Friday, 12 April 2013

A Room with a View, Melville, Johannesburg


 
Artistic release

With a hint of what my friend Derek calls “Boere Baroque”, A Room with a View in Melville shows a flair for the dramatic. Turrets, angelic gargoyles, columns, balconies, conservatories, grand fireplaces, velvet curtains, satin ribbons and brocade abound. Each archway and narrow winding staircase reveals a creative corner or cosy snug. This place is a feast for the senses and an inspiration for the spirit.

Hardly knowing where to look, I follow my host up a steep tower to a room at the top floor, overlooking the Melville koppies. The room has a private balcony high above the grand pool below. However its main feature is an impressive glass conservatory, capitalising on the beautiful Highveld golden light and van Gogh-blue skies.


Accommodation experience:
I lay in bed admiring the full views of the starry night through my glass-roofed conservatory. I imagine how anyone with such vision to create a place like this must have had great courage to follow their artistic dreams. Amidst friends and family expressing their disapproval and no doubt well-intentioned concern, to stay the course would have cost more than a little. And like so many artists before, success is never the guarantee, and sometimes not even the goal. Instead in the words of Babette’s Feast “One long cry from the heart of an artist: Give me the chance to do my very best!” A Room with a View embraces this spirit and calls to the artist and dreamer within you.


 What I love about A Room with a View:
  • Spectacular architecture, with every wing and each room a unique creation
  • An excess of glass, making the most of the natural views of the Melville koppies
  • Interesting lounges and meeting rooms
  • Courtyards and balconies
  • Artistic, bohemian, sensual decor
  • Big, soft, high beds
  • Deep baths with views
  • Original, strong, impressionistic artworks in every room
  • Enormous pool, walled with arched windows to the views beyond
 

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