Let me break down a story of love at first sight. Love for an establishment that emanates grandeur.
Marisa Mclarin and the rest of the staff welcomed us, with the cousins-from-another-city-visiting zest, walking and talking us through a tour around the estate before delivering us to a wine tasting session, where a Ploughman’s platter was served as an accompaniment to five local red and white wines — including the winery’s famous, Pinotage.
This takes place at the Lanzerac Tasting and Deli, which is one of the four dining and bar areas, in addition to The Manor Kitchen, Taphuis Bar, and The Craven Lounge.
The Manor kitchen on the other hand, is a place to get lost in a buffet breakfast and classic dinner. The Taphuis Bar serves light meals, while The Craven Lounge, offers tapas style menu. The Taphuis Bar’s décor is rich in texture with rough stone walls, brick floors and exposed wooden ceilings.
The Craven Lounge duplicated the interior, but with a touch of dynamic souvenirs embellished on the walls.
The menu according to head chef, Michael Huni, changes seasonally — as is the norm, their menu, at the time of our stay, featured starters such as chicken, pork and sun-dried terrine, butternut and prawn bisque, confit duck-leg salad, flaked gin cured salmon, and fresh Saldanha oysters – mains included, slow braised lamb shank, fillet of aged beef, citrus cured pork belly, and more. On the dessert front, there was a selection of South African cheeses, salted caramel fondant, Cape malva pudding, coffee parfait, and more.
The estate’s sommelier, Tinashe Mukosi assured us we were in good hands at the establishment as they pride themselves of collecting quality local and international wise.
As an artist, not the drawing kind, I felt the rooms chronicle stories designer, Con van der Colff was so eager to tell visitors. Rooted from a history of strong heritage, merged with the new, and trendy décor elements.
The proof in Mclarin’s words “no two rooms are the same” is conspicuous, while retaining the same aesthetics, they differ in personalities – marrying the upholstered headboards with exposed brick walls, and marble surfaces.
Each room has a different colour and pattern that makes it different from the next. But in all, when you walk in, you find an airy, sparkly clean, well-appointed room with mid-century furniture, a perfectly made bed in crisp sheets, decorated with soft pillows and textured throw blankets.
The spa facilities in their entirety are a clear extension of the rich history of this establishment, and borrowing from the set up within the hotel rooms, the spa treatment rooms are the same but different. Each of the six rooms, bears patterns in a colour that reflects its own personality, from pink, green, and grey. The hydro facility also includes, the sauna, steam room, two mist rooms, indoor heated swimming pool, a jacuzzi, two Rasul chambers, for thermal mud treatments, and a shower.
Just like us here, I do believe each of our readers would trade a couple of days of burying themselves in work, for a sweet escape where you could live like a king or queen.
