Hotel Review: Mount Grace Country House & Spa, Magaliesburg

Elizabeth Sleith finds that all you REALLY need to do at this African pride five-star offering is eat, spa, eat and repeat

10 December 2017 - 00:00 By ELIZABETH SLEITH

LOCATION
It's hard to believe that the middle-of-nowhere mountain feeling you get here is a 90-minute drive from Joburg - well, 90 minutes if you take it easy, as you should.
STYLE
Wide lawns, fountain courtyards and stone fireplaces give it that lavish country house vibe, with a certain loopy opulence in the finishing touches. Think velvet curtains, wide swathes of damask wallpaper and oversized wingbacks (Madhatter's tea party, anyone?) The Twist dining room, for instance, is lit by enormous chandeliers built from old kitchen utensils and beads. It's Africa, Alice, but not as we know it.THE EATING
The fine-dining Rambling Vine is the dress-up, special-occasion option. Less formal Twist does breakfast, lunch and dinner with heaving buffets. My lamb stew here was so divine I asked to shake hands with the chef - and a beaming sous chef Albert Netshishivhe emerged from the kitchen. "How long did you cook this?" I asked - the mark of a great stew always being how long it's been bubbling away. "Twenty-two years," he grinned. "Practice makes perfect." Indeed, it had.
THE 'DO' LIST
These are the mountains, so adventure abounds but, honestly, there's no shame in just revelling in your short-term tenancy of a five-star hotel. Eat, spa, eat, repeat.
RATES
From R2,500 to R4,800 per room per night.
BOOKING
See marriott.com
• Sleith was a guest of Mount Grace..

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