The Twelve Apostles Hotel rests grandly above a surging Atlantic Ocean on a stretch of pristine nature reserve very close to the centre of Cape Town. It is protected at its rear by the towering Twelve Apostles mountain peaks. If ''location, location, location,'' matters as much as real estate agents insist, then the Twelve Apostles Hotel takes top honours.
On the site of an old Cape Dutch homestead, a hotel was controversially developed less than ten years ago. It was contentious because this stretch of Cape Town's Atlantic seaboard is part of a protected nature reserve and was quite empty of other human habitation. The first developer couldn't complete the building and subsequent owners never quite found its full potential. The Twelve Apostles Hotel & Spa hotel has now been reinvented as the one of Cape Town's most attractively positioned 5-Star establishments.
The Twelve Apostles Hotel & Spa seems to have come of age to provide one of the most pleasant venues in Cape Town for accommodation, drinking, dining and pampering. The Twelve Apostles is only 10 minutes drive from the city, yet completely surrounded by nature, with an elevated position above the only road leading along the Atlantic coast, just south of Cape Town city. This location allows access easy to Cape Town, its beaches, and the V&A Waterfront, and there is a complimentary hotel courtesy bus to run you around.
The Twelve Apostles Hotel has little nooks and courtyards with rock pools, fynbos gardens and sun loungers around swimming pools. Overlooking the ocean are large Atlantic-view terraces for al fresco dining andnightly sunsets over the water. Endless sea views at such close proximity doesn't get much better than this.
Wine Tasting before Dinner
Twelve Apostles staff were very attentive and efficient, and many appeared to be from everywhere but South Africa. The handsome waiter was from Colombia and the terribly efficient hostess was from Germany. The Wine Advisor - still learning her trade - was South African, and a young black woman to boot, which was quite refreshing in such a white male dominated field. She led us through a wine tasting session with a choice of about six whites and six reds.
From this very fine selection of South African wines, we chose an appropriate varietal for each course. What a lovely idea! This enabled us to have exactly the right wine to complement each dish. The glasses were a generous size too.
Fynbos Menu
Local cuisine at the Twelve Apostles Azure Restaurant has taken on new meaning, as Executive Chef, Roberto de Carvalho has created a unique menu; Cooking with Fynbos and Proteas. Fynbos is the world's 6th and smallest Floral Kingdom, and is indigenous to the Western Cape. By using protea seeds, sugar bush, lemon geranium, buchu, wild dagga, and protea petals, De Carvalho has gone wild mingling unusual flavour, fragrance and taste, and has come up with distinctly different and extremely pleasing dishes.
My Masala-seared fillet of Kingklip had a delicious butter sauce flavoured by the cure-all buchu plant. While my companion's succulent Lion of Springbok was wrapped in marogo (Amaranthus hybridus) and infused with wild rosemary. I believe I heard him say, 'Best springbok I have eaten.' Our shared desert of Bittersweet Chocolate Tart was quite extraordinary!
Gone was the sweet slippery chocolate that coats my teeth and makes me feel overfull and bloated, and in its place was a beautifully bitter firm chocolate offering, with a hint of savoury wild dagga - a dish to be eaten and appreciated slowly. For the first time, I felt as if I had tasted chocolate as it really should be.
Private Cinema
Décor in the Twelve Apostles Hotel room was a blend of beach and nautical, with creams and blues adorned with shell touches and marine detail (plus some strange guinea fowl feather embellishments).
Other rooms have a more African feel with wood, leather and woven African fabrics in taupes and creams or leopard print. Every luxury I expected in a 5 Star hotel was here, including complimentary lotions and creams in the Vine Therapy range. I covered myself with creamy Cabernet body lotion after my vanilla-toned Chardonnay bubble bath!
The Twelve Apostles Hotel & Spa brochure says 'No request is too large, no detail is too small,' and I believe it. Whatever I wanted seemed to be no trouble at all. I asked for the list of DVD's available to play in the room and it arrived pronto. Great oldies like 'Casablanca' were listed, as well as some latest releases. The Twelve Apostles Hotel also has its own private 16-seater cinema, which can entertain children during the afternoon and adults in the evening.
Sanctuary Spa
My morning at the Twelve Apostles Hotel began with breakfast in bed. I then sauntered across to the Sanctuary Spa for some therapeutic treatments. The spa is a grotto set into the mountainside (and whether real or contrived rocks, it worked for me). It has a surreal hobbit quality, mixed with a hi-tech chrome and glass sci-fi feel, and an underlying drone of working machines.
The Upper Sanctuary has sand-blasted walkways with light therapy leading to the Buddha rest area for quite contemplation. In the candle-lit cave of the Lower Sanctuary, set amongst great boulders, the brine floatation pool was just big enough for one, but I saw two bodies emerge from it! The frothing jacuzzi was different from most, as it was deep enough to submerge in while standing - a new one on me.
One of the Sanctuary Spa's most appealing treatments is in the Rasul Chamber. In this Turkish-style enclosed room (best enjoyed as a couple), you envelope each other in mineral mud, then sit in a cloud of mist until a warm gentle shower of rain washes you clean. The whole process leaves you soft, smooth and very relaxed.
My facial at the Sanctuary Spa was one of the most pleasant I have experienced (although I am not a facial aficionado), and it left me cleansed, creamed and glowing. After a skin analysis, it was decided that a Clarins hydrating facial would suit and this started with the therapist passing some kind of eucalyptus oil below my nostrils. She instructed me when to breathe deeply and this began the relaxing process. Next she squeezed my entire body through a towel and I felt pleased that the rest of my body was not going to be ignored just because I was having a face treatment.
While the face mask was on I had my hands and feet massaged and my shoulders and neck got some gentle manipulation too. The layers of lotions and creams smelled wonderful and between courses, a refreshing toner spray brought me back to life. The facial at the Twelve Apostles Sanctuary Spa was a very dreamy experience and one I would relish to repeat.
Find out more about Twelve Apostles Hotel and Spa
© Carrie Hampton 2004
You can enjoy spectacular sunsets and a premier spa break by the sea on the 5 day Twelve Apostles Hotel Spa Package. Superb treatments and c...
Savour a restful break at The Twelve Apostles Hotel and Spa, a Cape Town spa hotel with some of the best views over Table Bay, superior serv...