Twelve apostles hotel and spa
Voted one of the three best hotels in Africa by readers of Conde Nast Traveller, the Twelve Apostles Hotel and Spa is a favourite international wedding destination.
But, when all the Irish brides have left with sunburned noses and 700 photographs of themselves on Table Mountain, this beautiful venue courts local admirers with special winter packages from as little as R995 a person a night.
The R995 package, available until September 30, includes dinner, a movie in the hotel's private cinema, and bed and breakfast. Summer rates, which include only breakfast, are at least 30 percent more.
Guests will love the hotel's Sanctuary Spa, which is so fabulous that cricketer Herschelle Gibbs has his paraffin pedicures done there.
Not only can you enjoy a wide range of treatments in a space that looks like an underground cavern transplanted into the Starship Enterprise, but you can choose the soundtrack to which you are wrapped, squeezed and decellulited.
Guests who do not fear scaring small animals can opt to have their holistic treatments in two outdoor, glass-enclosed gazebos surrounded by views of the sea and mountains.
The hotel also boasts an indoor gym, which, despite their best intentions, most guests never get to enter. There is simply too much to ogle.
Nestled in a marine nature reserve, flanked by Table Mountain and the Twelve Apostles Mountain range and overlooking the sea, the views offered by the Twelve Apostles have already won the hotel first place in the "Most Breathtaking Views" category in the International Restaurant & Hotel awards.
Its Azure Restaurant, run by executive chef Roberto de Carvalho, is clearly aimed at offering something a little different to international visitors with its fynbos-inspired menu. Portions are huge.
After starting out as a glass washer, its self-taught sommelier Luvo Ntezo - who bears an uncanny resemblance to a young Nelson Mandela - was recently recognised as the fourth best young sommelier in the world at the Chaîne des Rôtisseurs Competition in Austria.
Winter Packages
- Overnight dinner and a movie from R995 a person sharing, a night, in a classic room.
- Hibernate to Rejuvenate Package from R1105 a person sharing, a night, in a classic room, minimum two-night stay.
- Celebrations Package from R1200 a person sharing, a night, in a classic room.
- Nature's Gift Package from R1400 a person sharing, a night, in a classic room.
Prices depend on room category and subject to availability.
- Contacts: Tel: 021 437 9000
Site: www.12apostleshotel.com
E-mail: [email protected]
Houtbay manor
Experiencing this five-star boutique hotel is not unlike biting into a bonbon and tasting something completely unexpected. Like a chilli bite.
Don't be fooled by the Cape Dutch exterior of this 21-room manor; its interior embodies anything but neo-colonial restraint. Old sepia photographs mix with massive yellow and white protea murals, bright beads and, occasionally, big glass jars full of marshmallows.
The hotel's design is clearly not aimed at taking itself too seriously. It's a lucky packet - you have no idea what's inside: giant baths sit in the middle of some bright bedrooms and huge shell lampshades decorate the dining room.
Interior designer Boyd Ferguson of Cécile & Boyd's, who was responsible for the hotel's decor, won the ABSOLUT VISI Designer of the Year award for innovative use of African pattern and colour in the manor.
Winter rates drop by 40 percent from the hotel's summer prices, and rooms are available from R1 200 a person sharing from May 1. The Sangoma Family Room rates drop from R10 080 in summer to R6 050 in winter.
The food offered in the Manor's Pure restaurant by executive chef and general manager Alexander Mueller is, like the hotel itself, mixing the traditional with the completely unexpected.
Fans of large pieces of meat accompanied by larger dollops of starch may be slightly nonplussed by this small, pretty and very unusual food, which includes tuna sashimi with wasabi ice-cream, foie gras in forms you never imagined and such dishes as "grilled scallop with vanilla on crayfish crust with orange beurre blanc and herb crostini".
The truly adventurous (and sturdy of liver) can opt for the seven-course tasting menu, which is accompanied by different wines with every course.
Bushmans Kloof Wilderness Reserve
A favourite destination of Hollywood star Nicolas Cage, Bushmans Kloof Wilderness Reserve and Retreat has ben rated as one of the top eco-lodges in the world.
A World Heritage site, it attracts international visitors with more than 130 Bushman rock art sites and wildlife - including one of the world's largest private herds of the endangered Cape mountain zebra.
But it woos locals over winter with rates from R1 300 a person sharing a night, for full board, compared with R2 600 in summer.
There are 16 rooms in the hotel, as well as the Koro Lodge, which sleeps groups of up to eight and is sought after by celebrities and their entourages. In an apparent bid to avoid hardy tokoloshes, beds are theatrically positioned high off the ground and require you to climb a set of library steps to get to them.
Sunset game drives, rock art tours, archery, fly-fishing, picnics and nature hikes are available for restless yuppies bereft of cellphone reception and internet access. The not-so-active and uninhibited can opt for massages on secluded rock shelters or in the outdoor spa gazebo.
The hotel offers six different dining venues, including dinners served in your own room.
The latest is the Embers restaurant, which is built into a natural ancient sandstone amphitheatre overlooking cliffs and valleys, and offers simple braai fare.
In contrast, the Homestead restaurant - positioned across a heated pool - is all about wowing gourmet diners with dishes like the "panee'd fillet of venison served with celeriac and beetroot puree, asparagus, sweet and sour black cherry and chocolate sauce".
While there is a Bushmans Kloof International Airport - a shack on a dirt strip - most guests elect to travel the 270km, 3.5-hour trip to the hotel from Cape Town by car.