My husband and I spent one night here en route from Swaziland to the Drakensburg region and it really was an oasis in an otherwise industrial area. It was very easy to find from the main highway, and upon entering the property you suddenly feel transported from the busy world surrounding it to peaceful gardens. The buildings are located on a beautifully landscaped property, and have a chic rustic luxury feel to them. Our room was gorgeous - bright clean colors, full of light. The bath tub was huge and perfect for soaking those muscles aching from a long drive. The shower was powerful with plenty of water pressure. The bed has crisp, clean linens. There was a mini fridge as well as a coffee/tea nook which was very handy. While we were there the pool was being refinished, but it wasn't particularly nice weather at the time anyways so we didn't miss out on that.

The guest house is located a short drive away from the Blackrock Casino. In fact, if you take a left out of the driveway and follow that road to the end, it will drop you off right at the entrance to the casino parking lot. The Arbor Guesthouse proprietor recommended the casino restaurant for dinner and we were not disappointed. The honor bar at the guesthouse, which is open in the evenings, was locked when we returned from dinner so we didn't have a chance to use it. But we did have breakfast the following morning and I don't think you will leave hungry. We had eggs, sausage or bacon, yogurt & granola, juices, coffee, fresh fruit and more. The kitchen and waitstaff were friendly and always smiling.

Newcastle is one of those places that normally would not have been included on our itinerary, but I am glad we chose the Arbor Guesthouse as our stopover place - it exceeded our expectations. If you are interested in staying here you will want to book early - they have a tendency to book up quickly at popular holiday times as we learned when the proprietor was answering phone calls right before we checked out!

Bravo to the staff and thank you for making this a comfortable, enjoyable stay!

Very nice experience! Wanting to stay over some where between Joburg and the coast we picked Newcastle. The Arbor Guesthouse is an oasis on the outside of town with a nice pool, and very polite and friendly staff. The rooms were spotless, and well maintained. The owner, who we met, is passionate about here establishment. If in the area again, will be back for sure.