Protea Hotel Malaga, a classic rest-stop where road meets nature

The great appeal of staying here isn’t the comfortable lodging, despite being exceedingly comfortable or the well tended gardens and inviting pool, but because of the way the staff, in particular Mandla, Collin and Anna, will make you feel like beloved family members returning after a long stay away.

Also, and this is no small unique selling point, Protea Hotel Malaga by Marriott is best placed to explore the hiking trails on the neighbour’s Elangeni Estate. You could, of course, stay there too, but at my age I demand the creature comforts that come with room service and a full-service hotel.

“In summer you won’t believe how lush and green everything is”, the kind lady at Elangeni’s reception mentions as she asks one of her team to show us where the well-marked 22km hiking route begins, next to the zipline. There is a hut for overnight accommodations on top of the mountain but we did a far shorter route that still gave us the benefit of exploring the hills and valleys next to the Elands River. The famed waterfalls, like the veld and everything around us, were bone dry.

The reward of eating lunch poolside is so much greater after walking up a mountain earlier in the day. Protea Hotel Malaga by Marriott general manager, Sanell Bergh worked at the large Protea Hotel by Marriott in Stellenbosch’s Techno Park before heading the team here as part of the upgrade. Although graded three stars, our experience of the property was certainly in-line with four-star graded stays. They accommodated us in one of the two luxury suites which are perfect for a family staying together or for longer stays. We found having two bathrooms and a walk-in-closet extremely luxurious.

Our mid-week visit coincided with stop-go work on the N4 which meant that the constant traffic drone was accompanied by syncopated horns in the form of the exhaust breaks of the pantechnicons hauling to and from Mozambique. The sound didn’t trouble us much as there were equally as prominent bird calls (and a few loud geese) and even hooting owls. Apt, perhaps, as Protea Hotel Malaga by Marriott is where nature and the roadway meet.

On weekends the hotel and its restaurant Esmeralda are typically packed which is why they are encouraging young trainee chef Jed to reenergise the food offering. He makes a mean roasted tomato soup (something you should consider stopping for when passing by) and a peri-peri chicken liver that, I bet, was the original owner’s recipe. He also took my Banting diet in his stride and, because of the advance warning, provided me with three off-menu low-carb options. The pork chop with a coconut and parmesan crust and hake in an olive tapenade with a tomato salsa were both delicious, hearty portions.

Their two conferencing facilities can accommodate 200 and 100 people set up in cinema style respectively while the spa offers the standard treatments. There is also a gym and tennis courts and mountain bikes to hire for those who’d rather not walk up the mountain, or travel the short distances to explore The Blyde River Canyon or the wild horses of the Kaapsehoop, near Waterval Boven.

For me it is the staff and, frankly, I don’t want to leave.