The Cellars-Hohenort

It’s not the first image that springs to mind when you think of visiting the Cape, but maybe it should be. The wine country has as much to recommend it as the coast — more, one supposes, if you’re into wine — and hotels like the Cellars-Hohenort are a big reason why. The magnificent Table Mountain serves as a backdrop to this winery-estate manor house, in the Constantia Valley region just east of Cape Town proper.

The old house is a stunner, and it’s been well kept — the rooms are charming but quite modern, rather large, and the views none too shabby either. Two pools keep guests cool while a third belongs to the Madiba Villa, a separate two-story courtyard house with its own service kitchen and its own butler — accommodation options run the range from this luxury villa all the way down to some very smart single rooms.

The Cellars-Hohenort is surrounded by manicured gardens and comes complete with a spa, a beauty salon, even some conference rooms — but like any proper winery-estate hotel, it’s geared just as much toward drinking and dining as anything else. As for restaurants, there are two: Greenhouse, a fine-dining restaurant driven by regional produce, and the Conservatory, a garden-forward blend of seasonal plates, traditional classics, and Liz McGrath's own recipes.

How to get there: The Cellars-Hohenort is approximately a 25-minute drive from Cape Town International Airport and 15 minutes from Cape Town City Center.