BLOEM - JULY 2024
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proceeds from the Mount Nelson<br />
Chommies collection goes to The<br />
Underdog Project, a registered Non-<br />
Profit and Public Benefit Organisation<br />
working with vulnerable children and<br />
dogs in Cape Town.<br />
Take a walking tour of the gardens.<br />
The style and layout can be traced<br />
back 170 years, when Hamilton Ross<br />
bought the estate by auction. His<br />
nephew, John, was a keen landscape<br />
gardener, and turned the farmland<br />
into a park with an orchard, vineyard,<br />
aviary ... with fountains and lion<br />
sculptures that are still in the gardens.<br />
The walking tour takes you past the<br />
driveway of palms - 80 of them were<br />
planted in honour of the royal visit<br />
of HRH Prince of Wales in 1925, and<br />
the Malay Banyan Fig and Australian<br />
Paperbark trees, European Oaks and<br />
the enormous Tree Aloes and so many<br />
more. A fascinating tour for gardeners.<br />
Insider gossip: When President Bill<br />
Clinton visited the Mount Nelson, his<br />
rather over-enthusiastic SWAT team<br />
asked for those palms to be cut down<br />
as a security measure. Obviously the<br />
hotel declined.<br />
For those wanting to explore outside<br />
the grounds, the Nellie is in walking<br />
distance of Kloof Street - all coolest<br />
cocktail bars and chic little cafes.<br />
But staying within the grounds is a<br />
pleasure with all that’s on offer. Daily,<br />
and complimentary, activities include<br />
events such as coffee and chocolate<br />
tastings, a bootcamp with a fitness<br />
coach who’ll put you through your<br />
getitmagazine.co.za/bloemfontein<br />
Passenger Posh Pooch!<br />
paces, a history and architecture<br />
tour through the hotel and gardens,<br />
early morning yoga out on the lawn.<br />
Insider gossip: John Lennon stayed at<br />
the hotel under the pseudonym Mr<br />
Greenwood and surprised guests by<br />
meditating in the gardens.<br />
It’s opulent. Extravagant. Lavish. The<br />
attention to detail is extraordinary,<br />
from the welcome notes to the<br />
toiletry bags, monogrammed with<br />
your initials, given on departure. From<br />
the pillow menu with a choice of<br />
half a dozen or so options to the fact<br />
that staff remember exactly where<br />
returning visitors (and there are<br />
many) like their loungers placed next<br />
to the pool, and what cocktail they<br />
enjoy before dinner. Insider gossip:<br />
The staff are obviously tight-lipped<br />
about guests, but The Nellie has seen<br />
everyone from Winston Churchill,<br />
who was stationed there as young<br />
war correspondent, to Sir Arthur<br />
Conan Doyle, creator of Sherlock<br />
Holmes and a renowned spiritualist,<br />
who apparently outraged guests by<br />
holding seances in his hotel room, to<br />
the Dalai Lama, who addressed more<br />
than 500 visitors who sat cross-legged<br />
on the floor in the ballroom.<br />
If you’re visiting Cape Town but<br />
staying elsewhere, day visitors are<br />
welcome ... for breakfasts and teas,<br />
cocktails and dinners, a spa treatment<br />
or the popular Sunday At Oasis Jazz<br />
Brunch. Insider tip: Book for the Chef’s<br />
Table ... an intimate spot tucked<br />
away in the kitchen, where you can<br />
watch the chefs at work, enjoy their<br />
creations, and maybe pick up a cheffie<br />
tip or two while you’re there!<br />
Details: 76 Orange Street, Cape Town. belmond.com<br />
July <strong>2024</strong> Get It Bloemfontein 101