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.
The Best of South Africa Travel map displays the locations of the destinations and accommodation that we have selected and visited; for each item, hovering over or clicking the marker will display a short summary and photo of that place or hotel, and hotel pricing. Follow the links in the info box to the full page listing which has much more information.
Note that the online map offers both a satellite view (click satellite in the top right) and, for some locations, a street level view (Drag the person in the top left onto the map). These let you explore the country; and when you wish to explore in person, or if you have any questions about the places you see, give our staff a call, or request a quote. Our staff regularly visit the places and accommodation that we feature.
When you book a holiday with us we will provide full driving instructions for reaching your accommodation, where necessary; these can be used by yourself, or you could enjoy the luxury of a driver. Alternatively we will arrange private (car rather than coach) transfers for you; helicopter transfers are also possible for some destinations.
