Tsala Treetop Lodge is understandably exclusive and it needs to be. It takes a special type of person who wants to be among the trees, bathed in the dappled sunlight with just the sound of birdcall and distant crashing waves to hear. And, even more special, is the privacy and elegant but deeply luxurious interiors on offer.
Accommodations are in suites and villas (two bedroomed suites with a shared sitting room) perched into the trees on timber platforms and accessed by raised walkways.
Suites are positioned in such a way that the floor to ceiling windows and outside deck areas are not visible from other suites or the walkway.
We arrived on a sunny afternoon and within moments of unpacking jumped into our private rim-flow plunge pool. It was a bracing shock to the system but soon we warmed up again poolside. The "cane" reclining furniture deserves a special mention as it is the first time I've seen outdoor furniture engineered in such a way than you can effortlessly adjust to reclining at any angle just by pulling a leaver.
Not only is the luxury in the space - inside and out - but also in the quality of soft furnishings - raw silk curtains, feather-stuffed cushions and wool upholstery along with collectable African furniture pieces from Zanzibar and Timbuktu.
A ceramic fireplace is set ablaze by staff during evening turndown, a plush day bed with cozy throws invites you to curl up and a mini bar complete with cocktail-for-one shaker contributes to that pampered feeling. Lighting includes wall sconces of kudu horns with ostrich eggshell shades.
The spa-sized bathroom with its centrepiece oval stone tub has two showers outside and in, a separate loo while the beaten copper water spouts and starfish taps are works of art in themselves. Timber and stone detailing throughout all contribute to feeling you are in a special environment.
The main building of Tsala houses the intimate library with leather wingback chairs and the restaurant. A fairly recent addition to the estate is Zinzi Restaurant which is also open to the public.
Tsala Treetop Lodge forms part of the Hunter's estate which has the historic Hunter's Hotel at the same location while their Gorah Elephant Camp is at Addo Park near Port Elizabeth.
Tsala Treetop Lodge with its fantastical legend really invites guests to allow their imaginations to fill in the spaces left between the branches of the ancient forest. Even the design of the stone-walled restaurant invokes the idea of great African kingdoms. Chairs with golden ram's heads as finials and leopard print seats, for example, make one feel rightly royal just by sitting in them. The outdoor dining area has sculptural chairs that look more like praying mantis' with their slim timber and stainless steel stick spine than seating. You may even see winged monkeys at Tsala Treetop Lodge and, if you allow it, you will leave far more relaxed than you ever imagined you would be.
For more, go to tsala.hunterhotels.com
