By Brian Berkman
It was lucky I waited until the last five minutes of our meeting before raising Roald Dahl's James and the Giant Peach.
As was to be expected, this wasn't the first time James Peech of The Peech boutique hotel in Melrose, Johannesburg was asked about his connection to this children's story.
Aside from the name, which I grant you is a tenuous link, James Peech looks and acts just as I imagined Dahl's character would. He is slight, with an angular jaw and peaches-and-cream complexion that look entirely English and boyish.
Throughout our breakfast the morning after I am his guest in the hotel, I can't stop myself thinking about the book and the amusing (to me at least) coincidence.
I'll tell you the turning point. When he, and Cassie Janisch, his charming partner and girlfriend told me they had travelled through the remotest parts of Bali, Thailand and Vietnam practically on foot, the namby-pamby image disappeared instantly.
On hearing he had worked at The Grande Roche hotel, under Horst Frehse and the legendary chef Frank Zlomke, I knew he had steel balls.
Other steel body parts came to the fore in our discussion too, when he said he had cut down the blue-gum trees himself and chopped them into matching logs with which he decorated, in perfect symmetry, the area around the fireplace.
His many years in a London Advertising Agency TBWA working on the Absolut account taught him what client service really is but despite a stints training a la Grande Roche, in hospitality he may be a little wet behind the ears.
Their story is a fascinating one. She, a South African, was a management consultant working for a London firm, and he true-blue Brit, decided they wanted something else for their lives.
In the process of trekking through Asia they found they were able to negotiate with fine guesthouses and boutique hotel owners to allow them to stay at reduced rates. It was this process that gave them the idea to open The Peech.
Finding the property was also easy, although arranging funding was more complex, as James, as a foreign national, struggled with local banks. During the construction of The Wanderers' Planet Fitness gym, the owners of 61 North Street, Melrose decided it was time to move to a smaller, quieter neighbourhood.
Although there was a lot of interest in carving up their large property into a town house complex, the family didn't want their many years of good memories demolished and it was James and Cassie's consummate charm that convinced them to accept a lower price on the condition that the main house would be restored.
But despite the large house standing happily since the 1950s, it almost fell down while the Planet Fitness folk drilled into the bedrock. Although the main structure remains, it has been significantly upgraded and an additional garden suite was undergoing final touches when I visited.
The transformation is impressive. Take a 1950s grand home and convert it into one suite and five luxury double rooms - no mean feat.
The public areas are neat and there is a pleasing minimalism about the place. Crisp white linen, work station and sitting area in the rooms make for comfortable living and the large bathrooms are well appointed.
I didn't like the cow-dung-meets-concrete floors which I found cold, but all the rooms are heated and the fireplace in the main lounge is welcoming in winter.
At R1 350 a room including breakfast, it competes with other hotels aimed at the business market. I imagine, because of its size, that guests have free rein when in-house, which would make arranging meeting spaces much easier than at a large hotel. They have a boardroom for up to 10, wireless Internet access and Planet Fitness in the back garden to dash to between meetings.
The outside eating area, previously a dull braai lapa, is going to be a Melissa's-style deli where munching can happen throughout the day while the bar is perfect for a Martini lunch or post-work zinger to get the evening under way.
The main attraction is the hosts. In the inimitable way which Horst Frehse at Grande Roche has epitomised the Mein Host attitude, so too have James and Cassie made a stay at The Peech very pleasing.
- The Peech: 011 537 9797. email: [email protected] see www.thepeech.co.za
- This article was originally published on page 16 of The Tonight on May 20, 2005