2. Light-on-the-earth new prefab rooms at the Cradle Boutique Hotel

Nestled in the Cradle of Humankind, the Cradle Boutique Hotel & Nature Reserve offers guests warm hospitality amid an ancient landscape that holds evidence of the origins of mankind.

Kobus Botha, CEO of the Cradle Boutique Hotel & Nature Reserve, has worked closely with the property’s owner since construction of the hotel began in 2015. “I love working here,” he says. “It’s only 40 minutes from Sandton and close to Lanseria Airport – and it’s situated in the most beautiful landscape. Three of the national heritage sites in the Cradle of Humankind, each with significant paleoanthropological value, are located right here in our reserve. The Gladysvale, Malapa and Motsetsi sites are currently still being worked on by Professor Lee Berger and his discovery teams.”

After a day spent viewing the sites – hotel guests, joined by expert guides, can take an “Origins” tour in open game-viewing vehicles – the perfect place to have an excellent night’s rest is in one of the Cradle Boutique Hotel’s new Sky Rooms. The design of these innovative spaces puts the environment first, Kobus explains. “We wanted to place the new rooms on the ridgeline above the hotel, for the best elevated views of the reserve,” he says. “As this area consists mostly of dolomite rock, we decided to build lightweight structures and to place them on stilts. Prefabrication also saved us from having to accommodate a big building team on site, and thus potentially damaging the indigenous bush.”

To create the pods, Kobus and the Cradle team collaborated with Blockhouse, who prefabricated the Sky Rooms off site. “The rooms were transported here on low-bed trucks, and cranes dropped them onto the platforms at the hotel site,” explains Kobus. Particularly appealing from an aesthetic point of view is the fact that the pods offer wide-angle views of the landscape. “They fit the surroundings perfectly,” Kobus says. “Modifying the original Blockhouse design to incorporate a hot tub on the balcony – which enables our guests to enjoy the stunning views while they soak – also seems to have been an excellent idea… Looking at our reservations, this combination is a winner!” cradlehotel.co.za | blockhouse.co.za