Cape Town - I had left sister hotel, The Marine, in Hermanus thinking I would be in Plett in a few hours. Wrong. Not that I was misdirected, just waylaid by the stunning scenery on my drive, so my ETA was out by an hour or so.
The views from The Plettenberg, once I arrived, were equally stunning. The friendly and very efficient staff, as well as omnipresent Peter, the cat, welcomed me.
I was soon settled in a premier suite with an amazing view of the rocky point, along Lookout Beach and the distant curve of the bay framed by multiple crags. Fab! The suite was too, with fresh flowers, quality coffee and tea, a lovely bedroom, separate lounge, hallway with oodles of cupboard space and a spacious bathroom. I didn’t bother with the TV as I had that view from the plentiful side and front windows, though high-speed wi-fi came in handy.
The hotel is at the bottom of a quiet cul-de-sac, frequented largely by surfers heading to the point break, joggers and dog walkers.
It seems a small double-storey hotel. However, the building across the road (The Blue Wing) is part and parcel with a glass-fronted, heated rimflow pool and large glassed verandah often used for casual dining, functions and has further rooms, including huge family suites.
There’s also a gorgeous two-bedroom beach house at the rear that is home to the spa, as well as a three-bedroom villa behind that – each very private, with their own parking and plunge pools.
Areas of the hotel are very adult, such as the formal, yet very comfortable, lounge and boardroom with ornate and delicate furniture as one enters. However, and unusual perhaps among five-star hotels, children are welcome. SeaFood, the restaurant at The Plettenberg, has a fun children’s menu. And the adults’ pickings are sublime.
Although seafood is at the forefront, other dishes delighted too. I loved the fresh breads with roasted parsnip, cumin and honey dip, or the beetroot and horseradish cream dip. The accompanying wines were superb too. I thoroughly enjoyed a De Morgenzon DMZ Syrah with the excellent tandoori spiced white fish, completed by a trio of ice cream: coffee, choc-almond fudge and sesame honey.
Winter meant no swimming in the pool below my suite and, although the view was worth watching all day, there is so much to see and do in the area. I revisited parts of the uber-lush Tsitsikamma Forest (Khoisan for “place of much water”), meandering down Nature’s Valley, past the lagoon and on to the beach.
A couple of days is not enough to unlock the secrets of the spectacular Tsitsikamma indigenous forests, with hard pear trees, giant outeniqua yellowwoods, ancient tree ferns and other interesting flora.
You could throw yourself off Bloukrans River Bridge, the world’s highest commercial bungy bridge, 216m above the Bloukrans River. Other attractions along the way include Birds of Eden aviary, Radical Raptors rehabilitation centre, and Monkeyland, the world’s first free-roaming, multi-species primate sanctuary, covering 12 hectares of indigenous forest and providing a healthier, more natural lifestyle for more than 550 ex-captive primates.
On the other side of The Plettenberg, just over 10 minutes’ drive, is Robberg Nature Reserve, not only a reserve but also a national monument. Rocks from this region date back 120 million years to the break-up of Gondwanaland. Evidence of Middle and later Stone Age habitation has been found in a few of the caves along the peninsula. You can easily spend an entire day in this beautiful reserve and there’s even an overnight hut, though not comparable with the luxuries of The Plettenberg.
Four hours will get you to the Point and back around Cape Seal Lighthouse, hopefully with a few whale and dolphin sightings, or basking seals – and certainly hundreds of seagulls. Well worth it.
It was a wonderful, too-short time at a fantastic hotel with fabulous staff, though I looked forward to my next destination – flagship sister hotel The Cellars-Hohenhort.
Call 044 5332030 or visit www.collectionmcgrath.com
Adrian Rorvik, Sunday Tribune