Hotel Offers & Gift Experiences

What is Secret Getaway & how does it work?

Your Online Travel concierge of the best value luxury local getaways and city stays. for Spontaneous Luxury Local Getaways. Secret Getaway saves you time by bringing you the best per category per area & offers unique promotional packages for our members. Secret Getaway saves you time by bringing you the best establishment per category per area & offers unique promotional packages to our members. Saving you time, saving you money.

We specialise in the exceptional properties that normally cater for the international market and budget, but whom would also like to attract locals for spontaneous and/ or off-season stays. You sign up as a member either using Facebook, Google or your email, you look at the limited number of offers on the page, you choose the one that appeals to you most, buy the offer through Paygate secure payment portal. You are then immediately emailed your voucher for the hotel with their contact details, give the number a call to book your date and give them your voucher number to validate the exclusive offer and follow their normal booking process from then on, like any other of their valued guests.

Why are there a limited number of offers on the website at one time?

We limit the number available because the world is a noisy place and if you want a spontaneous getaway what you need is someone in the know to tell you what is the best thing happening. We are that someone. Your personal concierge to adventure, if you like.

There will always be a careful selection of City Stays in Gauteng and Cape Town as well as getaways in both surrounding areas including Game Reserves and wine farms, but all within a 4 hour radius.

We take pride in categorizing our properties carefully into star gradings

• Top Secret are ultra 5*
• Premium Portfolio are popular 5*
• Classic Collection are 4* who under promise but over deliver and
• Character properties are ungraded getaways that surprise and delight with their location/ service or unique features.

All our properties are carefully selected based on their reviews and TripAdvisor score. You won’t find anything non-spectacular on our website.

Once you become a member you have access to all the available offers on our site.

How can my friend become a member?

You are able to invite your friends using your unique code that is under your My Account tab.

How much information are you given about the property?

You are able to view accurate descriptions about the property, location and room as well as see photos of the area or property itself. You then select the offer that you like the best, you make a secure payment using PayGate, and are then sent an email with all the property details required to make your reservation.

What dates are available?

The window of time available that you can stay at the property are clearly marked before you buy your voucher. There is an availability enquiry form on each offer which shows the available dates, if you have special requirements, or would like to ensure a specific date is available, then you can send a request using this form and we will get back to you within 24 hours.

How long do I have to buy an offer available on the site?

Our offers are limited to run for a maximum of 10 days or until it has sold out, because some properties will only offer 3 vouchers, and others will offer us 300 vouchers it all depends on the demand about how quickly they sell out. When you select an offer, we reserve it for you for 20 minutes to ensure that once you have decided you want it, you can definitely get it. It’s one of the small attention to detail moments we have tried to differentiate our service on.

Once I have my voucher, how much time do I have to make my reservation?

You can buy vouchers while they are live on our site and once you have bought a voucher there will be a BOOK BY date, typically 7 days from when you purchase. That is the date you need to phone the hotel and make your reservation. On each offer there is Getaway time frame during which you are able to stay at the property. That tells you what dates you can stay at the hotel/ accommodation provider.

What properties are available on Secret Getaway?

Secret Getaway showcase the best of the best in South African hospitality. It is a token of pride that they are selected to fill our limited slots. There are many websites available out there that offer any and all hotels, we aren’t one of those. We believe less is more, and selection is critical to ensure quality and trust. When you see a property on our site, they have been carefully chosen, briefed and are as excited to welcome you as you should be to experience their hospitality.

The hotels rotate ad hoc throughout the year, some places only once, others a couple more, but never more than once per season, this is to keep it fresh for you, and to ensure they make the most of their time on the site with the best and most unique offer possible.

Why do some of the properties need to be unnamed?

As you know we live in a digital era and all pricing for hotels are incredibly competitive. Hotels often have to offer the same discount to all websites that advertise for them online. This can lead to dissatisfaction as well as price spiral with Lowest Price Promises etc.

Secret Getaway offers a discreet way to fill empty bednights without it being splashed across the internet forever. Why do they run an offer with us? It is very hard to change their marketing drives to accommodate local budgets even though they would like to get locals to also enjoy their properties too. Thus we created a model that protects their name as much as possible whilst enabling them to attract locals with a love of experiences, quality and exceptional service, which is where you, our member, comes in.

We know it isn’t only the discount that attracts experience hunters like our members are, but it is the whole package and value. So we work closely with the hotels to create the most enticing offer possible.

Why are there limited options available?

We aim to streamline the choice available. For instances, if you enjoy ultra 5 star luxury then keep a look out for our Top Secret offers. We try and have a choice of 3 available: one in the city, one in the winelands/ bush break, and then one in our featured provincial area. Sometimes the amount of rooms are very limited and so they sell out fast. If you know you would like an ultra 5* hotel in the city then there is one choice available to you.

How do I find out about the offers?

We will email you weekly when the new offers are uploaded onto the site. If you would prefer not to be contacted, please opt out of our emails and come onto the site when you next need to getaway from it all.

How can I have confidence in the hotels that are being offered?

Not any hotel can qualify as a Secret Hotel. We hand pick the hotels to be presented as offers. For a hotel to be part of our collection they would also need to have at least 80% Excellent Reviews on TripAdvisor. Our aim is for our members to know they can trust us completely.

How does Secret Getaway decide that a hotel is excellent?

We aren’t just eCommerce, digital dorks. On our team is a hotel manager with experience managing amazing properties across the world from the Philippines, Maldives to Cape Town. Her eye for detail is phenomenal and it is what helps the top properties trust us to understand their unique needs.

We promise that our offer is the best price available for your getaway.

We work very closely with our hotel partners to ensure that our offers are too tempting to resist. In the unlikely event that you happen to discover the same room category and experience for less on another website during that period or for 7 days after purchasing your offer, then we will liaise with the hotel to ensure you get more extras included during your stay, and that the offer is amended or removed.