The four-star Hilton Country Estate & Spa is a gorgeous, 20ha estate in the serene Midlands town of Hilton. Its colonial home and garden cottages are set amid lawns and trees with 180º views of Pietermaritzburg.
The estate accommodates 16 guests. The main guest lodge has lavishly furnished lounges and reception rooms. There are five double bedrooms in the main house. Each spacious, well-appointed room has a large en-suite bathroom with a glass shower and French doors leading onto a verandah.
The luxurious presidential suite has a floating bed adorned with silk pillows. It has an exquisite Italian Travertine marble bathroom, its own fireplace and a secluded veranda – a perfect romantic getaway for two.
The cottages each have two en-suite bedrooms and a lounge and one has its own kitchen.
The estate’s award-winning kitchen is recognised for its superb cuisine. Exquisite dishes are prepared daily.
The fusion-food approach combines an array of tastes, flavours and textures and you can choose to dine in the open plan dining-room-kitchen with its antiques and earthy colours, or in the garden.
Corinne Madden’s distinctive style has proved immensely popular. Plates keep coming, with five different tasty treats for lunch and seven or nine for dinner, placed in the middle of the table for all to share. Naturally, there is a superb wine list to match.
The world-class spa has a steam room and rhassoul room. (Rhassoul is cosmetic clay mined deep beneath the Atlas Mountains in Eastern Morocco. It has been used for over 1 400 years as a soap, shampoo, and skin conditioner.)
There is also a luxury manicure and pedicure chair and, in a first for South Africa, Hilton Country Estate and Spa has launched the “Wellness System luxury water massage bed”. The spa’s well-trained therapists use leading brands across all product lines and create the ambience for a truly memorable treatment.
The gym may be a requirement after all the great food and is available to estate clientèle, day visitors and club members. Lifestyle training by in-house fitness specialists and top-flight equipment make it a leading gym.
The estate is 10 minutes from Pietermaritzburg and 45 minutes from Durban. It is regularly used for exclusive conferences and the entire estate can be reserved. It has very recently been added to the Signature Life Hotels portfolio and MD Alan Vels is more than pleased.
“Signature Life has been looking for the right property in this area, as we are inundated with calls from travellers who wish to go to the Midlands for a break or conference. This estate is perfect and we are delighted to be involved”.
Rates begin from R700 per person sharing in a luxury room or R2 000 per six-sleeper cottage.
Hilton Country Estate and Spa are offering readers a 25 percent discount valid from September 19 to October 10 (subject to availability). E-mail [email protected] or call 0861 238 252 - Sunday Tribune