Linga Longa Guesthouse

White River is today a substantial, modern town with all amenities including banks, shops and top-class restaurants but there is one little corner of it that, while close to the town centre, is a tranquil oasis a world away from the stresses and strains of modern living. Linga Longa is that oasis, a five-star guesthouse set in a subtropical garden where weary travellers come to relax – and which most of them never want to leave.

Linga Longa belongs to Nelly Mashinini, a Sowetan who studied and worked in the United States. Nelly’s marketing job in American often took her away from home, which is when the travel bug bit. Back in South Africa, she made up her mind that she wanted to be involved in hospitality and so it was that she came to own Linga Longa. “I like to entertain,” the vivacious entrepreneur explains. “I also like beautiful things and, in this business, I’m able to entertain and share beautiful things with guests. My reward is seeing people’s smiles and hearing their appreciation.”

Beauty is one of the hallmarks of Linga Longa. Rooms, the restaurant, breakfast area and spaces for relaxing are all tastefully furnished to give the whole guesthouse a feeling that is as sumptuous as it is welcoming. None of the 10 en-suite rooms is furnished like any of the others. (There are two spacious honeymoon suites, both with four-poster beds. Amenities in all rooms include satellite television, airconditioning and  minibar fridges.)

The bar, which is adjacent to the restaurant area, overlooks Linga Longa’s sparkling swimming pool and there is another, smaller “splash” pool and a spa bath. Most guests, though, don’t come to Linga Longa for any of the activities on offer but simply for the chance to completely relax in a beautiful setting. “Often people are a bit tired after touring the province,” says Nelly. “They want a secure, tranquil place in which to unwind, somewhere they can be pampered all day while they take it easy, reading a book or just staying in bed.”

Since opening in 2004, Linga Longa has garnered more than its fair share of awards (for example being runner-up in the prestigious national Emerging Tourism Entrepreneur of the Year competition in 2006.) Cuisine is an important element in the guesthouse’s award-winning offering. Linga Longa offers all meals; its menus, says Lenny, being inspired by diverse cultures. Nelly herself can be found in the kitchen whenever time permits. “Guests are always welcome to say how they would like their food prepared. For instance, we recently had some German guests who said they wanted their potatoes cooked in a particular way and, of course, our staff were only too happy to help.”

TEP, Nelly says, has been only too happy to help “since the day we opened Linga Longa”. The partnership, she adds, has helped the guesthouse with marketing materials and in making it possible for her to attend exhibitions locally and overseas, an experience which she describes as being invaluable.

“The TEP Cluster concept is a brilliant concept. I really believe that something very big is going to come out of this. Many people have negative preconceptions about black-owned businesses. Often they come to us expecting disaster but once they see what we have to offer, they immediately change their minds. TEP is helping us to change a lot of minds, to show people that five star really is five star.”

Having established a solid reputation with business and leisure travellers from South Africa and abroad, Nelly says the next step for Linga Longa is to establish a presence in other centres. “We should have Linga Longas in Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban, Limpopo. We have the reputation and, most importantly, we have the standards.”