With only five individually decorated suites, it really feels like you are staying in a luxurious home rather than a hotel. This is accentuated by the welcoming and friendly service of managers Darrol and Hendrik and staff and the countless magazines and art and design books dotted around the property. Not surprising then to learn that this hotel was once the family home of owners Dirk and Anette Hertzog.
Each room is impeccably decorated and offers a spacious bathroom, safe, air-con, Lavazza coffee machine, flat-screen satellite TV and Wi-Fi. We stayed in the Bedford Manor honeymoon suite. This Cape Dutch décor inspired suite came with a balcony overlooking the garden and pool, a king size four poster bed, and luxurious bathroom with bath and two-person shower.
We arrived just after the 2pm check-in time and after settling into our room, we moseyed on downstairs for our private tea. Tea is usually served at 4pm, however, worrying that we wouldn’t have enough time to digest before dinner, the staff kindly obliged to move our booking an hour earlier.
A classic tea: the morsels once can expect include, dainty cucumber sandwiches, apricot slices, savoury and sweet scones served with jam and cream, one of the best lemon meringue tartlets I have ever encountered and an orange flavoured slice of chocolate cake, all washed down with your favourite choice of hot beverage. The tea is wonderfully generous, so much so that we didn’t even make our way through a third of it, however, I made a point of sampling each delicious item. Bellies incredibly full we made our way back to our room to digest with a bottle of complimentary bubbles.
Dinners and lunches are available on request and are all served in the intimate dining room area or outside on the patio. There is a set menu so unless dietary requirements are given you will be served the chef’s choice of starter, main and dessert. We were served a vibrant duck salad with mango and orange, a buttery steak with mash, roasted vegetables and peppercorn sauce and had the choice of the heavenly cake with vanilla ice cream or an exotic cheese platter for dessert.
Breakfast included an eclectic fruit platter including mulberries, raspberries, kiwi and more served with Greek yoghurt, moreish granola and honey and followed up with your choice of cooked breakfast. I opted for the meat and cheese platter served with toast while my partner had the excellent salmon eggs benedict on thin potato rosti.
Incredibly well rested and well fed we reluctantly bid adieu to our little home away from home in Paarl, but not before receiving a farewell gift of sweet treats from the staff.
For more info or to make a booking go to thelighthouse.co.za/contact
