Celebrating our heritage

Dutch Manor

The Dutch Manor Antique Hotel, a restoration of an 1812 home, 1950's hotel and most recently previously used as an attorney's offices, has been magnificently restored by a Vereeniging legal man and his wife, both avid collectors of Cape Dutch pieces.

Eric and Elizabeth Lyell enlisted the help of the restorers who worked on The Castle of Good Hope - Stellenbosch Afrikaner antique specialists, Pier and Jo-Marie Rabe.

The mahogany writing desk in the foyer belonged to the minister from the nearby church in Strand Street, while the magnificent armoires are from the same period. Jan van Riebeek would feel quite at home here, and so did we, thanks to the owners' understanding that no matter how passionate one is about living with antiques, bathrooms must be spacious and modern with high-pressure showers and heated towel rails.

Already a hit - a home away from home

We found our beautiful four-poster bed in the red-accented Room 5 a little too cosy for two ample frames and so we will probably opt for two larger single beds in another room when we return.

I also enjoyed the sound of the muezzins from the Bo Kaap mosques and found the location on the corner of Leeuwen Street and Buitengracht brilliantly convenient to reach the Waterfront or Southern Suburb highways within five minutes either way.

There are only eight rooms which gives guests at The Dutch Manor the wonderful feeling of being at home with friends rather than in a hotel and I can see why, despite only opening in September 2009, it is already a hit with business travellers.

You'll meet Eric and Elizabeth's daughter Yanic Smit who runs the hotel. With her marketing background she's recognized that being an active member in the Bo Kaap community has opened doors to the best local food and experiences for visitors so while only breakfast is included in your rate, you won't go hungry.

I love this hotel because it provides museum-quality antique pieces with homely service and essentials like free Wifi, large, flat-screen TVs and high-thread count linens.

For more go to www.dutchmanor.co.za or call + 27 (0) 21 422 4767.

Constantia Woods

In the 1940's life in leafy Constantia was peaceful. It was rural farmland very different from the subdivided plots with extravagant homes it now is. Third-generation Constantia resident, Clive McDowell of Constantia Woods, reminds me of an English aristocrat who has to sell his chattels to meet the high costs of maintaining grand grounds and an ancestral home. In this case, this specialist, environmentalist-botanist turned hotelier is selling bed nights rather than oil paintings to allow him to continue his joint passions - succulents and indigenous flora and collecting and restoring vintage and antique pieces. Together with his wife Camilla, Clive has collected an enviable array of Victorian and Edwardian furniture and, in particular, sanitary ware which they have restored into the largest claimed collection of working antique toilets.

The McDowell's have purchased adjoining properties which now make up Constantia Woods, a six-acre collection of four separate homesteads: Rosewoods, Cedarwoods, Cherrywoods and Bonair, together with a number of cottages that span between Constantia Main Road and Price Drive.

Just to be among these glorious gardens, with more than 600 species, is reason enough to visit and for guests who are interested in living the way people did a century ago, there are many rewards. I found the interior of our Continental suite fussy and cluttered and feared that I'd knock down some priceless antique or Art Nouveau light fittings, smashing them into smithereens.

Take a walk through the grove

Perhaps I'd enjoy staying in their simpler accommodation (like a self-catering unit with fab 1950's kitchen) but truth is I prefer tea in my Royal Dolton rather than depositing the day's waste, despite it being the prettiest toilet I have ever sat upon.

Equally, I prefer contemporary single-mixer showers over the wood and glass enclosed Edwardian shower unit encircled by copper pipes (probably rescued from a hospital as homes didn't have showers in those days).

A real treat is to have Clive walk with you through the estate, pointing out the original pear grove and 1940's Rose cultivars, no longer available.

Constantia Woods is also available for meetings and small conferences and an original barn is being converted into a wedding venue as an adjunct to the manicured lawn which is perfect for a marquee.

For more go to www.constantiawoods.com or call +27 (0) 21 794 5888.