About us

ArendsRus is also capable of facilitating weddings, or, for that matter, any other function that requires a touch of class and beautiful scenery. With an expert wedding planner/function coordinator on hand, prospective clients can rest easy, knowing that their every need would be tended to, that their big day is in safe hands. The picturesque surrounding makes for gorgeous photography, whilst the previously mentioned kitchen staff will prepare a feast fit for royalty.

To round off the charm, ArendsRus also offers luxurious accommodation, fit for out of town wedding guests, couples seeking a romantic getaway, or simply weary travelers passing through this beautiful corner of the country. The themed chalets are all constructed out of wood, giving it a unique, yet unmistakable charm. It has all the comforts one would expect to have at home, plus a view that can only be described as majestic.

A feast for all the senses, a place where the line between natural beauty and luxury is blurred, ArendsRus welcomes you for an experience second to none.

“LEKKER RUS IS BY ARENDSRUS”

Loadshedding

In our beautiful country we are faced with many challenges. To continue as a business, one needs to think ahead for what the future holds not only for us, but also for generations to come.

This had led us to not only improve our guests’ experience, but also move to a more sustainable future.

We are hereby proudly announcing that ArendsRus has eliminated Load shedding at our premises by the means of inverters and batteries and is now powered by Victron. 

On the 28th of July 2023, Our 60kw inverter system went online. This system was installed by Electrical Pro from George and it enables us to provide electricity, all day, every day to the entire farm regardless of Loadshedding. It is our first step towards a more sustainable future. We are planning to add a solar system to the Inverter system soon and thus ruducing our need for grid electricity.

Our Philosophy

At ArendsRus Country Lodge we are all about the beauty and wonder of nature around us, and we will do as much as possible to preserve its natural state. To fight for the cause of eco-friendly, we have a few procedures in place to do so.

Firstly we recycle. We make use of a company that recycles all our glass, plastic and tin waste. Recycling also helps to minimize pollution. Another way we try and reduce waste is by managing food waste. Having a restaurant on the establishment means that we have a lot of food waste that we need to do away with, but we also have the ideal location to do so, there are farms in the area that are happy to take the waste off our hands to feed their animals.

We save energy. When we use less energy, we save precious natural resources and cut down on pollution. We also use energy saving light bulbs.  Using more energy efficient light bulbs reduces the amount of energy used by the light bulbs, and we all know how important it is to reduce energy usage here in South-Africa. Another way to preserve nature is to conserve water. Conservation is simply a protection from loss or waste. Therefore, water conservation activities reduce the demand for water, improve the efficiency in use and reduce losses and waste of water.

Our Brief History

ArendsRus was founded by the Joubert family on the 1st of March 2013. Our goal was to create a South-African country style lodge where our guest can experience proper South-African hospitality in a setting to match and enjoy nature without compromise on quality and style. Therefor you will find, in our wooden rooms a rustic elegance feel with things like Egyptian cotton linen, chocolates and sherry as a welcoming drink.

Our wedding venue was opened on the 1st of May 2016. We call it the “ArendsRus Barn Yard”.

In 2020 we decided to make better use of our land and we planted 4ha of Macadamia nut trees and another 12ha in 2022.

As we are also avid campers and decided we need to expand our business. We thus constructed the campsite and it was opened in March of 2021.

In 2021 the Gardenroute camino was opened and ArendsRus is a key point for the route joining the Bo-Langkloof and the Garden-route.

ArendsRus also achieved a great milestone in 2022. We were awarded 4 stars by the Tourism Grading Council of South Africa for our Lodge, Venue & Campsite.

During 2022 we decided to expand our accommodation offering by building our first Luxury Glamping Tent and was completed by 1 December of the same year. 

We constantly strive to improve our service as well as to improve our facilities for the best Garden Route experience you will ever have.

Best wishes

Johan Joubert Jnr

Awards

2015-2016

ArendsRus was nominated at the Sanlam Top Destination Awards two years in a row. In 2015 we were voted as a finalist in our category. As for 2016, we took home the trophy! We were voted the Top Destination in the three star category for Hotels in South Africa.

We also received  a Certificate of Excellence in 2016 from AccommoDirect.com. This certificate was given based on our listing achieving Gold Prestige Status.

We also received a Guest Review award from Bookings.com for having consistent good service and reviews. We were rated a 9.4 out of 10.

2017

ArendsRus was nominated once again at the Sanlam Top Destination Awards and we achieved finalist status. We’re also pleased to announce that ArendsRus Country Lodge has been recognized with a 2017 Certificate of Excellence, based on the consistently great reviews we have earned on TripAdvisor.

ArendsRus is also and Accolade Winner for our wedding venue. This award was given by the Destination Africa Magazine for us being the most unique wedding venue as featured in their 2017/2018 edition.

ArendsRus was also given a Certificate of Excellence from afristay for being voted a Best Value for money establishment.

Book your wedding and accommodation now to find out why…

2018 – 2019

We have been nominated for the 4th year in a row for the 4th annual Sanlam Top destinations Awards. We have won Top Destination in our Category this year. We’re also pleased to announce that ArendsRus Country Lodge has been recognized with a 2018 & 2019 Certificate of Excellence, based on the consistently great reviews we have earned on TripAdvisor. We were also given a Certificate of Excellence by AfriStay by being voted the Best Value establishment.

2020 -2021

We were not only awarded the 2020 Travellers choice award by Tripadvisor, but also voted as best of the best! We also received the booking.com Traveller Review Award and our restaurant was reccommended on Sluurpy. In 2021 we received yet again the Booking.com Traveller review award, a recognition of excellence by Hotels Combined and a Kayak Travel award.

2022

In 2022 we were given a Tourism Destination Award and a Traveller Review Award by Booking.com. We were also upgraded from 3 stars to 4 stars for our Lodge and Venue. Our Campsite also received an initial grading of 4 Stars by the Tourism Grading Council of South Africa. We were also awarded Tripadvisor Travellers Choice Award.