Welgelegen Manor - Balfour Mpumalanga

This review is relatively objective, being my 17 road trip staying in 18 properties over a 43 day period. My GPS couldn’t locate the property (my fault) - no problem - the manager drove out to Balfour and guided me in! Situated well out of town in rolling farmland with a very long and impressive drive up to the manor from the gate. Great distant vistas. Friendly and efficient staff throughout - Norman being a star. Superbly renovated old school building oozing with character. Fascinating history well presented on a guided tour. My garden suite was huge, very comfortable, well equipped and with great aircon. Bed linen was top quality. The sitting area was very relaxing. The marble bathroom was superb - and oh yes, there’s a separate wardrobe/dressing room. The formal gardens and pool area were well maintained. Very well presented decent food. Good WiFi. Not cheap by SA standards, but excellent value. Highly recommended for those requiring an upmarket old school property near Joburg.

Stayed here for one night on way south after flight from the UK. Everything about this was excellent, service, food, friendly.

best place just one and a half hour driving from Joburg airport, Great staff, very friendly, suites are big and luxurious, place to return to. lovely garden, lots of history, Very good dinner and breakfast,

What a fabulous stay - definitely exceeded my expectations. The staff are amazing, particularly Norman who does many different roles... porter, waiter, sommelier, tour guide, and just a lovely person to chat to. Ronel and Hannlie were great too and gave us a personal tour of the impressive Mausoleum. Our suite had 4 rooms ... bedroom, sitting room, dressing and luggage room, and beautiful bathroom. We spotted a jackal from the bathrom window. The manor is even better than the photos on the website. We also had the extreme fortune to be the only guests that night (midweek) and so were able to explore the whole manor - several wings and stories and tour of cellar and wines by Norman. It reminded me of the book The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe - where the kids go exploring an old stately home. My only regret is not staying long enough to use the chess room and library and all the other rooms, and to explore the walking trails. Will definitely come back.

From the day we arrived, we were treated like royals. Thank you to Ronel and Norman for looking after us and spoiling us the whole time. The suite was beautiful and clean and we had a cozy fire the whole time. The food and wine was superb and thank you to the Chef and all the other staff for looking after us. We definite recommend this Manor for a weekend stay anytime. Very Quit and you can only hear the birds singing. Exquisite!

Food - was good. Service from Lawrence was good. Warm welcome from Ronel No WIFI No TV Signal 10h20 - 3 people knocked at the door to basically all me to leave. Happy for a gentle reminder but 3 people asking me to leave is aggressive especially since i was accommodating with regards to the lack of WIFI and TV.

What an amazing hotel! If you are looking for some quiet time away this will be paradise. Norman was exceptional ensuring the service was unprecedented. Their is very little to do there and in the surrounding areas. If you are one of those people that need something to do, you might not enjoy it. But if you enjoy a good book, great glass of wine, delicious food and a swim, you will love it.

Welgelegen Manor is a lovely, historic location that comes out of nowhere. Ronel and her team go out of there to make the stay hospitable and personal. Highly recommend it for families and couples. It's a heritage-perfect getaway just over an hour outside of Johannesburg.

It is an amazing location, quiet and allows for a lot of R&R. Norman was AMAZING, he pre-empted all our needs and took the stay to the next level. There is very little to do at the location, swimming, reading, croquette. So if you need entertaining this is not the place for you. If you looking for an amazing escape, at an amazing venue with exceptional food, you will love every minute you were there.