{"id":15534,"date":"2011-01-05T09:23:52","date_gmt":"2011-01-05T07:23:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.whalecottage.com\/blog\/?p=15534"},"modified":"2011-01-05T09:23:52","modified_gmt":"2011-01-05T07:23:52","slug":"two-cape-hotels-on-telegraph-top-50-best-hotel-world-list","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.chrisvonulmenstein.com\/blog\/accommodation\/two-cape-hotels-on-telegraph-top-50-best-hotel-world-list\/","title":{"rendered":"Two Cape hotels on Telegraph Top 50 best hotel world list"},"content":{"rendered":"

Two local Cape hotels have made it onto\u00a0The Telegraph<\/strong>\u00a0“50 best hotels in the world” list, which the paper published on 31 December.\u00a0 Writers of the Telegraph<\/strong>\u00a0 Travel section selected the top 50 hotels, and divided them into three rates brackets.\u00a0 The two Cape hotels both featured in the \u00a3150 – \u00a3300 per room per night price range, the mid price range.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>La Residence<\/strong>\u00a0 in Franschhoek is a very low key property locally, with little visible advertising.\u00a0 Its business comes from international advertising and word of mouth.\u00a0 Its biggest claim to fame is Elton John, the famous guest who comes to stay whenever he performs\u00a0in Cape Town, and he always thanks the owners, Liz and Phil Biden, during his concerts.\u00a0\u00a0 When La Residence moved to its new site in Franschhoek, John was consulted as to what he wanted in terms of decor for “his” room.\u00a0\u00a0 Surprisingly, “his” room is not any larger than the other rooms that face the dam outside.\u00a0 “His” room has an Indian decor style.\u00a0\u00a0 Every room is unique in its decor, created by interior decorator Ralph Krall.\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The article describes La Residence as follows: “An 11-suite extravagance on the slope of Franschhoek, the Cape Village that is probably South Africa’s prettiest.\u00a0 No expense has been spared.\u00a0\u00a0 Each of the suites has its own decor theme, from Buddhist retreat to French decadent, while the public areas are a riotous collection of Louis XIV furniture.\u00a0\u00a0 Persian carpets, plus objets, art and fabrics from India, Indo-China, France and Italy and everywhere else.\u00a0 And it works thanks to the impeccable taste of Liz Biden, the proprietor”.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Grootbos<\/strong>\u00a0 is located outside Hermanus, just beyond Stanford,\u00a0before one gets to Gansbaai, and is known for its focus on conservation, not only of fynbos, but also of whales at De Kelders close by and other sealife, such as penguins, on Dyer Island.\u00a0 The article writes as follows about Grootbos: “Found on one of the finest whale-watching coastlines, this five-star retreat offers unadulterated luxury without the guilt.\u00a0 Every effort has been made to assimilate these fabulous private lodges – complete with all mod cons, state-of-the-art bathrooms, four-poster beds and unsurpassable views – into the environment.\u00a0 And what an environment: a 1750-hectare reserve that is home to more than 740 different species of plants and the impossibly white sands of Walker Bay”.<\/p>\n

Some of the other hotels that made the Telegraph <\/strong>Top 50 list include Mama Shelter in Paris, Mykonos Grace Hotel in Mykonos, Four Seasons Hotel Gresham Place in Budapest,\u00a0Villa Marie in Saint Tropez, The Taj Mahal Hotel in Mumbai,\u00a0 Four Seasons George V in Paris, Four Seasons New York, Four Seasons Istanbul, The Dorchester in London and\u00a0The Carlyle in New York.<\/p>\n

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0 Twitter: @WhaleCottage<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Two local Cape hotels have made it onto\u00a0The Telegraph\u00a0“50 best hotels in the world” list, which the paper published on 31 December.\u00a0 Writers of the Telegraph\u00a0 Travel section selected the top 50 hotels, and divided them into three rates brackets.\u00a0 The two Cape hotels both featured in the \u00a3150 – \u00a3300 per room per night […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false},"categories":[7,124,14,75,22,21],"tags":[9326,2157,32366,32378,1118,9331,3804,2284,5997,9333,1647,32369,1007,1565,3413,32377,27,7422,9328,576,9329,9334,9335,1844,9330,9332,32386,9337,9327,9338,9339,9324,9325,9336,2245,32373,376,2786],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t