QueenB! and I were invited to experience the secreted boutique hotel Tintswalo Atlantic on Friday and what a divine experience!
Tintswalo Atlantic is situated at the base of Chapman’s Peak in Hout Bay with unrivalled panoramic mountain and sea views and forms part of the Tintswalo Group of Hotels consisting of the ‘Safari Lodge’ and ‘Manor House’ in Manyeleti Game Reseve, Mpumlanga and the ‘Waterfall’ in Kyalami.
As soon as you enter the gates of Tinstwalo Atlantic you are transferred to another world. Pierre, the Assistant General Manager, was a most attentive host and provided us with information on Tintswalo as he drove us down to the hotel (you can’t drive your own car down to the hotel due to the steepness and rockiness of the pathway). The lodges are owned by the Corbett Family who launched the Tintswalo Property Group in 1975, and started the five Star Tintswalo collection of Lodges in 2003. Tintswalo Atlantic was completed in 2008 and is unique in its design and location.
We are greeted at the reception with a glass of Champagne and directed out to the Terrace which immediately takes your breath away! The views are as dramatic as they are beautiful, and the terrace is stunning in itself creating a feeling of literally being ‘on the rocks’. Pierre took us on a mini tour of the hotel, consisting of 10 boutique rooms each carefully and lovingly designed by Caroline Wright. The rooms are exquisite and very unusual in their design and colour, you feel an immediate sense of relaxation as you enter the rooms as they are designed with huge amounts of light and space with unparalleled sea and mountain views. The grand finale was witnessing the interior of the Presidential Suite, which was excitedly awaiting the arrival of a bride and what a lucky bridal couple they will B! Consisting of 2 exquisitely designed bedrooms with its own elegantly spacious lounge, I was quite envious of their stay, this would B! the ultimate perfection for a new bridal couple. Pierre explained that the venue was very popular for weddings, and over the next few months were due to B! holding weddings every single week! This actually came as no surprise now that I had witnessed the serenity and exquisiteness of this Hotel. We had heard that the reputation of this stunning boutique hotel had attracted many famous people, and although rather coy with the details, we managed to draw out that Piers Brosnan had recently stayed amongst many others, this didn’t surprise me as Tintswalo Atlantic affords an exceptional element of privacy and luxury that would B! difficult to find elsewhere in the Western Cape, perfect for those wanting to escape prying eyes and media attention.
We had spotted from the Terrace a small private beach just a few steps away from the hotel, and asked Pierre about this. We removed our heels (apart from Pierre of course!) and proceeded to make our way over the smooth pebbled trail that took us to this little piece of paradise. 4 comfy sunloungers were enticing us to take a seat, and we noticed that the beach had been named ‘Francis Beach’. Pierre explained the reasoning behind the name, which I found to B! such a clever spin. Apparently the ‘Francis’ family had visited Tintswalo Atlantic and had been slightly disappointed in the lack of a beach spot to relax on during their stay. So, shortly afterward Tintswalo Atlantic created their own mini private beach and sent the Francis family a photo of this little cove that they had created ‘especially with them in mind’. The plan worked and the Francis family have now booked up for Christmas to experience their own named private beach!
By this time we were starting to feel slightly peckish and we were escorted back to the divine terrace where our table awaited. Interestingly, the kitchen is open plan so that you can view the chefs preparing your dishes and what a feast we were treated to! The Chef, Johann, personally attended to us to explain the mouth watering 4 course menu and we waited in excited anticipation for our feast to begin. To accompany our dishes we were served with the house ‘Protea’ wine, a delightful Sauvignon Blanc, from the established Val de Vie estate. The food was exceptional and we were amazed to discover from the chef that the menu is changed nearly every day! We were treated to a delicious Cape Malay tomato soup which gave a delightful kick start to our taste buds, now excited for the next dish to be served. Tender, tasty tempura prawns were exquisitely presented, served with mango salsa, rocket, sweet chilli dressing and lemon mayonnaise which were delicious and very quickly quaffed, followed by delectable succulent King Klip fillets served with a surprisingly light crayfish, lemon and parsley mash. This delightful dining experience concluded with a light , fluffy passion fruit pana cotta which was charmingly creamy and the accompanying Kiwi carpaccio and strawberry salsa had our taste buds dancing! The R350 price tag on this 4 course feast was slightly surprising but certainly didn’t leave a bad taste in the mouth.
QueenB! and I were so relaxed and at home on the Terrace that we really didn’t want to leave this piece of paradise, but unfortunately work was calling and so we had to reluctantly ask Pierre to drive us back to the top to retrieve our cars. We dragged our heels to the waiting minibus and reluctantly closed the door to an experience not likely to B! beaten.
Interestingly, in the native Shangaan language, Tintswalo means “the intangible feeling of love, gratitude and peace bestowed upon someone offering you a meaningful and worthy gift” and this pretty much sums up the feeling experienced upon visiting Tintswalo Atlantic! If you want to treat an extra special person to something different then Tintswalo Atlantic is unlikely to B! beaten by anywhere else. Perfect for a special celebration, B! sure to call and book ahead as they do not usually accept unexpected ‘walk ins’ from the general public.
This is 5* so you will B! paying for what you get
HoneyB!……..signing off
Tel +27 (0) 87 754 9300
Fax +27 (0) 86 543 1510
Email reception@atlantic.tintswalo.com
Twitter: @tintswalolodges
