What’s New!
- Abelana River Lodge - Château Troplong Mondot - Puku Ridge
“Bringing you the finest places around the world is what we love to do here at Upscale Living magazine. In keeping with this tradition, we are focusing on introducing you to new kids on the block or accommodation establishments with a re-looked lease on life. Grab your travel diary as you want to get to these places as soon as possible!”
It takes unfathomable patience and considerable resources, both financial and human, to build a safari lodge. Then, of course, there’s the location, and when it comes to Abelana River Lodge, its prime position on the northern banks of the Selati River, overlooking this beautiful river, is absolutely breathtaking.
With 20 luxurious guest suites and a wonderfully designed and immaculately decorated main lodge area, all overlooking the Selati, building Abelana River Lodge has been a labor of love.
The knowledge and project experience of all involved in this mammoth undertaking have been a major advantage too, especially when ensuring compliance with both safety and environmental requirements while designing and building a lodge that looks amazing, provides incredible facilities and high levels of comfort and convenience in the middle of the African wilderness.
Thank goodness the team at Abelana Game Reserve are old hands when it comes to breathing life into outstanding safari lodges. Drawing on their combined reserve of experience and undertaking, the team took a vision captured in artists’ impressions and turned it into bricks and mortar.
It is no mean feat and fraught with problems, not the least of which was the weather. Even in the home stretch, there were last-minute challenges to contend with. Construction came to a grinding halt earlier this year due to heavy rainfall that swelled the seasonal Selati River and its normally dry tributaries to fast-flowing proportions. This coincided with the main tributary, the Mulati River, coming down in a glorious flood.
Underpinning the safari experience on offer at Abelana Game Reserve is an ethos of sharing that gave rise to its name - the word “abelana” means to share amongst each other in the local Northern Sotho vernacular. The spirit of sharing and caring for every part of the tourism value chain is very much part of Abelana Game Reserve’s DNA.
“As caretakers of this reserve, and working in partnership with the Mashishimale community, it’s important that we nurture a culture of sharing the benefits of what we are doing here,” says Abelana CEO Ian Beauchamp. “This means that we are directly benefitting our community, both through substantial annual lease fees and a tourism levy and through job creation and procurement practices that encourage entrepreneurship and joint venture opportunities,” adds Ian.
https://www.abelanagamereserve.com/
CHÂTEAU TROPLONG MONDOT
This summer, France is top of the list for a much-needed break, and Château Troplong Mondot, the renowned Premier Grand Cru Classé wine estate in Bordeaux, will welcome guests with a series of new active, romantic and culinary-focused tailor-made experiences to suit the discerning traveler. Just 40 minutes from Bordeaux Airport, the 19th Century Château Troplong Mondot Estate is so much more than a vineyard.
Its ethos is to make wine more accessible by offering a luxurious rural retreat within a dynamic farm and working wine estate. Visitors will delight in the newly refurbished The Keys of Troplong Mondot boutique hotel on the Mondot hilltop and the rustic Vineyard House – a two-bedroom cottage hidden away in the middle of the vines – both restored by interior designer Mathilde Cardineau.
Renowned Michelin starred Chef David Charrier, and his team will curate a series of gastronomic delights, working with trusted local suppliers to create authentic French cuisine, using fresh produce, which brings the diverse flavors and wines of the terroir into the spotlight. New for this year, visitors can have access to the Chateau itself through special ‘Secret Table’ suppers and enjoy outdoor picnics in secret spots around the estate.
Under the loving eye of General Manager, Aymeric de Gironde, and his team, everything is done with sustainability in mind. Living in harmony with the land and preserving its biodiversity is embedded in the very soul of Château Troplong Mondot.
Gourmand guests will work up an appetite for the gastronomic delights of Michelin-starred Chef David Charrier with an active 3 - 4-night experience at The Keys of Troplong Mondot. Starting in July, guests can kick off the day with a choice of running trails designed by Marathon runner, Chef David Charrier and led by the hospitality team – winding through the vines of Saint-Émilion, past neighboring Premier Grand Cru Classé estates, enjoying spectacular views of the Dordogne valley from the top of the Troplong Mondot estate – the highest in Saint-Émilion.
Guests can slow down the pace with an electric bike ride to explore the cultural treasures of the region. Take time to wander through Saint-Émilion – home to a fascinating underground troglodyte heritage, including the biggest monolithic church in Europe and stop by the delicious independent food shops to enjoy exclusive tastings.
https://www.troplong-mondot.com/en/
PUKU RIDGE
Located deep inside Zambia’s incredible South Luangwa National Park, Puku Ridge is a completely reimagined tented camp, which combines the perfect blend of wilderness, luxury, and responsibility. Officially opening in 2020, the camp and its eight tented suites offer another level of comfort and design with custom-built, near-silent air-conditioning, rooftop star beds, and private plunge pools.
The camp is a collaboration between Chiawa Safaris – which owns Chiawa Camp and Old Mondoro – and Chichele Safaris, who purchased Puku Ridge and Chichele Presidential Lodge (Chichele is expected to reopen late 2020/early 2021) from Sanctuary Retreats in 2018. For guests, this partnership means the same highest levels of hospitality, awesome location, fabulous game viewing, inspired and competent guiding, and responsible interaction with the local community, as Chiawa Safaris celebrated
Lower Zambezi camps.
Positioned on one of the South Luangwa National Park’s prime secluded sites, Puku Ridge blends in beautifully with its natural surroundings and overlooks a wildlife-rich floodplain and waterhole, where there is always something to see. When venturing out of the camp, guests will enjoy the area’s varied landscape and its spectacular wildlife, including leopards, lions, elephants, buffalos, hippos, wild dogs, the endemic Thornicroft’s giraffe, and Cookson’s wildebeest, genet cats, various mongooses, civets, and honey badgers.
When not on drives or exploring the area on foot, guests will be looked after by Jason and Kayla Johnstone (who managed Chiawa Camp and Old Mondoro for five years) and can spend time in the photography hide, relaxing in the elegant lounge and terrace areas, dining on international cuisine with local influences, sharing safari stories around the fire pit, and stargazing from the star terrace with its telescope.
For a little more privacy, each suite has a private deck, complete with sun loungers and plunge pool. One of the suites’ other key features is the rooftop, four-poster star bed, where guests can sleep under the stars to the sounds of the bush (while still having all the comforts of their suite downstairs).
Throughout the camp, aesthetics, function, and comfort were the priority in Chiawa Safari’s vision, which has been brought to life by Luxury Frontiers, who are international experts in the design and development of experiential resorts and lodges, while minimizing the camp’s carbon footprint and repurposing many of the old materials.
https://www.chiawa.com/ south-luangwa-safari-lodgepuku-ridge/