FORDOUN HOTEL & SPA: SKYE RESTAURANT:
Fordoun’s Skye Restaurant offers a diverse menu that combines wholesome dishes with more indulgent fare in an ever-changing showcase of the finest and freshest ingredients of the season. Fully licensed, the Skye Restaurant will offer a selection of wines specially chosen to combine the appeal of old favourites with unheralded new discoveries.

The Skye Restaurant is open to guests seven days a week and open to the public from Thursday to Sunday lunch. Booking is recommended.

FORDOUN HOTEL & SPA: THE SPA:
Spa boasts a team of experts that include personal trainers, masseurs, nutritionists and beauticians.

The spa features internationally acclaimed treatments such as the rasul, (a Turkish steam and clay treatment room), a saline Floatation pool, heated swimming pool, a gymnasium, sauna, steam room, vichy shower, hydrotherapy room, and a couples’ treatment suite with hydrotherapy bath.

Treatments available at Fordoun include:

- Aromatherapy body and bath treatments, using exotic blends of essential oils to suit each customer’s needs;
- Detoxing and therapeutic Moor body packs and masks;
- Hydrotherapy baths and showers;
- Thalassotherapy seaweed treatments;
- Various massages, including sports massage, neck and shoulders, foot reflexology.

Part of the holistic relevance of everything at Fordoun has led to the development of the Fordoun signature range of products, created in conjunction with Dr Elliot Ndlovu, herbalist and ethnobotanist, who is a Sangoma and Inyanga, and a director of Fordoun Spa.

Under his guidance, a number of products have been carefully created from indigenous traditional healing plants, especially for Fordoun. The range includes soaps, gels, protective clays, oils, bath salts, lotions and creams, and sprays, based on the theme of the seven Chakras and the seven colours of the rainbow. A luxury Eau de Toilette range, Ma’Ndlovu for women and BabaNdlovu for men, has been designed for both the local and export markets.

Fordoun will also make use of other exclusive international beauty treatment ranges, including products by Germaine du Cappucini, Repechage, and La Culla.

SPA PACKAGES:

FORDOUN SPA ESSENCE OF AFRICA:
Enter Fordoun and step into the “Heart” of Africa, where you will hear the drum of your own heartbeat. With traditional African treatments, using the indigenous plants from the land, awakening the Spirit within…

FORDOUN SPA ENERGY REBALANCING AND STRESS RELIEF:
How you can become more positive and more effective, not only in your business and your work environment but in all aspects of your Life.

Three days and two nights to restore energy balance and calm.

Arrival Sunday afternoon, departure Tuesday midday.

Dinners are not included in the packages. The package is subject to change without priornotification.

DAY PACKAGES:

FORDOUN SPA INKOSI YA NAMHLANJE (KING FOR TODAY)
Have you ever felt like being treated as a King for the day? Fordoun Spa gives you the opportunity to indulge, relax and to be spoilt, offering treatments fit for a King…

FORDOUN HOTEL & SPA: AFRICAN TRADITIONAL HEALER:
African Traditional Healer Dr Elliot Ndlovu, Inyanga (medicinal healer) and Sangoma (spiritual healer) is our inspiration and gives to us and our guests the wisdom and healing powers of Africa. In Elliot's garden we have over 120 different species of healing plants. We also have two African therapy rooms and Elliot's consulting room. All built and designed in Zulu style.

Elliot is both a Sangoma (Spiritual Healer) and Inyanga (Medicinal Healer). He consults with many of our guests. He is a Director of our company and plays a major role at Fordoun.

FORDOUN HOTEL & SPA: AWARDS:
Recognition for new Midlands Spa at prestigious awards

Fordoun Spa, Hotel and Restaurant in Nottingham Road was selected as a finalist from amongst the country’s most exclusive spa destinations at the inaugural Les Nouvelles Esthetiques Spa Awards 2005 in Sandton, Johannesburg in July. Fordoun Spa, Hotel and Restaurant joined a second Nottingham Road spa, Brookdale Health Hydro, in the top five of the Destination Spa category, along with Mount Grace Country House and Spa, Kievits Kroon Country Estate and Spa, and ultimate winner, Sante Winelands Hotel and Wellness Centre in the Cape.

The prestigious award programme, to be held annually, is divided into three categories, namely Day Spas, Destination Spas, and Resort/Hotel Spas, and is sponsored by various spa brands, with the overall host Les Nouvelles Esthetiques South Africa in association with Les Nouvelles Paris. The awards aim to encourage the highest standards within the rapidly expanding health, beauty and skin-care industries.

Fordoun Spa and Hotel is the newest spa to open in the Midlands, and was visited by the judges just weeks after opening earlier this year. In a short time, Fordoun has made a name for itself as one of the Midlands’ premier luxury destinations, offering a winning combination of leading spa with a comprehensive range of treatments, luxurious hotel accommodation, superb cuisine in the Skye Restaurant, along with magnificent views, a country atmosphere, and all of the attractions of the surrounding Midlands Meander, within easy reach of the N3 highway.

Fordoun’s founder, Jon Bates, says, “We started Fordoun with the aim of offering guests choices in terms of food, exercise, and lifestyle needs, and are very proud that the quality of Fordoun has been recognised so soon after its opening.’

Fordoun guests can choose from a comprehensive range of beauty and wellness treatments, including sessions with the spa manager. There is also the unique aspect of having well-known ethnobotanist and spiritual guide or sangoma, Dr Elliot Ndlovu, at Fordoun to offer assistance using traditional African herbs and plants as well as consultations of a more spiritual nature. There is a nutritionist who can develop a healthy eating programme for individuals, which can be adopted by the hotel’s Skye Restaurant, or guests can choose from the standard Skye menu and extensive wine-list, or eat out at any of the nearby restaurants. Guests can enjoy the spa as a luxurious addition to their stay in the hotel, using the heated swimming pool, gym and floatation tank as they wish, making Fordoun an ideal venue for conference delegates wanting to offer their spouses an alternative to waiting at home. Day visitors are also welcome, making it ideal for locals in need of some pampering.

‘Fordoun is a boutique hotel with a luxury spa, dedicated to offering our guests the freedom to structure their spa experience in a way that suits their individual needs,’ says Jon Bates. ‘We believe that variety and personalised attention are more appropriate at Fordoun than strict regimes, and feel that offering this freedom of choice is more comfortable for our guests, especially those unfamiliar with the spa experience.’

MIDLANDS MEANDER:
Arts and craft - the essence of the Midlands Meander

An experience to change your life...and your lifestyle...Welcome, or welcome back, to the Midlands Meander. The famous Midlands Meander in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, is a unique mix of more than 160 places to eat, drink, sleep, shop, play and generally have fun. Started many years ago as a voluntary collection of crafters, who wondered if they could attract visitors to leave the beaten track and explore their studios and galleries, the Midlands Meander has grown into an eclectic and fascinating mix of arts and crafts, world-class restaurants and homely comforts, with a wide range of sporting, environmental and historical pursuits thrown in too. Physical, culinary or cerebral, there is no limit to the experiences you'll find here.

The many facets of the Midlands Meander are so varied that there is little chance of boredom. Each route through this lovely land offers new mysteries to explore, new places to discover.

From the silvery vastness of the waters of the Midmar Dam to tiny crystal streams, from the imposing bulk of the Drakensberg mountains to the green of the indigenous forests, from quiet country towns to patchwork fields, where cattle graze or bales of hay are bundled in white plastic covers like huge cheeses, this is a land of many faces, all beautiful.

And the seasons change the features of the Midlands throughout the year, so there are many more faces to the places that keep calling you back for more. Cool mists melt away to reveal shimmering midday sun; thunderstorms crackle over the berg and then bluster away into soft summer showers that refresh thick pastures. Golden and burgundy leaves dazzle in autumn and settle into thick toffee-coloured drifts that rustle at your feet. And in winter, the icy chill of a true winter experience unlike any African season comes calling, often blanketing the distant hills with white, and occasionally throwing a silky snow cover over the fields and valleys too.

The Midlands Meander, the first route of its kind in the country, has opened up the wonders and beauty of the interior of KwaZulu-Natal to visitors from distant cities, distant countries. Many return again and again, finding new delights each time they visit, many making friends, and some, perhaps the luckiest, finally staying, unable to tear themselves away.

So put away your watch, switch off the cellphone. Pack a bag or two, leaving space for inevitable new acquisitions, and escape. There is a life away from the fast lane of the highway, the boardroom, the committee meetings, the tunnels of the malls.

Experience the wonder of the Midlands Meander. Discover the people, the beauty, the tastes, and above all, the time. You'll discover a new way of life, a new set of priorities. And you'll experience the country at its best.