Luxury and refinement flood back to Franschhoek following water-damage revamp

What's new is the front section of the hotel is fully reconfigured to now have the bar which is also stocked with handmade cordials and a fabulous range of iced-coffee cocktails as you enter the hotel.

Dining options are now at the luminous Tasting Room which Grande Chef Margot Janse continues to preside over to local and international acclaim while the tappas-style options previously enjoyed at The Common Room are now available in The Living Room. This broad term describes an equally broad range of spaces: The Garden Room, where breakfast is served is now a glass-enclosed space that opens into the garden. I love the flooring which looks and feels like wood but is ceramic tiling and the beautifully hewn timber tables that bring an earthiness to the space. Colourfully upholstered dining chairs contrast with bistro timber chairs.

There is comfy seating as well as tables and chairs street-side too and one can be fed or watered wherever you wish. We asked Four Quarters butler Themba Ncube to bring items from The Living Room menu to us at courtyard-enclosed pool at Four Quarters. We also enjoyed Lady Bonim's teas in The Reading Room, sandwiched between the new bar and the Garden Room. Nespresso coffees are served in the suites as well as in the Living Room.

There's a petit Le Creuset pop-up shop as you enter the hotel and LQF have incorporated their crockery into the rooms and in The Living Room. Resident guests get 10% off purchases at the shop via a personalised discount coupon, a very elegant an clever way to provided added value to guests and to market the store.

The B.Gorgeous day spa is another new addition. Quaff LQF sister wine farm's Môreson bubbly while being coffiured as part of your offering. Manis, Pedis and other spa staples are also available.

The Bacon Bar, a zany on-trend eatery is a treat that I'm sorry I missed. For the moment they're only open during the day and not on Mondays or Tuesdays when I was around and free. Although I don't eat sugar, the idea of a bacon chocolate brownie is more compelling than I hoped it would be.

More colourful

There seems to be more colour around the hotel than I remember previously and I like how it makes everything seem that much less formal and more fun. The luxury here is in the quality. I remember first experiencing corduroy covered couches in the Cape Grace's Presidential suites and LQF has them in Four Quarters 3. We actually loved the texture of corduroy upholstery so much that we covered our home furniture in it. I mention this because LQF is the kind of hotel and interior that appears to be furnished by elegant and well-traveled owner Susan Huxter rather than a team of decorators and it looks how I would elect to decorate my home. Perhaps this is why I love this spot so much.

The most enchanting garden grows around the pool area in front of the main hotel and is the route that guests walk from the guest-only parking area and reception to the restaurants. Four Quarters guests also have the benefit of this garden tour, a special treat in spring when flower buds are heavy with bees.

This is the kind of establishment that peels tomatoes before putting them on your plate. It might be a small thing but it says heaps about the upscale experience you can expect to have.

Read here how I gushed about The Four Quarters during our last stay here.

For more, go to www.lqf.co.za