Terra Casa, Rustenburg

Wholehearted warmth

There’s a tangible difference when someone has created a space creatively and with a genuine care about hospitality, rather than ticking the boxes of convenience or star ratings. Terra Casa in Rustenburg was clearly prepared by someone passionate and thoughtful about accommodation. This approach is reflected in the titles of the suites, named after famous artists – Van Gogh, Michelangelo, Gauguin. I chose to stay in the Da Vinci suite, a choice which, I am ashamed to say, had less to do with the work of the original artist, and more to do with the glorious bath shown on the website photographs.

The suite is spacious and sensory, with glossy terra cotta tiles and a rich red rug. The grain of timber in the antique writing desk adds further warmth, while the stonework of the wall behind the bath adds texture in keeping with the natural style of the decor. Said wide stone bath in the bedroom beckons its promise of the main entertainment of the stay. An indoor fireplace and double doors with a Juliet balcony complete the effect.

What I love about Terra Casa:

• Beautiful stonework, terra cotta tiles and natural timber furnishings
• Opulent decor with individually themed suites
• Luxurious baths, wide showers and plush towels
• Warm carpets, fireplaces, air-conditioning and exterior double doors
• Situated in a convenient suburb, with easy access to the N4 and Rustenburg shopping mall and restaurants
• Free wifi, plentiful plug points and adaptors and all the mod cons for the business traveller

Accommodation experience

It’s a happy stay for a business stop-over and I find myself sinking mindfully into the experience rather than stressing about the day ahead. Brother David Steindl-Rast says “The antidote to exhaustion is not necessarily rest – the antidote to exhaustion is wholeheartedness.” David Whyte adds “The reason why you are so exhausted is that much of what you are doing you have no affection for. You are doing it because you have an abstract idea that you should be doing it.” He says the end result is that there is a part of you “beginning to impersonate yourself.” When places like this are created by people who are wholehearted in providing a unique accommodation experience, the warmth of the hospitality is felt in every aspect of one’s stay. And somehow this is transferred to the weary traveller or grumpy business person, to encourage us to also work and live more wholeheartedly, or to bravely begin the journey of discovery of what makes us truly wholehearted.