10 Pamper-Perfect Spas in South Africa

10 Pamper-Perfect Spas (in no par­tic­u­lar order):

1. Angsana Spa at The Vineyard Hotel (Newlands, Cape Town)
2. Bushmans Kloof Wilderness Reserve & Wellness Retreat (Cederberg Mountains, Western Cape)
3. Sanctuary Spa at The Twelve Apostles Hotel (Oudekraal, Camps Bay, Cape Town)
4. The Spa at Tswalu Kalahari Reserve (Kalahari, Northern Cape)
5. Karkloof Spa (Karkloof, KwaZulu Natal Midlands)
6. The Spa at The Gorge Private Game Reserve & Spa (Oribi Gorge, KwaZulu Natal South Coast)
7. Botanica Spa Suites at The Westcliff (Westcliff, Johannesburg)
8. Chicama Country Spa (Muldersdrift, Gauteng)
9. The Aroma Boma Spas at Ulusaba Game Reserve (Sabi Sand, Mpumalanga)
10. Amani Spa at Shepherds Tree Game Lodge (Pilanesberg National Park, North West Province)

Please bare in mind that this is a sub­ject­ive list, not a defin­it­ive list – there are hun­dreds of amaz­ing health spas in South Africa. It is not my inten­tion to offend any­one by leav­ing off their favour­ite, but rather to inspire trav­el­lers with the beauty of our country.

1. Angsana Spa at The Vineyard Hotel

The Angsana Spa at the Vineyard Hotel & Spa is situ­ated along­side the banks of the Liesbeeck River at the bot­tom of the hotel's beau­ti­ful man­i­cured gar­dens. Privacy and tran­quil­ity allow you to shed the cares of the world while your body and mind are pampered with invig­or­at­ing treat­ments. For couples, the ultra-romantic double treat­ment room fea­tures a spa bath big enough for two and a private garden patio. With a range of mas­sages (Thai, Swedish, Hawaain, Ayurvedic, to name but a few), scrubs, facials, man­i­cures and ped­i­cures, gor­geous indoor and out­door swim­ming pools, a Steam Room and Rainmist Therapy Room, the Angsana Spa is pamper perfect.

Open daily from 10h00 till 20h00. Booking is essen­tial.
Tel: +27 (0)21 674 5005

2. Bushmans Kloof Wilderness Reserve & Wellness Retreat

The sur­round­ings are ther­apy in them­selves, but the spa is the focus of the abund­ant nat­ural heal­ing energy you'll exper­i­ence at Bushmans Kloof. It's a peace­ful sanc­tu­ary where you'll sur­render to the ancient mys­tical powers of the African land­scape. The spa con­sists of 4 treat­ment rooms (2 dual and 2 single) and a Crystal Steam Room (ideal for body wraps and scrubs or mud treat­ments), all loc­ated to embrace the nat­ural beauty of the reserve. Soothing, pam­per­ing treat­ments are com­ple­men­ted by an excep­tional range and choice from Elemis and Dermalogica, as well as local products. For an out­door spa exper­i­ence, the Riverside Gazebo (one of the dual treat­ment rooms) offers pan­or­amic views and tran­quil waters.

Tel: +27 (0) 21 481 1860. Booking is essential.

3. Sanctuary Spa at The Twelve Apostles Hotel

Sanctuary Spa is a magical oasis of tran­quil­lity cut into the sur­round­ing rocks. Inside you'll find hot and cold plunge pools, Cape Town's only Rasul cham­ber, a sauna and a hydro­ther­apy bath. Seven treat­ment rooms in which you'll be pampered with a range of treat­ments util­ising indi­gen­ous fyn­bos flora or the Elemis International Spa Range. For some­thing dif­fer­ent, try a secluded open-air treat­ment in a shady gazebo over­look­ing the vast Atlantic Ocean ... could any­thing be more rejuvenating?

Open daily from 08h00 in Summer or 09h00 in Winter till 20h00. Booking is essen­tial.
Tel: +27 (0)21 437 0677

4. The Spa at Tswalu Kalahari Reserve

At Tswalu Kalahari Spa the object­ive is to cre­ate rebirth from within... by apply­ing an intim­ate know­ledge of nature, plants and the power­ful gift of touch. Therapies are per­formed by an inter­na­tion­ally qual­i­fied ther­ap­ist, and are indi­vidu­al­ised to exceed your expect­a­tions. The Korannaberg moun­tain range forms the back­drop and in front of you, open grass­land as far as the eye can see. You will be pampered in under­stated eleg­ance, the way that Africa has always nur­tured her favour­ites. Come find shel­ter in the eternal embrace of a majestic silence and leave the Tswalu Kalahari Spa... reborn

Tel: +27 (0)11 274‑2299. Booking is essential.

5. Karkloof Spa

Awarded "Best Safari Spa in Africa 2010" by The Good Safari Guide, Karkloof Spa is home to the most expans­ive eco-friendly spa in Africa, mag­ni­fi­cently set on a 3500 hec­tare game reserve. The spa fea­tures 17 gen­er­ous treat­ment rooms, all with won­der­ful views over the bush and sur­round­ing gar­dens. The eco-design incor­por­ates nat­ural mater­i­als which invites game to graze grace­fully in full view. Facilities include a glass fron­ted Manicure & Pedicure lounge, Moroccan fla­voured Rassoul, Flotation Pool, Kneipp Therapy Pools, open-air Jacuzzi, Sauna and Steam rooms and a Reflections lounge. Choose from an exotic list of nat­ural treat­ments and sig­na­ture spa jour­neys uniquely cre­ated to uplift, revital­ize and recharge your body and mind. With a team of excep­tion­ally skilled and hand-picked Thai Therapists you are in the very best hands.

Tel: +27 (0)33 569 1321. Booking is essential.

6. The Spa at The Gorge Private Game Reserve & Spa

The Gorge Spa's three treat­ment rooms each fea­ture a large win­dow provid­ing a spec­tac­u­lar view of the majestic cliffs of Oribi Gorge. One is a double room, giv­ing couples the oppor­tun­ity to enjoy a relax­ing mas­sage or revital­ising body wrap in each oth­ers com­pany. Allow nature to replen­ish body and soul. Our unique treat­ments, per­formed by exper­i­enced ther­ap­ists, incor­por­ate the acclaimed Dermalogica brand, as well as the eco-friendly Africology body ther­apy range. Treat your­self to some hand or foot ther­apy whilst soak­ing up the sun on a private deck, or loun­ging next to the Jacuzzi.

Tel: +27 (0)39 687 0378. Booking is essential.

7. Botanica Spa Suites at The Westcliff

The hotel's spa is tucked away amidst cas­cad­ing gar­dens of the Westcliff's hill­side vil­lage with the sooth­ing sounds of bird­song and gently tink­ling foun­tains lies the Westcliff's Botanica Spa Suites which is an oasis of indul­gence, pleas­ure, relax­a­tion and radi­ant trans­form­a­tion in Johannesburg. Tucked away amidst The Westcliff’s cas­cad­ing gar­dens and delight­ful foun­tains, lie the Botanica Spa Suites, an invit­ing oasis of indul­gence and relax­a­tion. Three beau­ti­fully spa­cious hotel suites have been con­ver­ted into calm­ing treat­ment rooms with en-suite bath­rooms and chan­ging areas, where skin­care spe­cial­ists offer an all-encompassing selec­tion of facial and body treat­ments, using the elite range of Pevonia Botanica products.

Open daily from 09h00 till 20h00. Booking is essen­tial.
Tel: +27 (0)11 481 6000

8. Chicama Country Spa

The award-winning Chicama Country Spa at Glenburn Lodge, in the heart of the Cradle of Humankind, is loc­ated in tran­quil, scenic and calm­ing sur­round­ings with spec­tac­u­lar views from every angle. The spa offers a total of ten treat­ment rooms includ­ing 4 couples ther­apy rooms, a heated indoor swim­ing pool, Rasul cham­ber and steam room. The spa menu fea­tures day and overnight pack­ages, indi­vidual pam­per­ing and well­ness treat­ments, bridal pack­ages, hen parties and romantic getaways.

Open Tuesday to Sunday from 09h00 till 18h00. Booking is essen­tial.
Tel: +27 (0)11 668 1615

9. The Aroma Boma Spas at Ulusaba Game Reserve

The Aroma Boma Spas at Ulusaba's Rock and Safari Lodges are the per­fect anti­dote to all the excite­ment of game drives. A whole range of treat­ments is avail­able, from facials and mas­sages through to those essen­tial groom­ing rituals. The Aroma Boma at Rock Lodge is loc­ated 800 feet above the African Savannah with truly stun­ning views over the Bush and offers com­plete pri­vacy. At Safari Lodge, The Aroma Boma is built on the banks of the dry Mabrak river­bed amongst the trees and away from the main lodge area, so the only likely dis­turb­ance is per­haps the odd ele­phant wan­der­ing past!

Tel: +27 (0)11 325 4405. Booking is essential.

10. Amani Spa at Shepherd's Tree Game Lodge

The spec­tac­u­lar spa is sure to cre­ate magical moments and turn them into spe­cial memor­ies. Relax, unwind and take your­self on a pam­per­ing escape you'll never for­get. A truly African exper­i­ence, the Amani Spa at Shepherd’s Tree Game Lodge is the ulti­mate escape for pure self-indulgence. A ban­quet for the soul and senses using our unique Spa product brand, Africology, made from the purest of ingredi­ents, free from arti­fi­cial pre­ser­vat­ives, col­our­ing and fra­grances. Relax in the lap of lux­ury and enjoy our pam­per­ing Holistic Body, Skin and Beauty Rituals designed to revital­ise and restore bal­ance and har­mony to your body, mind and soul. You are guar­an­teed to walk out glow­ing from the inside out! The spa offers 3 private treat­ment rooms, 2 of which cater for couples, and one of which includes a stun­ning hydro­ther­apy bath. All the rooms look dir­ectly into the sur­round­ing bushveld for an absorb­ing experience.

Tel: +27 (0)11 781 1661. Booking is essential.

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