Love Is Easy: Four Fuss-Free Escapes for Every Kind of Valentine

Heads up: Valentine’s Day doesn’t have to be a dinner you can’t afford or a last-minute panic bouquet from the petrol station. Sometimes the best kind of romance is the kind that feels easy — like an effortless weekend away in exactly the right place. We’ve rounded up four escapes that do subtle, special, and memorable very, very well.

For the Slow Lovers & Soft Mornings: Queen’s Hotel by BON Hotels, Oudtshoorn

Some places turn the volume down on the world, and Queen’s Hotel is one of them. This isn’t a hotel trying to impress you with “signature sprays” and heart-shaped anything. It’s old (as in 1880s old), well-dressed without being fussy, and just…unbothered in the best way. The building has hosted feather barons and travelling poets long before your weekend away, and the place is richer for it.

The food’s excellent (shoutout to Colony Restaurant), and there’s something casually romantic about sandstone buildings, pressed linen, and a fireplace going in February — because the Karoo likes to keep you guessing.

You might wander up Church Street at golden hour, pick up a marmalade at the padstal, or do absolutely nothing at all except order wine to your room and watch the Swartberg Mountains change colour from your window.

And right now, rooms are just R950 for Valentine’s — a quiet little love story at a very charming price.

For the City-Romantics Who Love Having Their Own Space: Majorca Apartments by BON Hotels, Century City 

There are couples who chase mountaintops. Others just want good coffee, soft lighting and a place where the stovetop works — whether or not it gets used. If your love language involves eating Thai food in a bathrobe and calling it a night, Majorca Apartments is your kind of Valentine’s stay.

Set inside Century City’s Island Club, the apartments are sleek and pleasantly quiet for somewhere that’s walking distance from one of the biggest malls in the country. There’s time to cook, nap, go out, order in or panic-buy a gift without leaving your postcode.

And just when you think you’re deep in city mode, a little boat floats you across the canal to Intaka Island — a peaceful patch of wetland where herons glide past like something out of a nature doc. 

Bonus: If five nights of soft sheets and canal strolls sounds like your kind of plan, Majorca’s Stay 5, Pay 4 special makes it even sweeter.

For the Adventure-Ready Couples: BON Hotel Rustenburg

This one’s for the Valentine’s duo who find bike helmets more romantic than boxed chocolates. The couples who’d choose ziplining over wine pairings, quad bikes over quiet dinners — though, luckily, you don’t have to pick.

At BON Hotel Rustenburg, adventure stretches in every direction, whether it’s hiking through the Magaliesberg, heading out on safari at Pilanesberg, or hopping over to Ten Flags for go-karts, archery or a little competitive chaos.

Back on site, things slow down exactly when you want them to. The gardens are peaceful, pools are plentiful (yes, there’s a heated one), and a spa treatment or two will take care of anything that bounced too hard over the handlebars. When it’s time to eat, the Oude Landgoed Restaurant brings seriously satisfying favourites — pizzas, eisbein and plates made for sharing.

For the Couples Who Crave a Different Kind of Beach Escape: BON Hotel Waterfront Richards Bay

If the words “beach holiday” bring to mind sand in your bag and boardwalk crowds, you’ll be glad to know this one’s different. BON Hotel Waterfront Richards Bay offers something calmer — all harbour views and coastal light, more marina than mayhem.

You’re right on the Tuzi Gazi Waterfront, with rooms that look out over yachts, palms and open sky.

Mornings start with breakfast at Ship to Shore, dinners end with cocktails on the deck, and in between there’s time for lounging by the pool, sipping something cold at the bar or exploring the wild edges of Zululand. You can head to Alkantstrand for beach walks, pop into Shakaland for culture, or just stay still and enjoy the view.