Grande Roche Hotel

A Cape Dutch manor estate in the Drakenstein valley, about forty minutes from Cape Town, Grande Roche is a wine country hotel that takes its spa-and-seclusion brief seriously without sliding into faux-rustic whimsy. Rooms are contemporary, most have private terraces, and the mountain-and-vineyard views do the decorating. The onsite fine-dining restaurant draws serious wine people. Service is polished enough that you forget you're technically in the middle of nowhere.