Accommodation

Shamwari’s Long Lee Manor awarded a Michelin Key

Long Lee Manor at Shamwari Private Game Reserve has been awarded a Michelin Key, the hospitality equivalent of a Michelin Star.

It is one of only 27 hotels and destinations in South Africa to have received the recognition. Others include notable hospitality names such as the Mount Nelson, Cellars-Hohenort, The Cape Grace, the Saxon and Le Quartier Francais.

The award is judged according to architecture and interior design, quality of service, personality and character, value for the price and contribution to the area.

“Receiving recognition from Michelin places a restaurant or hotel amongst the world’s elite and in very select company. It’s huge for us,” says Joe Cloete, CEO of Shamwari.

When Long Lee Manor was extensively refurbished in 2018/19, care was taken to reflect the architectural features of the original manor house. Cloete believes this and its situation, with views over the savanna and mountains in the background, contributed to the award.

“We’d also like to think that the hospitality we pride ourselves on played a role, as did our efforts to contribute to the surrounding communities.”

When the Michelin Guide was first published in 1900 it listed maps, mechanics, petrol stations and hotels, but not restaurants. The first restaurant listings and reviews began in the 1920s, and today getting a Michelin Star is the culinary equivalent of an Oscar.

The Michelin Key awards for hotels and destinations were launched in 2024.

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Actually, Home Food and Travel offers a lot more than just reviews of accommodation, restaurants, spas and adventure activities. We also visit great destinations, receive advice from interior designers and stop to smell the roses and taste the coffee.

Our team of journalists are seasoned travels and love visiting the myriad of exciting places around South Africa. Whether it is off the beaten track or in the heart of the top attractions of the country, we’ll be there,

Home Food and Travel advice on finding the right accommodation

So what is the right accommodation? Well more often than not, it’s your travel budget that dictates the type of accommodation that you choose.

Expensive is not always better. Our team at Home Food and Travel will tell you that they have camped in areas with limited ablutions and had a wonderful holiday. They have also spent a night in a five star hotel only to be disappointed because their expectations exceeded the experience.

The reason for your travels will also affect your choice. A business trip requires different amenities to a beach holiday.

Our articles, reviews and experiences can certainly help you make your decision.

Restaurants with a good mix of service, food and ambiance

To my mind a great restaurant offers three things – excellent service, great food and a wonderful ambiance. Of these, service is the most important.

No matter that the food is delicious and the setting delightful, poor service can ruin the occasion. However, great service combined with mediocre meal and a plane jane restaurant can still be a pleasant night out.

We’ve eaten in restaurants that are really dirty but with incredible food and couldn’t help but give a rave review. We’ve also hardly noticed what we ate because the setting was just amazing.

However, the best restaurants come with the best of service, food and ambiance.

Spas are the ultimate relaxation aid

How do you know when you have had a great spa experience? The answer, of course, is when you doze off on the treatment table.

Well that’s our theory anyway. It also doesn’t take a grand location with enormous facilities for a spa to be really good

A small, personal spa that is owner run can result in the best massage you have ever experienced. However, the grand spas in five star hotels offer unsurpassed facilities in an environment that just makes the stress in your shoulders and neck melt away before you even finish checking in.

Adventure!

You don’t have to be an adrenaline junky to enjoy an exciting experience. In fact, what are commonly termed adventure activities usually have incredibly high safety standards and unblemished safety records.

Ziplining, bungy jumping and shark cage diving are all very safe. It’s just that our mind tells us we are craaazzzzyyyy to be doing this.

On the road to great places of accommodation, restaurants, spas and adventure activities

If you’re driving, be safe and make use of all the wonderful farm stalls that populate South Africa’s open roads.

If you overhear somebody asking a lot of questions or see someone taking photos of empty bedrooms chances are it’s one of our Home Food and Travel team members.

We’re out looking or those great places of accommodation, restaurants, spas and adventure activities.

See you on the road!