Style, luxury - and tips for your BnB!

A perfect stay in the finest award-winning accommodation can teach us a great deal about how to create something special ourselves. Brian Berkman looks to The Royal Portfolio for tips on improving farm-stay accommodation and, indeed, adding a touch of class to our own homes.

- Brian Berkman

In the South African boutique hotel field, the family-owned Royal Portfolio stands out for its high-glamour style and luxury accommodation.

The group’s success originated from the foresight and inherent hospitality of Liz Biden who, following a career in fashion, considered that people might want to pay to stay in her homes. The venture started out in 1999 at the family’s bush holiday home in the Greater Kruger National Park, now known as Royal Malewane.

SERVICE MATTERS

Crucially, The Royal Portfolio is not based on money alone, but on the desire to delight guests at every opportunity.

“Warm and hearty, not cold and starchy,” is how Edward Morton, ambassador for the group describes its service ethos. Team members at all properties are chosen for their personalities first, as the nuances of service can always be taught, but the ability to make people feel truly comfortable can only come from within.

The Royal Portfolio hotels are luxury properties that come at an elevated price. However, the group’s basic approach applies to accommodation options everywhere: give your guests value for the money they spend. In the case of The Royal Portfolio, this includes a largely inclusive food and beverage menu as well as a maxi rather than a mini-bar in the rooms.

In a more modest farm stay, this kind of generosity can be expressed via cut herbs or flowers, rusks, or a welcome loaf of bread, and pleasant bathroom amenities.

On a fruit farm, for example, a fruit basket is a welcome treat. You could even consider making your own bath salts or herbal scrub for use in the shower with salt, herbs and citrus zest if appropriate.