Cape Town - If you are a lover of gourmet food and happen to be travelling around the Winelands, consider a stop-off at the Majeka House & Spa in Stellenbosch.
Set in a quiet, leafy suburb with a backdrop of mountains and vineyards, this 5-star boutique hotel is a find for any weary traveller.
Stylish and sophisticated it may be, but I received a warm and down-to-earth welcome from the staff from the moment I got out of my car. Check-in was a cinch as my booking had been confirmed online, and I was shown to my room – which was breathtaking by any standards. It was done out in Majeka’s signature mix of contemporary and antique furnishings, with roomy chairs and an imposing and inviting double bed. Best of all, there was a small indoor sun room with sliding doors leading out to a patio with my own loungers and sparkling length pool.
With the heat wave we’ve been experiencing across the country, it didn’t take me long to strip off and dive into the cool depths. What a relief – the long road and the journey in the hot sun were immediately forgotten.
Small touches are part of their speciality, and at 4pm, a “treat” was delivered to my room – fresh fruit juice and a peppermint-chocolate mousse.
The house, clearly once an upmarket residence in this desirable part of Stellenbosch, has a spa with its own pool, and that was my next stop. There, the lovely Milandrie massaged away the tightness in my shoulders with her professional touch.
This set me up for a sundowner in the garden, and then dinner at the Makaron restaurant, which has become legendary around those parts for its inventive and delicious menu. Culinary consultant Pete Goffe-Wood guiding the kitchen, together with head chef Lucas Carstens. The restaurant is rated among the top 10 of the Eat Out awards.
The hotel say their food is all either grown on the premises or sourced from local suppliers, and the meat is all free-range.
The staff ushered me into Makaron with a clear sense of anticipation. They seemed to take enormous pride in being part of such a special enterprise. The ambience was pleasantly low-key, not the cacophonous racket with loud music on top that one comes across so often in trendy eateries.
To start there was a meaty amuse bouche, and a board with aubergine pate, three kinds of flavoured butter, olive paste, hummus and several kinds of bread, including gluten-free, Indian flat bread and my favourite, a plaited challah.
I decided on two starters – mussel chowder with potato espuma, chive, lemon and pepper pearls, which was rather on the hearty side considering the weather, and the quinoa “risotto” with cauliflower cream, romanesco and Huguenot cheese, a good balancer. The parmesan pannacotta with braised pears and walnuts, which had a savoury tang, received full marks.
Each dish is paired with a local wine suggested by the sommelier. The Idiom Viognier 2012 accompanied the chowder, and 2013 Vriesenhof Grenache the quinoa dish, with a 2014 Laibach recommended for the pannacotta.
Breakfast the next morning was a banquet, with fruit, cereals, breads and different jams and honeys. Banting fans are well catered for with gluten-free products and I was impressed that there was no problem when I asked for soya milk for my muesli. The friendly and efficient waiter, Wonder, gave impeccable service and the eggs Benedict with Parma ham was just as creamy and over the top as it should be.
One wished life could be like this every day. There were other touches in my room that made the place special – bottles of mineral water on each bedside table; a sliding door between the bedroom and bathroom so you could chat to the person in the bath; and a crystal glass container in the bathroom packed with all your cottonwool discs and ear buds. Everything was of high quality, from the bathrobes to the fluffy towels.
Travelling through Stellenbosch is a treat but stopping off at Majeka House makes it an experience to remember.
If You Go...
Majeka House & Spa,
26-32 Houtkapper Street, Paradyskloof, Stellenbosch.
Makaron Restaurant is open for Lunch: 11:00 – 21:30; for Dinner: 18:30 –20:30.
For bookings call +27 21 880 1549 or e-mail [email protected].
For more information, visit www.majekahouse.co.za
Yvonne Fontyn