2 Best Hotels in The KwaZulu-Natal Midlands, KwaZulu-Natal and Durban

This is an exclusive yet unpretentious genuine health hydro, set in one of the province's prettiest locations, only an hour's drive from Durban, and five hours from Johannesburg. A haven of tranquility, you'll stay in one of 17 rooms or 5 suites clustered round tree- and bird-filled courtyards, relax on the wraparound decks that overlook the indigenous forest, pamper your body with all sorts of treatments, float around in two large pools (outdoor and indoor) and eat healthy, delicious food—this is definitely not a one-lettuce-leaf place. Amazingly, however, even with the great food, guests do lose weight as they de-stress. Attend interesting lectures, go for lovely early morning forest walks, or go shopping on the Midlands Meander.

Deliciously luxurious, if rather formal, this 1875 inn, high up on the Meander in the foothills of the Drakensberg, is steeped in history and misty beauty. Some suites are in the original house; others in the gardens look onto an ethereal, lovely lake. The hotel has undergone a trendy revamp and each suite is individually decorated in a gloriously cosmopolitan collision of fabrics and furnishings from Africa, Europe, and the East. The food, which has garnered top honors, is just as rich and eclectically surprising. Dinner (reservations are essential) is an unforgettable event with wine-pairing. Tijnhuis offers a relaxed venue for high teas and lunches Wednesday through Sunday. If you have time, visit Summerhill Stud, the neighboring thoroughbred racehorse stud farm.