Why new flights and value-for-money appeal make South Africa a must-do right now
Virgin Atlantic’s return to Cape Town after seven years has opened up a world of tempting possibilities, from stylish city resorts to stunning wine country retreats
From the moment I sank back into my seat with a glass of bubbly, I knew this was going to be a special trip. I was flying in Upper Class on one of Virgin Atlantic’s daily high-season flights to Cape Town, reinstated in November 2022 following a seven-year hiatus, with the airline keen to showcase both the service and the city.
It’s a high-priority route for Virgin Atlantic, and chief commercial officer Juha Jarvinen says it will maintain its early success. “Everyone who flies with us sees the uniqueness of the Virgin experience. We also represent great value for money across all service classes, and premium leisure is a key focus for us – with Upper Class and Premium standing out.”
The “premium” experience certainly continued from the flight to our first stop, One&Only Cape Town, a stylish city base with 133 recently refurbished guest rooms and signature suites, all featuring clever touches such as entrance hallways covered in traditional African cloth and tribal-art-inspired tables and rugs.
Powerful and poignant works by the continent’s artists also populate the public areas of the hotel, including the four Watchers of local legend that stand above the stunning Vista Bar, with the floor-to-ceiling windows beyond framing the city’s most iconic landmark, Table Mountain.
Epicurean adventure
It’s not just style that abounds in this resort, however, it also offers substance, or to be more accurate, sustenance. Among the five on-site dining venues was Africa’s first-ever Nobu restaurant (Marrakech joined the club in January 2023), but we made our way instead to the Wine Studio, a sophisticated dining space where the host was the impossibly charismatic Luvo Ntezo.
He shared his pioneering journey from small town in the Eastern Cape to head sommelier at the hotel, while sharing with his rapt audience the nuances of the local wines served with our sumptuous five-course taster menu. It was a magical evening, and one that guests too can enjoy via the hotel’s range of curated experiences.
Located just a few minutes’ walk from the bustling V&A Waterfront arts and entertainment complex, the resort and spa is a perfect base from which to explore its myriad shops, bars and restaurants. With sterling currently very strong against the rand, it’s also the perfect time to enjoy five-star cuisine and wine at budget prices, and with just a two-hour time difference between the UK and South Africa there’s no jet lag to negotiate when you arrive.
After more adventures in and around Cape Town, including a hike up Table Mountain (followed by less-strenuous cable-car trip down), an open-top bus trip with stop-offs at the area’s beautiful bays and beaches plus an unforgettable rendezvous with the African penguins at Boulders Beach, it was time for the final leg of our South African odyssey.
Rooms with a view
No trip to the Cape is complete without a visit to wine country, and a 50-minute transfer from the city took us to the picture-postcard town of Franschhoek and the resort of Mont Rochelle. It’s a popular stop-off on multi-centre trips, and a favourite in the Virgin Limited Edition stable, where all 22 rooms have views of the spectacular Klein Dassenberg mountain range that surrounds the property.
There’s also a spa, gym, heated outdoor pool and two restaurants, plus the resort is home to a working vineyard, whose wines have won multiple awards. We gained some fascinating insight into the production process as winemaker Michael Langenhoven invited us to pick and taste grapes from the vine that were just a couple of weeks away from harvesting, before taking us to the winery to see the enormous vats that would produce what he predicted was looking like an excellent 2023 vintage.
In an all-too-brief stay at this stunning resort, we enjoyed late-afternoon cocktails on the terrace of fine-dining restaurant Miko as the sun cast rays of light that seemed to constantly change the palette of colours reflected on the distant mountains. A fitting end to a journey that highlighted the variety, quality and value the Rainbow nation continues to offer.
How to book it
Pure Luxury Holidays offers three nights at Mont Rochelle plus three nights at the One&Only Cape Town from £3,749 per person, based on two adults sharing a double room on a B&B basis, with return car transfers. Includes flights from Heathrow with Virgin Atlantic for 3 November 2023 departure.
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