Kubili House Relaunches for December 2026

Kubili House is an exclusive-use, private home in the Thornybush area, the same place you’ll find the magnificent Royal Malewane properties.  It’s one of the best private homes I’ve stayed in, but having booked almost every luxury, exclusive-use property in Africa, it is the only one I have yet to book for a client.  And that’s because it’s always been crazy expensive.  And I say that as someone who works almost exclusively in the ultra-luxury safari space, where clients routinely book some of the most expensive lodges, villas and private islands in Africa.  This is not a particularly price-sensitive crowd.  But they are a sensible crowd (ok, now I’m pandering to said crowd).  My crowd can see that a property on a busy, shared conservancy was not worth $50,000 per night.

My point is: there was so, so much potential.  But the previous owner was very stubborn, as is his right.  But he’s gone now, and in with the new owner, who is going to lead us to the light and show us all the way forward.  Right?  Right, guys?  Guys?

The deets

Kubili House will reopen from 1 December 2026 following a substantial development.  It has expanded from 5 bedrooms to 7 bedrooms, now accommodating up to 12 guests.  But the real shift is in the extras.  Kubili House 2.0 adds more swimming pools (cos the previous three weren’t enough), a private cinema, a golf simulator, a wine room, padel courts, a fully equipped gym, and a Spa & Wellness Centre.  In other words, if someone in your group says they are “not really into game drives,” there is now an entire backup plan ready and waiting.

For families or mixed-generation groups, one of the challenges with safari buyouts is that not everyone wants to spend every waking hour bouncing around in a Land Cruiser looking for a leopard.  Some people would quite like a massage, a treadmill, or to humiliate their brother-in-law at padel instead.  The additions tick all the right boxes.

However, then we arrive at the small matter of price.

The old, more flexible pricing for smaller groups has gone, which is a real shame.  Many exclusive-use properties offer reduced occupancy rates to cover themselves, particularly during off-peak season.  Why not allow a couple or two to come, at a reduced rate, to keep things ticking over?  There can be large gaps in between bookings, and service standards begin to drop when the machine that is hospitality stops running.  Rates now begin up to 8 guests, with the cheapest off-peak starting from ZAR 525,000 per night, which is approximately USD $32,000 per night at current exchange rates.  During peak, it is close to $40,000 per night.

Let us pause briefly to admire the ambition.

Because this is not a private island in the Indian Ocean.  It is not 40,000 hectares of sole-use wilderness.  It sits in a shared, busy conservancy, albeit a very good one, and that number is, to put it delicately, absolutely mental.  It may well be, once again, the most expensive safari lodge in Africa on an entry-level nightly basis.

Will it be worth it?  That depends entirely on what you value.  I love the property itself, and I would love to see it succeed.  But admiration and arithmetic do not always travel together.