Bryony Scrooby

Epic Cape Town Trip – Part 3

Ernie Els Estate and Lanzerac Hotel & Spa

Our time in Cape Town flew by, but we had kept our most exciting excursion for the end – a trip out to the world famous Stellenbosch area. Something I hadn’t realised with Stellenbosch and Cape Town, was how close they actually are to one another. In my mind it was hours and hours of driving to get from one to the other, when in actual fact it really is only an hours drive (depending on the stops you make.) We decided to start with lunch and wine tasting at Ernie Els Wines and what a gorgeous estate it turned out to be! We ordered snack platters and various wine tasting options and had a lovely chilled lunch overlooking the gorgeous grounds.

Next we headed off to our pre-booked stay at one of the oldest estates in Stellenbosch, Lanzerac Hotel & Spa. It is steeped in history and was originally established in 1692 with the homestead being transformed in 1959 into a manor house reminiscent of the traditional French way of fusing a country hotel and wine estate. The conversion changed the original cellar and its surrounding buildings into bars, lounges, dining area and hotel rooms. Today the iconic property hosts an elegant five-star premium Country hotel, acclaimed bar, restaurants, a Deli, a remarkable tasting venue and a chic day spa.

We were expecting the usual COVID procedure check-in process and this time we were offered a complimentary glass of Lanzerac champagne, which most certainly eased the process. When we were shown to our rooms you should have seen the children’s faces, they were blown away by the luxury of them. Typically of kids they found the underfloor heating and the land-line phone in the bathrooms the most fascinating! The complimentary bar and snacks were soon tucked into and complimented (excuse the pun, but really they were very complimentary).

While the children spent the late afternoon walking around with their shoes off to feel the heated floor, and called each other on the bathroom phones, the adults took a brief walk around the grounds at sunset before taking up our (again) complimentary wine tasting at the Lanzerac Tasting Room. Two of our group had started off the trip as non-wine drinkers, but I can tell you that by the end they very much enjoyed their wines.

Lanzerac is so popular that even though it has 4 different dining options, as we had failed to book one beforehand, presuming we could do it when we arrived, we were out of luck and all were fully booked that evening. So we had to settle for room service, but we can’t complain as it was really delicious, and we enjoyed it by all sitting out on our private patio with a nice bottle (or 2) of Lanzerac wine while solving the world’s problems.

Following a nice lie-in we met up for breakfast at the Manor Kitchen where “guests can indulge in an opulent buffet breakfast” and my gosh, was it opulent. Not a single one of us could finish their meal, not even the teenage boy – which says something about how much food there was. To try and walk a little of it off we took another wander around the estate grounds, and popped into the Spa building to see what we had not had time to take advantage of. This beautiful building houses the spa rooms, as well as a fully kitted out gym, Jacuzzi, swimming pool and small restaurant with large glass windows and a patio so you can enjoy the surrounding vistas. What a stunning location and we regret that we weren’t able to stay another night so we could spend some time in the spa.

Of all the places we stayed while in Cape Town and the surrounding areas, we have to say that Lanzerac was without a doubt our absolute favourite. We left feeling truly spoilt and pampered and ready to take on whatever craziness the world was going to throw at us in the next month (little did we know then a THIRD COVID wave was coming). For anyone wanting a very special get away in the Stellenbosch area, then I can’t over recommend Lanzerac Hotel & Spa.