2012 - Bela-Bela Accommodation

Date: 27-29 April 2012

Location: Bela-Bela (Warmbaths), Limpopo, South Africa

Our trip to Bela-Bela was another product of Groupon discounts.

A few months back a deal offering 65% off accommodations at Villa Palmeira, situated in Bela-Bela, came up on Groupon. The deal was a 2 nights weekend stay in their honeymoon suite plus breakfast for four people at the price of R1050 (US$130 estimate). It was perfectly reasonable for us.

Bela-Bela is a town in the Limpopo province in South Africa. The name means "the pot that boils" in Tswana, which pertains to the hot springs that the town is famous for. It is widely known as Warmbaths before until the name change in 2002 to Bela-Bela.

Villa Palmeira honeymoon suite

It is around 2 hours away from Johannesburg so it is a quick hotspot destination if you are wanting to go out of town but do not really want to travel very far.

We left Johannesburg around 10am and arrived at Bela-Bela around lunch. We did a quick tour of the town, which was not really very big and around 2pm checked in at our accommodations.

To say that the honeymoon suite at Villa Palmeira was huge is an understatement. It was massive! The suite had a very African theme, with its thatched ceiling and darkwood interiors. It even had a balcony although the view was not very enticing.

The balcony

My only criticisms to point out were that:

1. The suite appeared dark at times. I suppose the lighting was not enough to light up the whole room.

2. The television set was small for the room size, I reckon it was slightly smaller than a 51cm.

3. Wifi connection was not available at the place which was a bummer since I had my laptop with.

Villa Palmeira honeymoon suite bathroom

On the plus side, Villa Palmeira offered a full breakfast, which was excellent. It was cooked as and when you ordered, so you know that you are eating fresh. It offered a cable TV channel for added entertainment. And they also offer to arrange sightseeing trips for you.

All in all, it was a nice enough family getaway spot.

2011 Cape Town Tour - Bloemfontein Accommodation

Date: 3-4 January 2012

Location: Hotel Formula One Bloemfontein, Free State, South Africa

It's a pity that I do not have any pictures for this accommodation. I would have loved to have shown the rooms we got. Don't worry, it's nothing bad. I was actually very surprised at how modern Formula 1 Bloemfontein was.

The rooms were tiny and just enough for 3 people. There was a double bed and a single bed located on top of the double bed (for the third person/child). The shower was near the double bed but looked classy with its smoked glass effect on the wall. The dresser (if you can call it that, since it was just a stand with a mirror and small table) was right in the middle of the room. There was an aircon and a flat screen TV in the room. Although not much of channels to choose from.

We stayed at Bloemfontein as a stopover on our way back to Johannesburg from Cape Town.

All in all, it was a nice enough stay at a very convenient price. It works as just somewhere to spend the night. It would not have been ideal for a very long stint. We would go bored if we just stayed in the room.

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