offers quick access to the CBD of Johannesburg and one of South Africa’s largest shopping attractions, the Eastgate Mall.

A gastronomic right of passage…

Sunday lunch, as any Englishman will tell you is no trifling matter. There’s a slow but deliberate ritual to it all and to err on the cuisine or location is to ruin the entire day.  There’s little to beat a sumptuous roast surrounded by the Sunday papers and a cheeky gin and tonic to round it all off .  Mind you the English don’t have a monopoly when it comes to the enjoyment of a well fed day of rest. If you find yourself in Cape Town on any given Sunday and you’re hankering for something a bit special, then make your way to African Pride 15 on Orange Hotel. It’s part of the super trendy and upmarket African Pride Hotels collection of hotels and it’s based in an area of the city’s CBD called Gardens.

Any notions you may have of a dreary and stuffy  hotel lunch with stodgy overpriced food should evaporate the second you walk through the front door. The jaw dropping designer decor alone alerts you to the fact that if James Bond lives anywhere it’s probably here. The hotel bills its Sunday lunch as the quintessential Sunday and my goodness for once the PR bumpf isn’t lying. The Mauritian chef Michael Meyepa clearly has a flair for eye candy. Tantalising dishes are laid out on an island in the restaurant stretching seemingly into infinity. Now before you start thinking “oh it’s a buffet” don’t! This is what buffet lunches want to be when they grow up.

From the Thai Beef Salad with Crisp Vegetables and Roasted Cashews to the grilled Mediterranean Vegetables with Aged Balsamic to the Seared Beef Carpaccio with a Mushroom Confit and Horseradish Cream to the Chicken and Vegetable Wrap with  garlic-lemon Aioli the list is almost endless. Chunks of tuna and salmon Sashimi so generous you could use them as door stop are only overshadowed by oysters so rich in flavour it really does resemble the adult version of being locked inside a chocolate factory overnight.

This is a lunch you would do well to starve yourself for because once you’ve gorged yourself on all of that there’s still the hot dishes to come. If you’re not happy with the selection of hearty Hungarian beef goulash with sour cream and sweet paprika or the Tandoori-Spiced Chicken Drumsticks with Minted Yoghurt or the Slow-Roasted Leg of Karoo Lamb with Elephant Garlic & Rosemary or still yet the Baked Kingklip and Prawn Thermidor with velvety leeks or even the hazelnut-crusted Beef Filet Mignon and Wild Mushroom Casserole,  well then frankly there’s something wrong with you and you really ought to get it checked out by a medical professional.

Dessert is liable to make even grown men cry. Invariably you’re so utterly stuffed by the first two courses you pretty much make up your mind to skip dessert….but then you see the Aladdin’s cave of sugary treats and just know that to miss out would be a crime. There’s all the favourites like tiramisu, meringues and Petit Fours but prepared with such love and attention to detail it almost seems a shame to eat such gorgeous creations, almost.

And I’ve almost left out the best part. All the while you’re engaged in this Olympian worthy task, an attentive waiter has been constantly topping up your glass with the finest sparkling wine this region produces – and it’s all included in  price which is a whoop enducing  £ 25! But if even that’s straining the budget, children under 12 eat for free and can be packed off to the onsite viewing room to watch suitably PG rated movies while the grownups tackle that all important ritual of Sunday lunch.

2 for 1 at the Glen Hotel in Cape Town

Casually chic, The Glen, Cape Town blends the best elements of personalised hospitality.

Fitted to international standards, this beautifully styled hotel has been awarded a four star hotel rating by the SA Tourism Grading Council.  The Glen is ideally located for relaxing on the beaches; dining in one of the many superb restaurants; visiting the numerous bars and club

Each of the eleven individually styled en-suite rooms features a private garden terrace or balcony and many offer mountain and/or sea views. All rooms are equipped with direct dial phone, satellite television, safe, luxury linen, comfy robes and fully stocked mini bar. Double volume showers, dual vanity units and Italian designer fixtures all conspire to re-define the ritual of ‘freshening-up’.

A stay at The Glen doesn’t mean you have to skip your fitness routine. Unwind in style at the Glen’s tranquil private spa. Exclusively for the use of guests and their friends, the facilities include a spacious Moroccan style steam room, traditional Swedish sauna, jacuzzi and relaxation area, outdoor swimming pool. We can also arrange in-room massages including deep tissue, Thai and therapeutic from one of our male masseuses.

Our partnership with the nearby Virgin Active health club gives you all the extra facilities you need. An Olympic indoor swimming pool, sauna, spa, exercise studio, and gym. Plus you can also book a personal trainer.  If you prefer to run in the fresh air of a traffic-free environment, there are miles of jogging trails along the sea front and the many beaches. Our concierge can give you maps and directions.

Or you can stay right where you are, and we’ll bring the beauty and relaxation specialists to you. We keep a register of trusted professionals who can offer a range of therapies in your room, including a massage to ease away the stresses of city life and international travel. The register includes numerous beauty therapists who offer a wide range of treatments from facials to nail treatments. Tell us what you want, and we’ll find you a qualified therapist.

The Glen Hotel is a special kind of boutique hotel. You can enjoy a stunning buffet, continental, à la carte, or full English breakfast as well as round-the-clock informal dining. Choose between the lounge, the terrace overlooking the swimming pool or alternatively the ultimate in-room dining experience. There is a good selection of fresh juices, teas and coffee’s throughout the day.  The fully licensed bar is open for your convenience from 7am until 12:30am, although every room has its own mini bar stocked daily.

To top it all off we are offering a 2 nights for the price of 1 exclusive lastminute.com offer.  Book before 10am on Thursday 14th October and travel before 24th November 2010 and get 2 nights accommodation for the price of 1. This offer is subject to availability and cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer.

Gondwana’s Kwena Huts open to rave reviews and the Cheetah and Hippo arrive on the reserve.

Gondwana Game Reserve’s eagerly anticipated Kwena Huts are officially open to the public. The 14 elegantly appointed private suites offer a modern and luxurious twist on the traditional Khoi-San dwelling, and feature a contemporary open plan design with skylight ceilings for star gazing and 180˚ views of a breathtaking valley dwarfed by the dramatic Langeberg Mountains…

The 14 deluxe Kwena Huts have been landscaped for privacy and feature spacious bedrooms, a clay pot fireplace, dressing area and bathrooms with double vanities, open showers and a deep baths in front of a 3-metre window enabling spectacular panoramic views of the gorgeous Fynbos reserve. On return from game drives, nature walks and horse safaris, guests are treated to warmly drawn bubble baths in their suite with hot chocolate and homemade sweets romantically set for two.

Peter Siebert, Hospitality Director at Gondwana has said that management at Gondwana are confident that Kwena Huts is a product they can all be proud of and that it will be a great sell as it offers something so unique to the area.  He went on to comment that Gondwana is at an important stage in its growth, and is about to reach the tipping point, ensuring that they will become the preferred wildlife and nature destination in the Southern Cape.

Gondwana is receiving fantastic feedback from guests and trade regarding their experiences at Kwena Huts. One agent described Gondwana as her new favourite property and another has said that the scenery is simply spectacular, and another operator was left impressed by the location and the landscape that has been kept as untouched as possible. Some specific comments received – “It was one of the best overall experiences I had on a game reserve.” “I have no doubt that Gondwana will become one of the best lodges we have in the country.” “A special mention as to the service we received. The staff is to be commended on their attitude and the attention to detail; it was without compare.”  The bush brunches are a popular dining experience, as well as the en-suite dining with a private chef.

True to its Khoi-San influence, Gondwana emulates an African village and features intimate pathways to the Kwena Huts and public areas. A separate reception building is home to the curio shop and central fireplace overlooking an awe-inspiring view. The elegant dining area is warmed by large fireplaces and equipped for romance and intimacy with soft lighting courtesy of calabash chandeliers. For recreation, the modern bar and lounge facilities contrast African tradition and modern accents in a chic and relaxing open-plan environment, and the infinity pool overlooks two water holes frequented by the big five.

Gondwana is also proud to announce the introduction of three cheetah to the reserve last week.  They were sourced from an expansive reserve in the Karoo where they were free roaming and born in the wild.  This is the result of Gondwana’s continued conservation efforts to utilize its habitat to help sustain endangered species, and specifically the cheetah introduction contributes to increasing their genetic diversity in South Africa.  At long last the hippo being relocated to Gondwana have been caught (something about a full moon!) and should be wallowing on the reserve before October is up!

To celebrate their opening lastminute.com guests will receive a complementary upgrade to a Kwena Hut, subject to availability.