Review of Steenberg Hotel, by Gemma Pitcher

One of the special joys of Cape Town is the presence of green and rural areas just minutes away from the city centre. Steenberg is one of these - a 300 year old wine estate nestled into the slopes of the Steenberg Mountains in the upmarket suburb of Constantia.

Formerly a bit faded in its grandeur, the hotel plus accompanying golf course, wine farm and restaurant have been restored tastefully and sensitively. The bedrooms housed in the original manor house plus accompanying converted barns are magnificently furnished with one-off antiques and rich, heavy brocade fabrics. The newer rooms are more modern with the open-plan marble bathrooms.

The Catharina restaurant - named after Catharina Ustings, a feisty German widow who was the first owner of the estate - is a firm favourite with Cape Town's upwardly mobile, who drop in for a leisurely lunch on the lawn, with jazz every Sunday afternoon. The food is top-notch and accompanied by a superb selection of wines, some of which can be purchased from the cellars at Steenburg's own vineyard. If you fancy a round of golf after lunch, there's a championship golf course on the spot.