Augusta de Mist Country House & Kitchen

Country Retreat, Route 62

Description

Bucolic and beautiful, Augusta de Mist is a place to hide away and eat well.  Dating to 1802, its six white-walled cottages and pool are secluded around fragrant fynbos, always in bright bloom.  There’s no reception, and no stilted formality; you’re here to relax.  But there is the African Kitchen restaurant, famed for fun-filled dinners, while surrounding, snoozy Swellendam – equidistant between Cape Town and the Garden Route – is South Africa’s third-oldest town.

Accommodation

Five stylish garden cottages occupy original Cape Dutch buildings, with reed ceilings and yellowwood shutters, and a further two rooms inside Park Villa, a characterful homestead where Desmond Tutu once rented.  Two are more recent additions, but all include esoteric art, craft and furniture items, plus a quota of vintage antiques.  Complimentary bottles of muscadel await, as do wood-stocked fireplaces, private patios and fans.  Most rooms also have air-conditioning.

Facilities

Country-style breakfasts are long, lazy affairs, starring homemade jams and served under vines or beside the lounge’s log fire.  Later, six-course pan-African tasting menus – cooked on alternate nights by co-owner Henk Klijn, and requiring a reservation – are uniquely accompanied by eclectic music.  Elsewhere await an array of spacious areas: verandas overlooking the gardens, the large saltwater pool, a small library and those wonderful herb and flower gardens, rolling down a gentle hill.

Activities

Despite the absence of reception, Augusta’s superb staff are available 24/7.  Ask their advice for touring Swellendam’s pottery workshops, or help setting up golfing, horse riding, hiking, canoeing or birdwatching jaunts.  Close by are whale watching, perfect beaches and a local wine route.

Child Policy

No children under 12 are permitted, and those who do visit must share a room with their parents.  The Protea Garden Suite fits three, while Park Villa’s Honeybush and Sugarbush Heritage Rooms can also combine to sleep three.

 

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