Hawksmoor House

Stylish, homely Cape Dutch country manor and wine farm close to Stellenbosch and Cape Town

So you've arrived in Cape Town but can't decide whether to head straight for the Winelands or enjoy the city. Hawksmoor lets you have your cake and eat it. This 300-year-old Cape Dutch homestead is on the edge of the Winelands, just 20 minutes' drive from Stellenbosch but close enough to Cape Town for you to nip back to the city. If you stay, you can relax in style: inside there are fine antiques, while outside on the veranda white muslin curtains waft in the breeze. Beautifully peaceful, we keep on returning here to start our South African stays.

There's a sense of living in a different era here but it's far from fusty: arriving through the farm-style kitchen with its Aga stove and shiny copper pots, you immediately feel at home. The 14 inviting rooms all have contemporary touches with silver-painted bedposts and old chairs covered with funky fabrics. It may be a working farm but think pretty flower gardens, dappled lawns shaded by oaks and jacarandas, a pool, in-room massages and lazy sundowners.

Highs

• Wonderfully peaceful with a relaxed make-yourself-at-home ambiance
• Large comfortable rooms that successfully mix old and new
• Good location for both the Winelands and Cape Town (a 40-minute drive)
• Very helpful and knowledgeable managers, who make great efforts to train disadvantaged locals to a high standard
• If you like dogs, their german pointers, Grace, Virginie and Jack, are never far away
• The view from the veranda: a great place to watch some stunning sunsets with Table Mountain in the distance

Lows

• You'll have to drive out to eat dinner, but there are plenty of good restaurants in the area and their recommendations are excellent
• Be prepared to take breakfast with other guests at one long table, but for us this was enjoyable
• There are no TVs, DVD players or phones in the rooms (a real joy for many), but there's in-room WiFi and they can bring an iPod dock to your room
• Rooms are allocated upon arrival and specific room requests cannot be guaranteed