Overseen by an independent research house, categories in the awards cover a variety of industries, from airlines and hotels to car rental, forex, cards and more, making it a massive achievement for the select few awarded.

Out of 23 categories, aha Hotels & Lodges ruled in theirs. The criteria for the best South African hotel group involves the most consistent offering, including the quality of their properties, consistency in service, accommodation, facilities (both meeting and conference), variety of locations, Wi-Fi offering, food and beverage, loyalty programme, additional services and all round value for money.

“Being acknowledged as the Top South African hotel group by such a highly respected authority in the hospitality industry is testament to our collective commitment to the people that make us great, our most-valued guests,” says aha Hotels & Lodges CEO, Neil Bald. “We’re extremely proud of every single person, within the aha group, that actively contributed to us winning this highly sought-after award.”

aha Hotels & Lodges manages a collection of hotels and lodges throughout Southern Africa, including in the Western Cape, North West Province, KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga, Limpopo, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Zambia.

For more information, visit aha.co.za. Alternatively, connect with them on Facebook or on Twitter.