The Greenways Hotel in Cape Town

Just breathe - an old-world space that makes tranquillity priority

It all seemed a little cloak-and-dagger at first. Named after Agatha Christie’s house in Torquay England and tucked away in the heart of one of Cape Town’s most prestigious neighbourhoods, Bishop’s Court, the 5-star Greenways Hotel didn’t seem to suit the tired cliché – one of Cape Town’s best kept secrets – so much as it just felt plain mysterious.

Hidden from street-view by a hedge of towering trees, those casually passing by could never guess that just behind the leafy bows of the unassuming oaks and pines sits a stately boutique hotel amidst a six-acre sea of immaculately landscaped greenery.

 “That’s what we sell…space…green…open air. In every hotel you can sit inside, but here you can really feel the outside,” explains Greenways owner Susanne Faussner-Ringer in a German proficiency that still hasn’t subsided despite over a decade in Cape Town.

The soon to be 100 year old Cape Dutch style Manor House was designed by renowned architect Norman Lubinsky, the protégé of Sir Herbert Baker, and though its Burmese wooden floors and old-world charm are certainly worthy talking points, the hero feature of the grand home is the sweeping veranda, an outcrop that could make even the characters of Gone With the Wind jealous, and the gardens that unravel around it.

“We have the second widest variety of indigenous plants, just behind Kirstenbosch,” says a proud Faussner-Ringer as she motions to an aloe that she claims is the tallest in the nation.

 Owner of the 23,000 square metres of space since 1980, the German expat looks like she just stepped off a European schooner – a style that flawlessly suits the esteem that emanates from the Cape Town hotel.

As she leads us around a discreetly sheltered, shimmering swimming pool, through a forested path and under a natural tree canopy that shades the coolest tree house cum children’s play area we’ve ever seen, and beyond the partially hidden spa, it becomes more and more clear that Greenways isn’t mysterious at all.

There are no skeletons in the antique closets or scandalous lore recorded on the pages of the books that occupy the cigar lounge shelves; Greenways is simply elegant and private in a way that much of the world’s accommodation can merely aspire to.

The 14 spacious rooms are tastefully decorated, but not lavish. The bathrooms, with their under floor heating and original baths, a perfect combination of comfort and beauty, and the lounges and restaurant – all with handsome fireplaces and adorned with art from continental Europe - are inviting, and not intimidating.

“ [Archbishop Desmond] Tutu comes regularly, because he lives up the road. The Minister comes for breakfast. I did Helen Zille’s [the Western Cape Premier] birthday when she turned 60,” rattles off Faussner-Ringer.

And I don’t doubt her for a second. Greenways may not have a waterfront address, and it may not have a kitchen famous for outrageous gastronomic inventions, but it certainly holds fast to an impressive decorum.

Faussner interrupts our tour for a brief second to bid farewell to guests that she later refers to as “paying friends”.

“They come back every year, and their friends come, and their friends’ friends then come. They’re more like grandparents to us then visitors at this point.”

And so it seems the service achieves the same non-intrusive intimacy that the property so effortlessly manages.

Not to mention, with jazz brunches scheduled for summer Sundays on the sprawling carpet of lawn, with spit braais possible in winter and with fondue nights slotted in as a fond favourite at Greenways, there seems to be a flurry of activity for those who prefer it.

There’s even a croquet course for visitors who’d rather not capitalise on Greenways convenient location just fifteen to twenty minutes from five different golf courses.

As we sit down to lunch on the sun-soaked veranda, I already feel myself sinking into an easy state of tranquillity. Patricia, our server, quietly fills our glasses with sparkling water as I vie between a springbok shank and a traditional Cape Malay curry.

Susanne, who’s decided to join us, is speaking about the hotel’s forty homemade jams, the fresh-baked bread and the herbs and vegetables that come from the on-site garden and nursery.

“Eish,” I think to myself, the first of the day’s regret slowly starting to creep into mind, “if only we’d come for breakfast.”

Tip: Save some energy and make some time for Beauty, the eleven-year-old black house cat. Though Greenways has also become the inadvertent caregiver to quite a few strays, Beauty is by and far the queen of the castle, and a gracious host.

The Basics: All bedrooms have a comfortable lounging area, air-conditioning, mini bars, satellite TV, Internet connection via isdn-lines and wireless, international plugs and hairdryers. All bathrooms are equipped with under-floor heating, bathrobes, slippers, exclusive charlotte Rhys amenities. All king-size or twin beds are extra length.

The Ashton restaurant serves breakfast, lunch and dinner and is open to the public.

Complimentary airport transfers are available for guests who book more than four nights at the Greenways Hotel.

Location: Greenways Hotel is set in the leafy suburbs of Upper Claremont, five minutes from Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, and fifteen minutes from the V&A Waterfront and Cape Town city centre.

Extras: The spa has a variety of treatments available, including facials and pedicures, manicures, waxing and tinting, as well as massages.

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