Kleinkaap Boutique Hotel, Centurion

Present-Day Charm

 

The charm of an olde worlde effect relies on a perfect balance between old and new. While maintaining the architectural integrity and décor style of an historic building, crisp clean fittings and fabrics help to avoid a musty Miss Haversham feel. This balancing act is well achieved at Kleinkaap Boutique Hotel in Centurion. Due homage is paid to the original 1820 manor house, with warm Cape Dutch antique furniture. Almost Shaker in look, the beauty of the golden and amber wood wardrobes are finished with oversized smooth round handles. Original patterned tile floors are offset with glossy bathrooms and the softest white bathrobes. The beds are inviting with white cotton linen and gentle bedside down-lighting. Freshly baked biscuits in the room, tea and coffee facilities, airconditioning and flat screen TV complete the welcome.

Outside the main building, a shiny red antique car poses in the courtyard next to a pretty fountain. Although this is a sizeable wedding and conference venue, the layout of the buildings and the helpful staff achieve a friendly impression.

Accommodation Experience:

I am in Pretoria on business and I arrive at the Kleinkaap Boutique Hotel feeling anxious and overwhelmed by the work I have just agreed to undertake. I pace restlessly around the room, berating myself. Yet each time I sit on the bed in my upstairs room, I find myself looking directly out onto enormous old trees. It is Spring and these massive, solid structures are bursting forth with millions of tiny, delicate, light green shoots. I cannot help but smile and be filled with a sense of hope. It becomes my pattern for the afternoon - each time I get caught up in my stressy thoughts, I remind myself to look up and out at the hopeful trees. This is the power of a character stay – to draw one’s attention out of one’s head into the physical, present world, which, more often than not, is a less scary and more lovely place to dwell.

Morrells Manor House, Northcliff, Gauteng

Graciously Received:

Morrells Manor House has all the character of a country guesthouse, with all the hushed professionalism of a luxury urban hotel. Set in one of the older, leafier suburbs of Gauteng, Northcliff, the style is understated French Provencial, with indoor and alfresco dining areas overlooking lavender bushes and a peaceful, blue-grey pool. 

In the original manor house there are chandeliers in every room, Louis XV-style chairs, old fashioned coat racks and wooden luggage racks. Individually decorated rooms follow a botanical theme, with names like Plumbago, Camellia, and Hydrangea. There are fresh cut flowers everywhere and I count four vases filled with lilac sweetpea flowers in my room alone.

I choose to stay in the Agapanthus room, which has ceiling-to-floor lead-light windows and double doors onto a private sun-filled courtyard. The synchronised curtains, headboard and floral valence complement the white percale linen and pretty bedside lamps. The enormous bathroom is tiled, with a wide, deep bath and a double-headed shower. Maria Garcia bath products are the final flourish leading to a happy sigh.

Accommodation Experience:

I head out to Morrells Manor House early, deciding to escape the Gauteng rush to get some work done. Despite arriving unannounced more than two hours before check-in time, I am graciously received without even a flinch, offered a drink and shown to my room.

Unfortunately when I see this loveliest of rooms, all thoughts of work vanish. It is all I can do to sink into my soft bed with a magazine. With the sun streaming in through the open doors and windows, to the sounds of Turtle Doves and Barbets from the surrounding established trees, I convince myself I will be more productive tomorrow, thanks to a peaceful afternoon in this plush, secluded haven.

Toadbury Hall, Elandsdrift, Gauteng

 

The peaceful interior guesthouse

Avoiding the intensity of inner-city Johannesburg for a change, I find myself drawn to the green outskirts of the Magaliesberg area. I stay at Toadbury Hall, an establishment which is everything its name suggests – white-washed walls, high thatched ceilings and wonky wooden beams, rose bushes, green lawns down to pretty lakes. There are rich sounds of ducks and peacocks and Highveld birds.

What I love about Toadbury Hall:

• Gracious old trees which seep up any stress or angst
• White-washed long-barn style thatched building
• Lakes, willow trees and water birds
• Pretty lake-side deck for breakfast, elegant dining spaces and green lawns for picnics
• Roses, gentle fountains and peacocks
• Fine embroidered linen and towels
• Spacious suites, individually decorated with unique character

Accommodation experience

Righteous Anger and Existential Despair are more than what the great Persian Poet Rumi describes as “visitors of my interior guesthouse”. Rather, they have taken up permanent residence, like illegal squatters protected by some new unfair laws of justice. I try to keep things as quiet as possible, so as not to disturb these unruly residents but every now and then they come out of their rooms, ranting and wreaking havoc within and without. So I was more than a little nervous of a disturbance, after a week of intense work and travel which culminated in the traffic of Gauteng, the feeding grounds of impatience and stress. However when I drove out of the traffic into the tree-lined avenues at Toadbury Hall, a weight lifted and I felt that spacious calm which tall trees and a historic building in a natural setting can bring.

I chose number 6, the Bridal Suite, all to myself and my ever-present interior friends. It is situated at a far end of the manor house, with a private courtyard and tinkling fountain which of course pleases me greatly. But I confess I chose this suite for the grand four-poster bed. As I rest in bed I come to the carefully considered conclusion that this is indeed the most beautiful bed I have ever lain in. It has dark red turned wood, which looks like cherry. While grand, it is not imposing and has an embracing friendliness. It sits well in the spacious suite with its terra cotta tiled floors and double glass doors. The embroidered silky white linen lends the final touch to a soothing and containing space.

Rumi’s poem says:

This being human is a guest house.

Every morning a new arrival.

A joy, a depression, a meanness,

some momentary awareness comes

as an unexpected visitor.

Welcome and entertain them all

even if they’re a crowd of sorrows,

who violently sweep your house

empty of its furniture.

Still treat each guest honourably,

he may be clearing you out

for some new delight.

The dark thought, the shame, the malice,

meet them at the door laughing,

and invite them in.

Be grateful for whoever comes,

because each has been sent

as a guide from beyond.

There are times when we need to embrace our unruly interior guests with grace and self-compassion, but I was equally grateful to find a peaceful space where it was easy to let them rest until another day.

Osborne House, Pretoria

Happy find

Finding a tranquil and stylish little haven in a convenient location within a big city is an exciting discovery. And I have to contain myself not to use too many indulgent adjectives, as this one is close to my heart. Situated in the leafy suburb of Brooklyn, right on the edges of busy Pretoria, Osborne House is everything a city character stay should be.

A historical building with rooms cleverly placed in different corners of the property, either facing the lush gardens or spacious pool. Each room is individually decorated with minimalist warmth, with trendy calm colours, the silkiest of linen, clean-lined antique furniture, and objects of interest. The host’s keen interest in decor is evident in every corner, with restrained use of beautiful upholstery, cushions and pictures. The resulting look is very South African, balancing the historical and modern with an easy style.

What I love about Osborne House:

• Pretty period building in a leafy suburb close to restaurants, embassies, government offices and businesses of Pretoria
• Owner-managed, with genuine hospitality and warmth
• Spacious rooms with every traveller convenience
• Classical wooden furniture, beautiful linen upholstery and elegant decor touches in every room

Accommodation experience

In my family we were always cautioned against too much enthusiasm about anything, with the well-intentioned concept that intense happiness often ends in disappointment and tears. So it was with secretive delight that I found myself hopping around my beautifully appointed pool-side suite. The understated, yet bold expression of the quintessentially South African look resonated with a happy hum. It is a clever creative space which can release such pleasure in the midst of a city work trip and Osborne House is recommended for even the most jaded traveller, with unbridled joy.