The Palace of the Lost City has spent over three decades building a reputation on legendary architecture, royal-scale hospitality and deeply immersive guest experiences. Its newest addition, Plume Jazz Lounge, which opened its doors on 29 August after six months of development, is a deliberate next step in that story — a dedicated venue built specifically around live jazz, considered dining and curated evening entertainment.

Awards seasons in hospitality can sometimes feel like a numbers game enter enough categories and something eventually sticks. What makes Mhondoro Safari Lodge & Villa's four wins at the 2026 Haute Grandeur Global Excellence Awards notable isn't just the breadth of the recognition, it's how those winners are actually determined.

There's a particular kind of Cape Winelands calm that's hard to replicate anywhere else — and for 13 days this September, Hyde Park Corner is giving it a genuine attempt. Babylonstoren in Bloom, running from 2 to 14 September in the centre's Centre Court, marks the celebrated Franschhoek farm's first-ever activation inside a shopping centre, and it's a considerably more ambitious undertaking than a simple pop-up stand.

Brand collaborations tend to follow a predictable script: a logo swap, a limited can design, maybe a co-branded playlist. Windhoek Lager's new partnership with veteran South African band 340ml skips that script entirely and does something much stranger and more memorable for the length of the campaign, the band is temporarily changing its name to 330ml.

Some community events grow by accident. The Pink Run at Rosebank Mall has grown by design and the numbers tell the story clearly. What started as a modest gathering of around 900 people in 2023 pulled in 3,100 participants last year, raising R66,000 for CANSA in the process. This year, organisers aren't just hoping to build on that they've set an explicit, public target: 3,500 runners and R100,000 raised for this year's beneficiary, breast health organisation I Love Boobies.

Some event lineups are built by chasing whoever's available. Others are built with intent and The Source Collective's October announcement is firmly the latter. Landing at Sognage on Friday, 9 October, the Afro Tech night has assembled a bill that reads less like a list of DJs and more like a curated survey of where deep, emotive electronic music in South Africa currently sits.