A genuine review of one of our luxury Stellenbosch accommodation establishments - unannounced, paid for in full, and meeting all expectations and promises.
Some of you might recall me blogging about my romantic weekend that wasn’t last year. Well I just enjoyed a romantic weekend that was just that, so decided in the interest of balance to blog about it.
My partner G and I were invited to a wedding in the
Winelands and along with many of the guests decided to stay over in
Stellenbosch for the night. As G was paying he tasked me with finding something suitable (again! Very trusting of him after
last time. Funny, he seems to think my job should ensure that I can do this ‘finding great accommodation' thing…)
So this time I wanted to get it right. I contacted the Portfolio assessor for the Winelands area, Isolde, and told her G's very specific criteria and the price range we would consider, and she sent back a list of possibles.
G's criteria were as follows:
- A king size bed. NOT two beds even if they were pushed together (speaking from bitter experience)
- A stunning view. From the king size bed, preferably.
- Hearty breakfast included.
- Large bath & separate shower
- Swimming pool
- NOT "ou doos". His way of saying he wanted something clean and modern and none of this ‘granny furniture and creaky bed stuff’ i.e. antiques. I know, no class, but what could I do? He was paying after all…
African Valley Estate seemed to tick all the boxes – at least on paper and on our
website. Our assessor had included it on her list and was convinced we would love it. I made a point, when booking, of not mentioning that I work at Portfolio Collection - this was a private weekend away and I didn’t want to run the risk of talking shop over bacon and eggs. So the following is told from an unbiased P.O.V and our stay was paid for in full and unannounced.
Samantha, the on-site manager, was welcoming, friendly and completely professional. Before we even arrived I had called repeatedly to explain how important it was that we really DID have the bed and the view and could we check in early etc etc - and she remained helpful throughout - if she was irritated she didn’t show it!
We drove a kilometer or so out of town, along a short gravel road and up to the security gate of the establishment which is set on mountain slopes in a landscaped garden.
Samantha welcomed us and showed us to our suite (comprising a modern lounge, bedroom, bathroom). All I could do was gawp at the view of mountains that filled each uncluttered, spotless, modern yet comfortable room via the glass doors opening to a private stoep.
As I had to rush off and take some pre-wedding photos I left G watching the rugby and raiding the mini bar, and only returned many hours later with him following a fun wedding party. Can I just say that they have THE most comfortable beds with the kind of top quality linen you wish you could smuggle home?
Breakfast was served till 10h30 and check out was a relaxed “11h00, 12h00 – whenever!” Needless to say we had a lie in. At breakfast we were shown to a table outside the communal lounge and dining area, on the deck overlooking vineyards and mountains as far as the eye could see. The food was hot and plentiful, the coffee strong and the day was one of those perfect, still Cape Winelands days where you can smell the heat first thing.
Sadly we didn’t get a chance to try out the extra long, sparkling swimming pool and I wished we could have stayed longer just so I could have sprawled on the mattresses set out under massive hanging umbrellas alongside the pool, but we had our son to collect and real life to get back to.
Speaking to some of the other wedding guests subsequentally, I am pretty sure we had the best accommodation. A number of others were less than thrilled with the 2 twin beds, old stuffy furniture and, as one put it, ‘mental institute ambiance’ they encountered at other places in the area.
Even my ever-so-fussy surfer boyfriend only had one complaint. “This view is missing the sea”.
Yes, dear. That’s because we’re in Stellenbosch. Not JBay.
