When the first property of the conservation-led travel company andBeyond opened back in 1991, it was difficult to imagine that it could get any better. And yet, the flagship lodge in South Africa, the Phinda Mountain Lodge has just reopened after a long-awaited top-to-bottom redesign, and it’s an even more elevated level of luxury and beauty.
The added touches such as an interactive dining experience, the infinite edge swimming pool, and the gym are merely the tip of the iceberg. Set within KwaZulu-Natal, the Phinda Mountain Lodge is the largest of six lodges in andBeyond’s private reserve. Equipped with twenty-five suites, the Lodge also has a new wine cellar, a new bar with artisanal spirits and South African wines, a dining room with a pizza oven, and an interactive cooking area, where guests are able to partake in the gourmet culinary experience.
But most importantly, andBeyond has launched the Night Eye Experience – a nighttime safari that uses infra-red technology to allow guests to observe lions, leopards, and hyenas in their natural nighttime hunting habitats. Guests are invited to venture into the night, accompanied by a guide, a tracker, and a cameraman, to capture real-time footage of nocturnal wildlife. The pangolin, the world’s most poached and trafficked mammal is also making a comeback to the andBeyond Phinda Private Game Reserve, where you can not only view the pangolins, but also actively participate in monitoring their adaptation into their new habitat for the preservation of the endangered species, alongside the safari staff.
