The Cellars Hohenort

The spacious Double Rooms offer sweeping views over the Cape Peninsular or of the hotel’s magnificent gardens if staying in the Cellars Main House. The triple windows also provide a light and airy space where guests can relax and refresh between exciting activities.

The double rooms within the Main House feature a more modern design, whereas the rooms in the Hohenort building are Edwardian in style with traditional beams and a more timeless aesthetic. Relax on your king-size bed, adorned with extra pillows and soft sheets, where you can watch TV and enjoy the beautiful views. Each room also has its own en-suite bathroom with modern facilities, fluffy bathrobes and a hairdryer.

The Luxury Double Rooms are larger than the standard doubles, and feature an indoor lounge area where guests can unwind and enjoy interacting with one another during the warm and lazy afternoons. The large windows offer idyllic views of the beautiful Constantia Valley and False Bay, which can be admired from either your king-size bed, lounge or outside on your private verandah.

The verandahs feature comfy sun loungers and a small table area for enjoying a hot mug of tea or coffee. During the summer, guests can enjoy cool refreshments from the room’s minibar, and in the winter, hot water bottles will be stuffed into the beds during the turndown surface to keep you cosy and warm. Each room has its own en-suite bathroom with modern facilities, fluffy bathrobes and a hairdryer.

The Suites at The Cellar Hohenort are a blend of elegance and luxury, offering a large space for guests to relax in. The open-plan bedroom and living area is spacious and divided into two distinct sections. Guests can relax on the huge king-size beds and enjoy the stunning garden views that lie beyond the large windows, which let in plenty of light and fresh air. The lounge features a satellite TV and a plush sofa, and the room also contains a grand walk-in wardrobe.

Each suite is furnished with its own flair and style, creating a collection of unique settings. They all use different natural colour schemes to mirror the soothing atmosphere of the manicured gardens. During the summer, guests can enjoy cool refreshments from the rooms minibar, and in the winter, hot water bottles will be stuffed into the beds during the turndown surface to keep you cosy and warm. Each room has its own en-suite bathroom with modern facilities, fluffy bathrobes, a hairdryer, and Molton Brown products.

The Premier Suites are the perfect home away from home for guests who want to make the most of their time at the hotel. Each suite is extremely generous in size, offering a large independent lounge, kitchenette, bedroom and en-suite bathroom. The lounge is designed for a group of people to relax and sit back on the comfy sofa and armchairs, with a satellite TV and a cosy fireplace. The surrounding windows let in plenty of light and offer stunning views of the soothing gardens.

Guests will either be provided with a private garden patio or expansive views of the main gardens. The bedrooms are huge, with king-size beds, lamps and elegant furnishings. The rooms lead to spacious en-suite bathrooms with twin basins, large tubs and complimentary Molton Brown products. Guests can snuggle up in the fluffy bathrobes after a relaxing soak. The daily housekeeping service will keep your room tidy and clean, meaning guests need only unwind and refresh during their stay. Premier suites are available either as a split-level suite or one-level suite.

The Madiba Villa rests within the ground’s award-winning gardens, hidden amongst the beautiful flowers and dense greenery. The two-storey villa has its own private driveway leading to the secluded entrance. Guests will be welcomed into the large open-plan lounge and dining room where you will find the perfect space for relaxing and interacting with one another. The spacious lounge features two plush sofas and a couple of armchairs where guests can sit back and feel at ease.

The Madiba Villa consists of three double en-suite bedrooms, each with either a king-size bed or two twins. All of the rooms include air conditioning and a fireplace, and the bathrooms all feature underfloor heating and luxury amenities to ensure a pleasant stay. Enjoy your own cooking throughout the day with the villa’s kitchenette and dining area, or you can request the private staff to whip you up a delicious meal.

Outdoors, guests will find a charming private courtyard and swimming pool area with a heated pool, comfy sun loungers, elegant trees and plant pots and a beautiful water feature. Enjoy a luxurious stay in a private and exclusive setting.

The Liz McGrath Villa is a self-contained unit that rests beside the hotel’s fragrant herb garden. The villa features two large bedrooms, both with their own en-suite bathrooms, and shares an enclosed foyer with one of the premier suites, which can be booked as an additional room for the villa.

Each bedroom consists of either a king-size or two twin beds, large windows that offer 180-degree views of the beautiful, manicured gardens and elegant furnishings such as the mirrored dressing tables and dark wood bedside tables. The bathrooms are modern and include fluffy bathrobes and complimentary Molton brown products. In addition, the villas feature a wood-panelled kitchen, and a lounge and dining room.

There is also a separate lounge with a cosy fireplace for snuggling up in the chilly winter evenings. Guests can enjoy admiring the views from the comfort of your expansive private courtyard, designed in the style of classic meditation gardens to create a serene and tranquil space for relaxing.

The Conservatory is open from 7 am until 9 pm, offering delicious meals throughout the day. Guests can enjoy traditional dishes made using fresh produce from The Cellars Hohenort’s gardens. The restaurant is built around a 300-year-old oak tree, which is incorporated into the building’s design. Guests can sit under the reaching limbs of the ancient tree and enjoy the hotel’s signature comfort food, some of the dishes were even inspired by Liz McGrather’s own recipes.

Admire the views of Table Mountain and the dark camphor trees that spread along the base of its slopes while the restaurant’s waiters attend to your every need. The Conservatory gains its name from the huge floor to ceiling windows that make the restaurant a light and open space with incredible scenery.

The Martini Bar is an elegant space for both high tea and evening refreshments, located just off the reception area within the Cellars building. The bar offers a range of signature and custom cocktails, exceptional local wines from the Constantia Valley, and glasses of bubbling champagne. Guests can also enjoy tea and single-origin coffee.

The Sun Lounge is a comfortable space where guests can enjoy sweet and savoury delights such as roasted goats cheese and vegetable tarts and classic Madagascan chocolate cake, or fresh fruit pavlovas. The Sun Lounge offers daily high tea, which can be served either indoors or out on the Conservatory Terrace, and includes traditional finger sandwiches as well as a fine selection of fragrant teas and coffee.

Regarded as one of the best restaurants in South Africa, Greenhouse offers guests a unique culinary experience, bringing traditional South African cuisine and local flavours from the garden, veld and ocean together to create delicious and refreshing dishes. The light and open dining room features glass ceilings, walls and doors which allow guests to lose themselves in the tranquil award-winning gardens.

Each expertly crafted meal is presented like a work of art so that guests can enjoy a multi-sensory experience. As the dishes are created from naturally sourced ingredients, the presentation mirrors this and Farrel Hirsch and his culinary team mimic natural structures such as trees and nests. The Greenhouse is open from Tuesday to Saturday in the evenings, and guests must book ahead. Enjoy a tasty beverage from the Greenhouse Bar on your way in and enjoy the rolling views of the Constantia Valley.

Located in the heart of South Africa’s historic wine region, guests can experience a range of culinary delights throughout their stay. Travellers can visit Groot Constantia, a wine farm that has stood for over 300 years, and features a museum as well as award-winning wines. Guests can also travel to other famous Cape wine regions, including Stellenbosch, Franschhoek, Paarl and Hemel-en-Aarde.

Cape Town’s markets feature a collection of seasonal produce, gourmet goods, craft beer and local wines, and the local cafes and restaurants offer fragrant rostis, curries and samoosas. Guests can also try exceptional coffees in Cape Town at local haunts such as Truth Coffee Roasting, Yours Truly and Deluxe Coffee Works.

Embark on a cultural trip to Cape Town and discover more about its history and culture with tours through one of South Africa’s oldest cities. A hop-on, hop-off bus service will take you through the city, allowing you to take in the many attractions and historic areas, including Table Mountain National Park, numerous art galleries, natural history institutions, and the museum’s Planetarium which you can learn about the stars of the Southern hemisphere.

The Western Cape features a range of brilliant spots for guests who love the outdoors, with a diverse and stunning landscape that boasts fynbos-covered mountains, ocean views, dense forests, unspoilt reserves and botanic gardens. Guests can enjoy exploring The Cellars Hohenort’s nine-acre manicured garden which is home to South Africa’s second-oldest camphor trees, a vineyard, and a fragrant rose garden.

Travellers can also enjoy the beauty of Constantia’s Green Belt, where trails meander throughout the verdant landscape and hikers can enjoy mountain views and jungle-like scenery while sticking to forged hiking trails or discovering new ones.

The iconic Table Mountain is South Africa’s most photographed attraction, where over 2,200 species of plant and 1,470 types of flower thrive. Many of these plants are endemic to the mountain, earning this stunning oasis a position as one of the New 7 World Wonders.

Table Mountain is also home to a range of exciting wildlife including caracals, rock hyraxes and chacma baboons. Its flat peak stands at 1,086 metres above sea level, and with its proximity to the ocean, the towering mountain looks even more impressive as it looms over the city of Cape Town. Visitors can travel to the summit via cable car and enjoy breathtaking views of the city and coast.

Visit the stunning Constantia Valley, one of South Africa’s oldest wine regions, and experience incredible wine tastings, picnics and farm tours. Constantia’s vineyards date back to 1685, when Governor Van der Stel planted orchards and vineyards on his farm, creating the oldest wine-producing region in the Southern Hemisphere.

The Constantia Valley is filled with beautiful greenbelt land, as well as shops, hotels, zip-lining adventures, mountain biking, horse riding and award-winning restaurants. Guests can escape the lively city centre and enjoy a relaxed and peaceful trip to the verdant valley where there is plenty to do and see.

Kirstenbosch National Botanical Gardens lies beside the eastern slopes of Table Mountain. The gardens include a variety of both temporary and permanent outdoor art pieces. Travellers can enjoy a peaceful stroll between the beautiful fynbos plants, which are unique to the Eastern Cape and Western Cape provinces of South Africa, and wander along the walkway which leads to the breathtaking canopy where guests can enjoy a bird’s eye view of the surrounding natural landscape and dense greenery. The curved steel and timber bridge is inspired by the skeleton of a snake and is referred to as the Boomslang, meaning tree snake.

The Castle of Good Hope was built around the late 1660s/1670s by the Dutch East India Company, and is the oldest surviving building from the colonial era in South Africa. Originally intended as a maritime replenishment station, the Castle of Good Hope was the centre of civilian, administrative and military life at the Cape. In the modern-day, the castle is home to the Castle Military Museum and Iziko Museums of Cape Town, owned by William Fehr.

The Victoria and Alfred Waterfront is one of South Africa’s most visited destinations, bringing in approximately 24 million people each year. Resting in the Southern Hemisphere’s oldest working harbour, guests can enjoy incredible views of Table Mountain and the Atlantic Ocean, as well as the picturesque city of Cape Town.

The waterfront features a range of shops, restaurants, leisure and entertainment facilities including the Two Oceans Aquarium. The waterfront’s range of heritage sites and tourism landmarks offer a full day of activities and the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa hosts the world’s largest collection of African contemporary art.

Robben Island is a historical site that demonstrates South Africa’s rich and multi-layered history. Guests can reach the island from Murray’s Bay Harbour which is situated on the east coast of the island, and the buses can take guests all around the historical sites. The bus route passes the high wall built by prisoners during the 1960s, the buildings and that families and lawyers used when visiting the prisoners. Over the course of history, the island has housed a prison, hospital, mental institution, leper colony and a military base.

The tour route includes the island’s graveyard where people were laid to rest after succumbing to leprosy, the lime and bluestone quarries, Robert Sobukwe’s house, the army and the navy bunkers, and the Maximum Security Prison where thousands of South Africa’s freedom fighters were incarcerated, including Nelson Mandela before he became the country’s president.

Guests can view the claustrophobic cell that Mandela was imprisoned in for 18 years of his 27-year incarceration. The tours are all guided by former political prisoners of the island, offering travellers a truly unique insight into the island’s history and personal accounts of prison life.

Embark on a journey to Chapman’s Peak and experience the stunning beauty of one of the world’s most spectacular marine drives. Chapman’s Peak Drive is 9km long, meandering between Noordhoek and Hout Bay on the Atlantic Coast, and traversing the peaks craggy coastline. This hike is best suited to guests with good mobility and an abundance of energy. Admire the amazing Cape Town views with dramatic drops to the sea beneath you and formidable mountains overhead.

Boulders Beach is one of Cape Town’s most popular beaches and the only place in the world where travellers can get close to the adorable African Penguins. The beach takes its name from the large granite boulders that protect the beach from stormy weather and large waves. It is home to between 2,000 and 3,000 African Penguins, which are an endangered species due to over-fishing, habitat destruction, and pollution. The beach is now part of the Table Mountain National Park and the birds reside within a protected area.

Nearly 60,000 visitors come to the beach each year, and three wheelchair-friendly boardwalks have been installed to allow ease of access to guests with disabilities. The area is rich with vegetation which offers a safe space for the nesting penguins and their chicks.

Cape Point is famous as the site of many a shipwreck. The point’s treacherous rocks tore holes into a number of ships that still litter the coastline after straying too close during dark nights, thick fog and violent storms. The dangerous nature of the point earned it the title ‘Cape of Storms’ by Bartolomeu Dias in 1488. Eventually, in 1859, a lighthouse was erected which still stands today.

The beacon stands at 249 metres above sea level on the highest section of the peak and is used as the centralised monitoring point for all the lighthouses on the coast of South Africa. Guests can visit the building via the Flying Dutchman funicular. The ride takes approximately three minutes and is wheelchair accessible.

Simon’s Town takes its name from the Dutch governor of the Cape Colony from 1677-1699, Simon Van Der Stel, who established the vineyards in the Constantia Valley. Van Der Stel surveyed the bay east of Cape Town in 1687 and declared it as a safe harbour during the South African winter months. Once established, the town quickly grew and became a Royal Naval Base in 1806 due to the construction of a huge man-made sandstone breakwater that protected the anchored ships.

One of the town’s famous residents was Able Seaman Just Nuisance, the only dog ever to be enlisted in the Royal Navy. The Great Dane was a favourite among sailors, who wrote to the British Parliament in London, asking for the dog to be enlisted. Allegedly, when asked for a name, the sailors said ‘Nuisance.’ The recruiting officer asked for a full name to which he was told ‘Just Nuisance,’ and permission was granted. A statue dedicated to the dog stands in Jubilee Square.

Simon’s Town is also of historical significance, with many residents who are descended from exploring nations and slave families from the 17th century. A 17th century Muslim Kramat was discovered among the trees on a terrace above Runciman’s Drive in the 1800s, and some claim that the area has a strange spiritual aura. There is a nearby Mosque with beautiful architecture, and the town is home to several museums.

To celebrate Nelson Mandela Day, The Cellars-Hohenort team worked on a project over the course of a few months, involving knitting beanies, booties, jerseys and blankets for newborn babies at the Groote Schuur Neonatal maternity ward. The warm woollen creations were delivered to the hospital and some of the Liz McGrath Collection team met with some of the mothers and their new children on a tour of the facilities. Each mother was gifted a set of knitted clothing and a blanket, helping to support them with their new family members.

During ‘Whale Week’ when the Southern Right Whales make their annual journey to the waters of Walker Bay in the Western Cape’s Overberg region, Liz McGrath Collection’s The Marine Hotel launched a series of fun activities and events to highlight the whales’ visit. A key event was a talk by Dr Els Vermeulen, a marine biologist who spoke about the Adopt a Whale Programme and raised awareness about conservation efforts to help protect these amazing creatures.

The Liz McGrath Collection has implemented a number of water-saving initiatives at their hotels in order to prevent water wastage and to conserve this precious resource. This includes a number of policies such as reusing wastewater for watering the gardens, rinsing washed dishes in a bucket of water rather than in a sink and then using the same bucket for mopping the floor afterwards, not using water to defrost frozen foods, steaming some foods rather than boiling them in water, and only running the dishwasher when there is a full load.

Liz McGrath Collections’ Group Executive Chef Peter Tempelhoff & Head Chef of Greenhouse, Ashley Moss took part in the H2ZERO campaign, a water-saving challenge where chefs had to create a menu using absolutely no water. ‘The initiative aimed to inspire Western Cape residents to not only be more aware of daily water usage, but also to adopt the weekly water-saving techniques in their own homes.’