Tswalu Spa at Tswalu Kalahari Private Game Reserve in South Africa has received two awards in the 2013 World Luxury Spa Awards: the Continent’s Best Luxury Safari Spa, and the Continent’s Best Luxury Beauty Spa.

The announcement was made last week by the organisers who say that the awards recognise “those spas that have raised the bar of service excellence within a highly competitive industry over the past year.”

“The announcement of the winners marks the highlight of a year-long search for the very best spas on the global front,” saysMarinique de Wet, executive manager of the World Luxury Spa Awards. “The awards aim to raise service standards within the luxury spa industry.”

The winners and finalists were selected by means of an annual voting process where thousands of spa guests worldwide were given the opportunity to vote online in order to have the fairest judging process possible.

Award-winning spas are announced on a country, continent and global basis and judging criteria are based solely on service excellence. The size of a spa is not taken into consideration during the nomination or voting phases.

Tswalu Kalahari Spa was awarded Best Safari Spa by the in the 2011 Les Nouvelles Esthétiques Spa Awards, and Spa Manager Corli Schoeman was named runner up in the “Spa Management Excellence Award.”

The spa is a combination of sensual spaces which combine to create an inspirational venue for what must be one of the most unusual spa experiences in Africa.
 
The outdoor treatment area is within an indigenous spa garden where guests may find the occasional antelope grazing alongside them and be lulled into a deep state of relaxation by the sound of birdsong.
 
The indoor spa area is a natural extension of the earth, inspired by nature and the splendour of the Kalahari, with natural finishes and fabrics and simple spaces which together create a sense of tranquillity and barefoot elegance.
 
Guests may also choose to have their treatments at an outdoor tsala, where a rustic structure protects one from the elements and is positioned to give a bird’s eye view of the open grasslands of the reserve against the backdrop of the Korannaberg Mountain range.
 
Treatments at Tswalu Spa include exfoliation treatments using fine red Kalahari dune sand ordesert mineral crystals from the natural mineral rich salt pans of the Kalahari, infused with plant-based emollient rich aromatic oils.

To view a complete list of 2013 World Luxury Spa Awards winners and finalists log onto http://www.luxuryhotelawards.com/winners/2013-spa-awards.