Africa House Is The Safari Villa To Stay In Near Kruger National Park

Liz Biden is not one to be satisfied with the status quo. The owner/designer of The Royal Portfolio collection of hotels and lodges in South Africa is always looking at the properties anew, upgrading and redesigning what would seem sufficiently appealing to anyone else. That’s what just happened with the standalone villa Africa House at the company’s flagship Royal Malewane safari lodge near Kruger National Park. The six bedroom villa, which was once the Biden family homestead, was just enlarged, redesigned with blazing color and whimsical furnishings and recently reopened to guests.

“Enhancing Africa House has been a labor of love for me,” Biden explains. “This is a place that holds many special memories for me and my family, and I’m excited to offer the magic of Africa House to people who share my passion for spending quality time with loved ones in unique environments.”

Prime among the design elements are large, striking, original works of art by noted African contemporary artists including Michael Gah and Tega Tafadzawa. Antique furniture, carved wood fourposter beds, silk furnishings and Persian rugs are other elements decorating the rooms. But most notable is the bold use of color both in the Long Room which contains the living and dining areas along with the pool table and other games and the six bedrooms each with its own color scheme.

So distinctive are the rooms, which range from 956 to 1156 square feet, each with an en suite bathroom with deep soaking tubs, that guests can make their choice of which to move into by color alone. Room 1 is turquoise with an elevated, fourposter bed painted that color with touches of yellow and pink in the tufted hassocks. Room 2 is more intense, a deep red/orange with a similarly painted teak fourposter bedframe, gold lampshades and a softer orange bench. Room 3 blends a more subtle apricot and citrine with a floral couch, red Chinese lanterns as light fixtures and a large gilt edged mirror. Room 4 has an overall look reminiscent of Colonial times with antique furniture in their natural finish and green and gold toned furnishings. Room 5 is a striking mix of fuchsia with lemon accents in the trunks at the foot of the bed. Room 6 is decorated in a rich vermilion and fabrics such as velvet and silk with Asian accents in the paintings, lanterns and bedside chests. Some lodges and villas intend to blend into the foliage colors outside; this exuberant house isn’t one of them.

The policy of the private residences at Royal Malewane is that the safari experience is also private: guests of Africa House have their own guide, tracker and vehicle and can arrange safari times at their convenience; they’re not restricted to the typical game drive times. Given the location, in the private Thornybush Game Reserve on the border of Kruger National Park, guests will want to take advantage of this as often as possible. Kruger is the largest game reserve in South Africa and one of the world’s biggest wildlife sanctuaries. 145 mammal species live within it including lions, leopards, Black Rhinos, buffaloes and elephants and 500 species of birds. It’s never possible to guarantee a particular sighting but given the skill sets of the safari staff and the array of wildlife in the area, it is guaranteed that no one who checks in here will be disappointed.