A luxury travel company with a focus on conservation, is making a lot of changes to its famous Phinda Forest Lodge in South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal area. The radical change will include both repairs and major structural improvements.

The lodge will have a new family suite, a library and lounge, a walkway with a central fire pit, a redesigned tiered pool and updated eating and bar areas. AndBeyond has brought in the help of interior designers Fox Browne Creative and architectural designers Jack Alexander to bring the lodge into a new age. Their job is to redesign the lodge in a way that improves room flow and usefulness while keeping its beloved character and causing as little damage as possible to the sand forest.

The new interior design will be influenced by the nearby sand forest and will have aspects of Japanese minimalism and Zulu culture.

Kevin Pretorius, who is in charge of AndBeyond’s business in South Africa, said that the house was built in the early 1990s. “Back then, the lodge’s innovative and forward-thinking design made a big statement about sustainability, as it was built with the least amount of damage to the ancient sand forest in mind,” he said.

The Phinda Forest Lodge will start taking guests again on December 1. People who stay at the new lodge can expect to have unique, immersive experiences that focus on wildlife protection and the culture of the area. Activities will focus on saving species like rhinoceroses and pangolins, and there will also be a Zulu Village Tour to give people a real taste of the culture.

SOURCE :- https://www.travelweekly.com/Middle-East-Africa-Travel/South-Africa-Phinda-Forest-Lodge-renovation