Situated in the tranquility of the Central Drakensberg in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa, boasting the most spectacular view of Champagne Castle and Cathkin Peak, lies Champagne Sports Resort. This cosy hideaway's unique combination of convenient location, country club atmosphere, luxury accommodation and friendly staff makes packing your bags to leave this eternal place a challenge.

Champagne Sports Resort is more than a hotel in the mountains, it is an experience. From the 18-hole championship golf course to the roaming herds of Blesbok and the rare birdlife that inhabit the estate, there is something for everyone to enjoy. And, with five dams stocked with either bass or trout, as well as outstanding sporting facilities and cultural activities, this enduring resort provides a balance between recreation for sports enthusiasts and tranquility for those seeking relaxation.

From the moment you arrive at our front door you will feel the stress of the city has been left far behind. Self-contained, free standing thatched cottages provide the finest accommodation, and delectable fare and sumptuous banquets coupled with every possible creature comfort makes Champagne Sports Resort the ultimate 'berg experience.

Only a four-and-a-half hours drive from Johannesburg and 2-hours from Durban, the resort is ideally situated for both relaxing leisure weekends and for corporate conference.

Hotel accommodation including dinner, bed and breakfast, and self-catering Timeshare accommodation is both available.

Champagne Sports Resort offers a variety of superb, fully serviced accommodation. The 112 hotel bedrooms are made up of twin rooms, family rooms, and various suites, all with well-appointed bedrooms and either mountain views or garden views.

A further 91 Timeshare Units on the estate are used for hotel accommodation subject to availability. The hotel has wheelchair access throughout and all bedrooms are linked to the main hotel buildings by way of thatch covered walkways.

Room facilities include:

• Telephones (Direct Dialing)
• Television (SABC 1,2,3, M-Net, Movie Magic, Disney Channel, DMX & SuperSport)
• Tea / Coffee making facilities
• Hairdryer
• Overhead Ceiling Fans
• Bureau and writing lamp with Information Folder and Stationery
• En-Suite Bathroom.

Eating:

Dining in the Drakensberg needs to be hearty and wholesome, with a selection of choices for the varied pallet. Champagne Sports Resort lives by this credo, offering fine buffet dining in the resort's Drakensberg Restaurant.

A typical buffet dinner comprises of starters, grill, carvery, casseroles, stir fry selection, cheese board and desserts.

Drinking:

CATHKIN ARMS: Situated off the main dining room, Cathkin Arms is a popular meeting spot, especially on big sports days where a large screen TV broadcasts the action. The bar is open from 10h00 'til late. No children under the age of 18 are allowed in Cathkin Arms after 19h00.

COCKTAIL BAR: The Cocktail Bar is open for pre-dinner drinks from 18h00 onwards and is situated at the entrance to the Restaurant.

The Drakensberg is South Africa's highest and most impressive mountain range rising to over 3 000 meters and the highest peaks are found in the Central Drakensberg.

The Central Drakensberg escarpment is frequently covered in snow in the winter months, transforming the area into a picture-postcard winter wonderland. Popular with hikers, rock climbers, trout fishermen, and other holidaymakers, the Central Drakensberg area offers a wide range of hotels, country lodges, and bed and breakfast accommodation venues, as well as camping sites and caravan parks. For the more adventurous there are also many trails which use caves up in the mountains as overnight stops. A weekend of hiking and climbing, interspersed with dips in the icy pools and rivers, goes a long way to restoring those weary of city life.

Most of the Central Drakensberg makes up a good part of the Natal Drakensberg Park, a wilderness area with an abundance of wildlife. Hikers are frequently surprised by bushbuck, oribi, mountain reedbuck, tiny duiker, and the largest of South Africa's antelope species, the eland, as well as many others. Enormous lammergeier, or bearded vultures, fly overhead and baboons bark from the cliffs. The spring is heralded by carpets of wild flowers and the pink and orange watsonia, like miniature gladioli, bloom thickly on the hillsides. In autumn the fields and lower reaches of the Drakensberg are often a waist-high sea of confetti-like pink, white and deep velvet red cosmos blossoms. In the higher reaches on the slopes of the Little Berg, varieties of protea trees show their prehistoric flowers, and ancient tree ferns and the odd cycad dot the gullies. Hikers should note that there are 24 species of snakes in these mountains, and not all of them are willing to give way to humans!

The Central Drakensberg mountains also contain thousands of Bushman Rock Art sites, evidence of the small, primitive San people who practiced a prehistoric life style in the area long ago. The earliest of these paintings are about 800 years old, and the golden age of the painters was between 400 and 200 years ago.

Champagne Sports Resort offers a little something for everyone. Floodlit tennis courts, four swimming pools, waterpolo, basketball, table tennis, mini-gym, plus bowls and sports-putt. Mountain biking, horse-riding from nearby stables, hiking trails, scenic walks or helicopter flips for the more adventurous. And for the kids... trampolines, jungle-gyms, mini-tennis, playground activities and a whole lot more.

There's even the resort's upmarket Wellness Centre, comprising of spa and gym, both with stunning, rejuvenating views.

For the wanderer, attractions outside of Champagne Sports Resort include the world-famous Drakensberg Choir, which holds weekly performances, the famous Ardmore Art Studios, Didima Rock Art Centre, the Midlands Meander, the nearby game reserves of Spionkop and Weenen where the mountain vulture hides, and the Anglo-Boer War battlefields.

Conferences are an extremely important sector of Champagne Sports business profile and every effort is made to ensure the smooth running of such events, no matter the size. With five conference rooms and various indoor and outdoor breakaway areas, Champagne Sports Resort is an ideal venue for your conference. Champagne Sports' largest venue, Sentinel, can seat up to 1000 delegates in cinema style with our smallest, the Injasuti comfortably seating 18 in a U configuration.

Champagne Sports Resort are proud of the fact that they offer the most up-to-date conference equipment available in South Africa. Included in their equipment is a Crestron Equipment Management System in the Sentinel, Monks Cowl and Ondini Venues, Proxima Data Projectors and anti-feedback microphones.

This is over and above the standard equipment that is also available and includes:

• Overhead Projectors & Screens
• White Boards
• Flip Charts
• Television and VCR Playback machines
• 35mm Projector and Screens.

The above rates are inclusive of accommodation, dinner & breakfast.

Children's rates as follows:

• 3 - 5 years - R185.00 (Sharing with adult)
• 6 - 12 years - R305.00 (Sharing with adult)
• 13 - 17 years - R520.00 (Sharing with adult)

NOTE: A minimum stay of TWO nights is required over weekends and a minimum stay of THREE nights is required over long weekends and peak periods.