Best Luxury Hotels in KwaZulu-Natal

Located within the bushveld of northern KwaZulu-Natal, around a four-and-a-half-hour drive from Durban and 280 miles from Johannesburg, lies Vikela Safari Lodge, Club Med’s first-ever safari lodge and wilder half of its triumphant new South African holiday experience, Club Med South Africa Beach & Safari. Surrounded by an 18,000-hectare private game reserve exclusively for Club Med guests, 75 safari tents in couple and family configurations look out across savannah landscapes. Two game drives a day head out in search of the big five, and best of all, it’s all-inclusive, meaning food, drink, experiences and transfers are all combined. Unique to safari lodges, it also welcomes families with its own kids’ club and adults-only spaces. Enjoyed as part of a stay at Club Med’s main hotel just outside Durban, it combines two South African luxury holiday experiences into one trip.

Sitting on a curved sweep of pristine beach on the Dolphin Coast, half an hour north of Durban, you will find Club Med’s latest hotel opening, Club Med South Africa Beach & Safari. Set within a former sugarcane plantation, 411 rooms and suites sit across a 32-hectare oceanfront estate, along with four outdoor temperature-controlled pools, multiple bars and dining experiences, a Sothys spa, alongside the first Club Med surf school anywhere in the world, and best of all, it’s all-inclusive, so one fixed price covers your room, dining, drinks, and the vast majority of activities. And the very clever part? You can pair the experience with Vikela Safari Lodge, Club Med’s brand-new safari lodge set within an 18,000-hectare private game reserve, a four-and-a-half-hour drive inland, to combine two incredible South African experiences into one single luxury holiday.