Kruger Shalati x Viviers Studio
With all the mind-blowing hotel spaces opening all over the world, from pods in the snow or looking over jungle treetops, the futuristic skyscrapers in the Middle East, it is hard to stand out. Voted “Project Management Institutes” sixth “Most Influential Architectural Project for 2021”, Kruger Shalati has proved to be one of the most interesting luxury offers in the world. No small feat.
The thirteen re-purposed railway carriages from yester-year are now permanently suspended on the original Selati railway bridge over the Sabie River at the exact location of the stop- over for visitors to the Kruger National Park in the 1920s. This was an idea that was way ahead of its time - to cordon off an area of Africa that no one can taint - and it has served South African tourist well since then. Now there is a new angle to the safari lodge, suspended over a river in a train, in utter and complete luxury.
The hotel set out from the start to get thevery best contemporary African artists to collaborate with the interior team. These design elements were undertaken by Hesse Kleinloog Studio. Andrea Kleinloog and Megan Hesse have made every detail an ode to luxury with every sense fulfilled, a chic contemporary Afrocentric experience. Hesse Kleinloog have, with sensitivity, incorporated designs, visual art, fabrics and functional items from local artists and artisans and the result is a truly sublime sensory experience.
Incorporating the location, views, space, hue and texture of the historically rich destination, Hesse Kleinnloog Studio have paid attention to every detail. Drawing inspiration from the local tribal history, Shalati being named for an historic Basotho Warrior Queen, to uncompromising carriage interiors and even to such fine detail as to incorporate the shapes and shades of the girders of the Selati Bridge, creating spaces that leaves you in awe. Not that you feel like you are in a gallery, the twist is that you are engulfed in comfort yet everything is marvelously curated.
Twenty-two commissioned artworks by Sakhile Cebekhulu visually transport visitors to a by-gone era. Painted from photographs of the location a century ago in a marriage of past and the present. The Seana Marena blanket, a traditional blanket of the Basotho people, was specially commissioned for Kruger Shalati and designed by Bonolo Chepape. Woven screens by award winning designer Thabisa Mjo, owner and founder of MashT design studio, give texture and carry with them indoors the subtle earthy textures of Africa. Trevor Stuurman photographs hang majestically in the dining space. The in-room, exclusively designed Kimono made from luxurious flowing fabric with the geometric shapes of the bridge and with the signature colour palette of Shalati. Be warned, you will want to buy one for home.
The Kruger Shalati experience would be incomplete without the sense of taste being engaged, and they certainly do not disappoint in this regard, with a menu conceptualised by Andrew Atkinson, former head chef at Michelangelo and of Master Chef SA fame. From a private bush dinner, a romantic experience on the northern deck, a memorable bush picnic or an enchanting dinner on the tracks, the seasonal offerings do not disappoint.
The auditory senses are totally engaged with full credit going to the animals of Kruger National Park - in all its majesty. You can hear the elephants gently crunching branches as they graze under the bridge. Nothing beats sitting in your bath, watching buffaloes drinking, the odd crocodile swimming past, and hippos frolicking with their babies. If the sounds of hippos do not leave you blissfully happy, nothing can.
And of course, you are there to see the animals, and your guides are a joy - funny, engaging, informative.
Kruger Shalati is a place that everyone must enjoy at least once in their lives.
Production: Mia Ziervogel
All clothing from Viviers Studio viviersstudio.com
Photography: Tim Gerges info on dossierphoto.net
Make up and hair: Marco Louis Ackers
Model : Bethany De Wall from kult.co.za
Styling : Riaan Hulley
Interior photos : Kyle Lewin
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