Yoga, hikes — and wine? This retreat embodies the Cape Town spirit
Outside, the sun is setting behind the silhouette of Cape Town's Table Mountain. I peep from my child's pose on a yoga mat and see my sound bath leader floating around the room, humming in monotone while wafting aromatic oils — made from the local fynbos plant, the Afrikaans word for the type of flora endemic to the Western Cape — and winding a mallet around different-sized metal bowls to make the relaxing sounds.
This is not the Cape Town I am used to. Years of visiting South African relatives (my dad grew up here) revolved around braais (barbecues), beers, biltong and body-boarding at the beautiful beaches on the peninsula. But this two-hour after-dinner ritual at my hotel, a sound, breath and meditation 'journey', turns out to be a revelation, setting me up nicely for a fantastic night's sleep — after my turmeric shot, which is waiting for me on my bedside table.
I'm staying at Future Found Sanctuary, a wellness-focused escape by the African luxury hotel group Newmark, where the agenda is all about hikes, yoga and good food. It's on a seven-acre estate in Constantia Nek, a low pass in the Table Mountain range, which is contiguous with the nature reserve of the mountain. Future Found is a mile from Hout Bay beach, close to Cape Town's oldest wine estate, Groot Constantia, which dates from 1685, and a short drive from Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden. The hotel — with gabled-roof suites on stilts protruding from a main building — blends in with its mountainside location. It feels like a rural retreat, surrounded by trees, but it is also close to the Cape's beaches, cultural activities and a bustling food scene.
The hotel, which opened in 2021, started out as the home of Jim Brett, the founder and former CEO of J Crew and Anthropologie. The American businessman stumbled on this haven in 2014 while in search of an escape from a hectic working life, before making it his own and eventually opening it up to the public. As a result the boutiquey accommodation doesn't feel like a typical hotel, and is split into two main villas — Villa Verte (four bedrooms) and Maison Noir (five bedrooms) — as well as two mountain villas, all of which you can book out exclusively or just as individual rooms. Snazzy one-bedroom forest pods are the most recent addition. All are set within luxuriant gardens bursting with succulents and native protea flowers. Brett can occasionally be spotted around the property or chatting to one of the villa's chefs at breakfast.
The bold architectural exterior, with its sharp-edged modernist structures, is imposing but somehow has a calming influence — it really shouldn't work but it does. It stands in stark contrast to the surrounding organic gardens, which are filled with vegetables, fruits and granadillas curated by the ex-Kirstenbosch horticulturist Cherise Viljoen.
The interiors are just as exquisite, beautifully designed by the Cape Town art gallery Southern Guild. The rooms are flooded with natural light and colourful decorative touches inspired by local artists as well as the Cape's history and diverse culture. Walls and floors are adorned with Brett's impressive collection of modern African art and chandeliers.
I am staying in a soothing forest-green double room in Villa Verte, with the gym, yoga studio and spa conveniently beneath. It's homely. Shared living spaces and my own large walk-in wardrobe and in-room study room help, but the fact that there are friendly and attentive staff always on hand makes me feel like a pampered hotel guest.
Maison Noir is grander, with a larger pool area, wine cellar, cinema and the main dining room, making for a cosy getaway in the cooler months. Guests can flit between the two shared villas to use the different facilities as and when they like.
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The chef Malika van Reenen and her team prepare breakfasts, lunch and snacks, such as the most divine banana bread, which you could happily munch all afternoon. If you need something to eat to soak up all the South African wine (yes, it's a wellness retreat where wine is not only allowed but encouraged) there are always such favourite local snacks as biltong and Malay-spiced nuts. Lunch is farm-to-fork Ottolenghi-style sharing plates and the freshest fish. More formal three-course dinners or a low-key braai beneath the stars are also possible, and you can ask the chef to prepare a sundowner picnic to take to nearby Llandudno beach.
Every part of the hotel is well thought out: activities are tailored by a wellness guru and there are drivers on hand to take you to nearby attractions or further afield, to make the most of the city's buzzy culinary scene. Those activities include forest bathing on the estate beneath the acacia trees, yoga and breathwork.
On my first full day I'm up at sunrise. I've purposely left the curtains and doors wide open. I sip my 'rise' tea — made with fynbos from the garden and chosen by the property's tea sommelier (you read that correctly) — and look out of the floor-to-ceiling sliding glass doors, which open out onto a private balcony. All I can see are trees, valleys and mountains in the distance, and the only sounds to accompany my shower are the calls of the hadeda ibis bird, the cooing of Cape doves and the tranquil trickling of the natural plunge pool beneath my room.
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The property keeper Dave Jonker greets me and a few other sleepy guests for a 7am waterfall hike in the mountain nature reserve. 'We should really call it a water-wall,' Jonker says as he shows me the waterfall, which is more of a trickle due to the lack of rain. He points out the many types of fynbos — there are more than 8,500 in the Western Cape. Jonker reels off fascinating details of the varying species of plant life that make hiking in the area so invigorating. Not only does the fynbos have one of the most biodiverse ecosystems, but wildfires are actually part of its germination process.
We branch off onto a short 45-minute loop around the mountain. It's a steep and sweaty climb but is easy enough for us to enjoy the crisp morning air. As the Cape sun starts to beat down I'm relieved that we are sheltered by a forest of pines and clusters of fynbos proteas.
The hike, as well as the vinyasa yoga I enjoy later on the lawn outside the spa, are included as part of every stay. And the breakfast in between, laid out at the villa for our return, consists of fresh restorative juices, homemade granola and eggs any style.
I soon tuck into a good book (some excellent titles, from Nelson Mandela's A Long Walk to Freedom to An Encyclopaedia of Birds of the Western Cape, are provided in my room's own library) and melt into an oversized bean bag bed by the pool under a bright blue sky. A welcome cool breeze makes it possible to sit outside in the 30C summer heat.
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Unwilling to tear myself away from this tranquillity (the other guests are nowhere to be seen and are most likely to be climbing Table Mountain, sunbathing on Clifton beach or exploring the many wine estates) I'm lured down to the sensorium spa for a signature 'whole-being energy therapy' massage, where a large proportion of my allotted hour consists of being taken through different scented oils and matching teas concocted from garden produce.
Once the treatment is under way — a full-body traditional massage, lymphatic drainage and facial gua sha — my next thought is already on the delicious organic spread from the garden the chef is rustling up.
Two nights are barely enough time to engage fully in the restorative charm of Future Found, but even a short stay is the perfect relaxing tonic after a safari or road trip around the country. I may be new to the wellness wave that's taking over Cape Town, away from the busy Sea Point neighbourhood or days spent glugging through the charming Constantia winelands, but I'm certainly getting used to it.Sidonie Wilson was a guest of Future Found Sanctuary, which has B&B doubles from £368 (futurefoundsanctuary.com). Fly to Cape Town
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O'Two is just off the main waterfront promenade, so its location is the selling point: close to the V&A waterfront on one side, and the Clifton beaches and Camps Bay on the other. It's not rustic Cape style, more modern and high rise; but there is a great rooftop pool, bar, spa and gym. Details B&B doubles from £167 (otwo.co.za)
• More great places to stay in Cape Town
Set in the city's central business district, this hip hotel is small but it's a great choice for location and value for money. It's design-led, with a gorgeous rooftop pool and lounge bar. There are great options at the restaurant Gigi and there is a grocers downstairs called Food Lovers Eatery. It's short walk to the colourful Bo Kaap neighbourhood. The one and two-bedroom apartments are ideal for longer stays. Details B&B doubles from £91 (gorgeousgeorge.co.za)
An oldie, but a goodie. The Winchester, which reopened at the end of 2021 after a renovation, has a prime location parallel to the promenade at Sea Point and is close to the waterfront (to which it offers regular complimentary shuttles). The 1958 hotel is classic, yet full of nostalgic style with its three-storey columned façade, and the Winchester's bougainvillea-draped terrace is a popular lunch spot for guests and locals alike. It has a central courtyard with pool, spa and wellness offerings such as yoga on the lawn.Details B&B doubles from £169 (newmarkhotels.com)
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The Independent
10 hours ago
- The Independent
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