Time to set sail for V&A’s new berths

Published Oct 29, 2013

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Cape Town - Cape Town is gorgeous beyond compare but, if anything, Gauteng makes up for a lack of natural beauty by having more spending money to have fun.

The trick is to entice Joburgers to spend time away in the Cape, rather than travelling to, say, Durban.

For lovers of food and wine, there’s no contest. It’s little wonder Cape Town is the mother of South African tourist destinations.

Flying comfortably Club (business) Class on BA/Comair is the way to go, especially if you have access to the Slow Lounges in Joburg and Cape Town, where the sign above the loo says “a room with a view”, overlooking the runway. It’s really hard not to get stage-fright.

The Slow Lounge, which is available as a complimentary service to business class passengers and private banking clients, serves guests around the clock, so you can tuck in to breakfast, lunch or light snacks any time of day.

When you’re staying in Cape Town, being central is first prize. And depending on where your interests might lie, the V&A Waterfront has long cornered the market as an unashamed tourist trap: boat departures for Robben Island leave from there, and restaurants, shops and markets vie for a chunk of your change.

By and large, many Capetonians are not that keen on the Waterfront. It’s expensive and too touristy for “hey, shoo wow” comfort.

But to out-of-towners, the Waterfront is a vibrant, late-night drawcard where, no matter the weather, there’s always something going on, something to do.

Whether you’re meeting mates for craft beer at the micro brewer; getting a massage; having dinner; watching a movie; taking the kids to the aquarium; grabbing fish and chips to go; or stocking up on gourmet supplies at the V&A Market on the Wharf, one thing’s for certain: you won’t be bored.

Newmark Hotels, Reserves & Lodges opened the first hotel in the Waterfront, the Victoria & Alfred Hotel in 1990, transforming the original North Quay Warehouse into a luxury hotel named in honour of Queen Victoria and her son, Prince Alfred, who visited the Cape in 1870. On that visit, the British royals officially opened the Breakwater basin, which was later developed into the V&A Waterfront.

With over 40 years in the industry (the group started with the Ambassador hotel in the 1970s), they have a portfolio of boutique hotels and lodges.

A more recent acquisition, the Dock House, is a Victorian heritage site at the Waterfront, once being the residence and offices of the harbour engineer in the mid-1800s. Perched atop a cliff with views of the harbour and ocean, the property shares a vantage point with the harbour’s Timeball Tower, which was also built in the 19th century.

The Dock House has five guest rooms and one luxurious suite. It’s discreet, and popular with honeymooners and romantics.

The group’s other hotels in Cape Town are La Splendida in Mouille Point and the Queen Victoria.

The Queen Vic is a five-star boutique property with 35 rooms, crystal chandeliers, parquet flooring, a triple-volume foyer with a smooth white spiral staircase and soft white drapes. Its restaurant, Dash, is named after Queen Vic’s dog. It is an unfortunate association of dining and dash(ing), but the intimate restaurant may, erm, dash your preconceptions about hotel restaurants.

Executive chef Craig Paterson (whose culinary notches on the belt include stints at Londolozi in the Sabi Sands, the Cape Grace and Haute Cabrière in Franschhoek) and his executive sous chef, Jamie Dempster, keep a close eye on proceedings, ensuring every dish has a wow factor. Whether it’s the selection of palate-cleansing sorbets (on our visit, a seasonal taster of lemon, guava and strawberry); the vegetables harvested from the hotel’s kitchen; or the quick assemblage of a special plate, Dash’s kitchen think on their feet and produce top-quality fare from premium local ingredients.

The amuse bouche was scallops with a pea purée and chorizo; then pancetta lardons and walnuts; a grilled fillet of beef with herb mash, spinach purée, vegetable “forest” and port jus; followed by a red velvet cake served with Turkish delight and rose meringues. Above all, presentation and flavour rule.

Being a sister property to the V&A hotel’s Oyo (no relation to the oriental Bedfordview restaurant), both kitchens benefit from Craig’s expertise. At Oyo, our menu had a lyrical quality: From the Earth (a goat’s cheese salad with beetroot, walnuts, roasted garlic and chorizo oil); From the Sky (smoked duck with duck liver parfait, cherry chutney); From the Water (prawn cakes with shellfish aioli, watercress sauce and “caviar”); From the Land (beef fillet with braised oxtail, croquette potato, wild mushrooms and a thyme jus); and Little Pleasures (a Belgian white chocolate cheese cake with orange sorbet).

La Splendida is across the road from the Moullie Point promenade. From its Sótano restaurant, where tapas, home-made flatbreads and seafood are hits, diners can watch the ocean across the wind-whipped street while sipping on cool cocktails or wines bottled under its own label, Cult.

What caps your experience, though, is the staff’s attentive and friendly service, which extends from the restaurants and rooms to front-desk assistance.

Newmark’s restaurants put paid to the notion that hotel restaurants mean all flair and no flavour.

Not by far.

l Georgina Crouth was a guest of Newmark and BA/Comair.

 

If You Go...

Newmark Hotels, Reserves & Lodges are offering Saturday Star readers a discount on accommodation for the Queen Victoria, Victoria & Alfred, Dock House and La Splendida hotels:

Stay two nights, save 10 percent

Stay three nights, save 20 percent

Valid: until March 31, 2014

Terms & Conditions:

Not available in conjunction with other special offers

Not over the following dates: November 22 - 30; Dec 29 - January 02; February 03 - 06, 2014. Special subject to availability. Not available for existing reservations

For more info, visit www.newmarkhotels.com or mail [email protected]. Tel: 021 427 5900

British Airways (operated by Comair) 011 921 0340 or visit www.ba.com - Saturday Star

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