The organic garden.
The organic garden.
Image: Supplied

The Ari Room, the presidential suite at Arambrook, a new boutique hotel in Bischopscourt that’s the talk of Cape Town, is a very good place to hole up for days, taking in the distant views of Table Mountain and the lush greenery of the perfectly manicured garden below.

With Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden just up the road, the Archbishop of Cape Town’s house next door, and the Liesbeek River running through it, Arambrook is close to Constantia’s wine farms and in the midst of the city’s green belt.

The garden is one of the hotel’s particular drawcards. It’s massive, with shaded, rose-covered archways and stony walkways; low-hanging creepers; and indigenous flowers and trees. The organic garden and orchard supply the kitchen with fresh produce. Food waste is composted and responsibly disposed of; geysers are solar-powered; there’s a greywater system; and biodegradable products are used. While your every need is taken care of, the hotel tries to be as kind to the environment as possible.

The garden with shaded, rose-covered archways and stony walkways.
The garden with shaded, rose-covered archways and stony walkways.
Image: Supplied
Unexpected assortment of chairs in rich colours and fabrics in each room.
Unexpected assortment of chairs in rich colours and fabrics in each room.
Image: Supplied

Until recently, Arambrook was a private house and it has been converted into a space that just begs to be photographed, starting with the sophisticated, glass-enclosed patio, which looks onto the garden and the mountain. This is where we’re served a delicious platter of tapas and bubbly before check-in.

Image: Supplied

Each room holds its own special delight, ranging from the carefully considered art adorning the walls to the unexpected assortment of chairs in rich colours and fabrics (word from the staff is that the designer is a “chair-a-holic”). The style of each room centres on the personality of said seating. And personality is what this picturesque hotel has in bucket loads. 

- From the March edition of Wanted 2019.

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