When visiting 7 Koppies it is hard not to feel like you’re visiting your friends and they have given you the best room whilst they sleep in the attic, with strict instructions to ‘make yourself at home’. You find yourself surrounded by well considered objects and artworks which speak of a life well travelled and lived, so you can be forgiven for thinking you’re in the home of owners, James Jayasundra and Marc-Ludolf von Schmarsow, and not a boutique hotel. You almost expect their names to be embroidered on the Mungo bathrobes, but with relief it’s just the hotel insignia allowing you to also indulge in the Simply Bee toiletries!
The sunset, however, is our own as the yellow walls of Rockwood Cottage burn orange. Drinks in hand, the birds settled and the fynbos silhouetted, we exhale a Friday evening breath, whilst the valley shifts into darkness.
Rockwood Cottage is about an 8 minutes walk from the main house. A well equipped, private space with en suite bathroom, kitchenette, outside bath and a plunge pool. At dinner time we saunter down the road to the warm main house. On warmer nights al fresco dining should be made compulsory, as missing the sunset would be almost immoral.
The butler, Artwell’s infamous G&Ts hit the spot and then we are called to dinner, a delicious home cooked lasagne, beef shin for Adrian and spinach and ricotta for me. Once again we wonder if James and Jay are hiding in the kitchen as it feels more like a dinner party than a hotel dinner. We start small talk with the other guests, luring them out of their dulcet tones and by the time the evening has grown long and the wine slunk down the bottle, the conversation has traveled many destinations. However if after a day of touristing you find the idea of convivial dinners too much for the central nervous system, meals can be ushered to your accommodation at a requested time. How very civilised, as my mother-in-law would say!
The fresh walk back to the cottage pleases the digestive system and Adrian fires up the wood burning stove. We tick off the coziness box. That itching guilty of being favoured guests returns as we slide into the Tissus d’Hélène linen sheets and watch Netflix on our friends’ account! I keep an eye on the two stuffed toy Daschunds, on the shelf next to the bed, in case they just jump on the bed, lick my face and settle down at our feet. Who wouldn’t in the face of such snugness.
Being a breakfastier the excitement of the 7 Koppies breakfast has me rocketing off to the main house as soon as the clock chimes breakfast. There’s always the option of taking the car to Rockwood from the main house, but we felt that the fynbos would object to not being admired as frequently as it was. Each month presents a new array of fynbos to be smelt and fondled. Being late winter we are thick in the red-orange hues of Aloes, pin cushions and Honey Bush. (Melianthus major)
Closer to the main house (garden by Franchesca Watson and Fiona Powrie) a path take us through the terraced vegetables garden, lined with citrus trees drooping with fruit. William the cat pounces through the lavender and I stop to talk artichokes with the gardener, but not for long because breakfast beckons…..
A spread of fresh fruit, granola, creamy yoghurt, pastries, jam and artisan bread from Motherdough in Franschhoek lies before us. All this is followed by a cooked breakfast of our choice from the menu. Artwell rises to the challenge of a making us cortados, which entices us to have breakfast all day, but we reign ourselves in and recline on the sun loungers, mesmerised by the Malachite sunbird chasing the white eyes out of the Coral trees.
There is no perfect season for visiting 7 Koppies, the wood burning fires keep you warm through winter and the 25 m pool refreshes during summer. Caught between seasons we were grateful for the wood burning stove and the warm days tempted us to plunge into the pool, but the temperature remained arctic and I and was not in a Wim Hoff frame of mind. Adrian managed just short of a full length underwater, whilst I managed a dip and shriek.
G&Ts are on hand all year round and each cottage is well stocked with a variety of alcohol and non-alcoholic drinks. The establishment relies on an honesty bar, so no need to feel guilty about finishing James and Jay’s best bottle of red! There is a variety of accommodation to choose from around the main house, all as beautifully and sensitively finished with some of the best of South Africa products such as wonkI ware and James Mudge furniture, and it goes without saying that you will find a a set of hope garden furniture outside each room.
Should you love something in your accommodation, like a the Simply Bee toiletries or Mungo Towels, then you can pop into their small shop that stocks a selection local goods, jewellery and books.
There is no shortage of restaurants and wine farms to choose from in Franschhoek and surrounds. The hotel staff are well equipped to help make arrangements and give local advice. As for us we were content surrounded by the beauty of the 7 Koppies so we felt, well, completely at home. To find out more or make booking go to the website.
PS if you love chickens as I do there’s is a great book on chickens in the main house loo.
