When we conceived Atelier Africaine, Robb Report Africa’s series dedicated to Africa’s tastemakers and craftspeople, we knew the setting had to carry both history and quiet authority. It needed to feel like Africa’s roots and futures could breathe in the same air. For our inaugural shoot, we found our stage at The Cellars-Hohenort Hotel & Spa in Cape Town’s Constantia Valley. We stayed for three nights, long enough to learn that this is not simply a five-star hotel in the leafy folds of Constantia. It is an editorial backdrop, a home for imagination, and a reminder of how South Africa does country elegance at its most considered.
Set in the leafy Constantia Valley at the foot of Table Mountain, The Cellars-Hohenort Hotel is part of the Liz McGrath Collection and one of Cape Town’s most distinctive five-star country estates. Just 15 minutes from the city centre and moments from Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, the property feels a world away while remaining deeply connected to the cultural and culinary life of the city of Cape Town, South Africa. Spread across nine acres of award-winning gardens, the hotel combines heritage architecture with contemporary touches, creating an environment that is equal parts elegant retreat and living museum. With a history that stretches back centuries and oak trees that have stood for more than three hundred years, it is a property that balances preservation with modern refinement.
The Cellars-Hohenort offers fifty-one individually decorated rooms and suites, each designed with a sense of timeless luxury. Views extend across manicured gardens, citrus groves, and the eastern slopes of Table Mountain. For guests seeking more privacy, the villas represent the pinnacle of the estate experience. The Liz McGrath Villa is a double-storey retreat named in honour of the collection’s founder. Located beside the hotel’s herb garden, the villa is designed as an exclusive home away from home, ideal for families, small groups, or guests seeking a fully private self-contained stay. It accommodates up to six guests across two spacious en-suite bedrooms, complemented by a private enclosed foyer that connects to an adjacent Premier Suite, available as an extension for larger groups. The villa’s standout feature is its large private courtyard, extending from the lounge and dining room, creating a seamless indoor-outdoor experience perfect for entertaining or unwinding in complete seclusion.
The Madiba Villa, named in honour of former South African president Nelson Mandela, is the hotel’s most exclusive residence. Tucked into the gardens with its own private driveway, the villa is designed for guests who value privacy as much as luxury. The self-contained two-storey residence includes two double en-suite bedrooms, an open-plan lounge and dining room with fireplace, a bar area, and a service kitchen.
Outdoors, a private heated pool and courtyard extend the living space into the gardens. Guests of the Madiba Villa enjoy a host of personalised services, including a complimentary minibar, dedicated concierge, a shopper service to tailor provisions, a complimentary daily shuttle to the V&A Waterfront, and the exclusive Villa Breakfast Experience. It is a property within a property, ideal for multi-generational families, friends, or VIP travellers seeking a discreet and indulgent Cape Town base.
Between filming, we also found time to explore the broader property. Two heated swimming pools, a tennis court, the Fresh Wellness Spa, and a mini-gym offer options for every pace and taste.
The Conservatory restaurant at The Cellars-Hohenort is the heart of the estate’s dining culture. Set in the Hohenort wing with glass doors that frame the gardens outside, it is a space that feels both relaxed and refined. The menu is seasonally driven and built around fresh produce from the property itself. Herbs, vegetables, and citrus grown just steps away from the kitchen shape many of the dishes, a true garden-to-plate philosophy that gives each plate a distinct sense of place. The restaurant’s culinary style mirrors the broader identity of The Cellars-Hohenort. It does not lean into theatrics but into precision, balance, and a celebration of Cape Town’s bounty. Guests can expect menus that reflect the rhythm of the seasons, lighter dishes in summer with citrus and garden herbs at the centre, and warmer, more robust flavours in the cooler months. For many visitors, it is the kind of dining that turns a stay into a memory, food that is both comforting and elevated. It is also a stage for conversation. Over the years, The Conservatory has hosted intimate dinners, family gatherings, and the kind of unplanned encounters that become part of a guest’s personal story of the hotel. For many, it is where the gardens come to the table, and the hotel’s philosophy of preservation and renewal plays out in flavours as much as in architecture.
Nine acres of award-winning gardens are the soul of The Cellars-Hohenort. Landscaped with a curator’s care but alive with natural rhythm, the grounds are as much part of the hotel’s identity as the rooms and villas. They slope gently toward Table Mountain, offering pockets of discovery: a picnic lawn here, a citrus grove there, ponds alive with birdlife, and eco-zones that keep the estate in dialogue with its environment. Head Gardener Leigh-Ann van Wyk leads weekly tours, walking guests through this living archive. Highlights include the Liz McGrath Rose, hybridised in 2003 to honour the hotel’s founder, and the estate’s herb and vegetable gardens that supply the kitchens. The gardens recently earned Gold and Silver Awards from the South African Landscapers Institute, affirming their status as among the best-maintained in the country. Wildlife adds another layer to the experience. Guests may encounter squirrels darting across the lawns, Cape White-eyes flitting among the trees, or even the tiny Cape Dwarf Chameleons that call the grounds home. The gardens function as part of the hotel’s rhythm, a sanctuary for guests, a source of ingredients, and a cultural link to Constantia’s deep horticultural traditions. For those who wander them, they offer not only beauty but also continuity, an ever-evolving canvas that reflects the passage of the seasons.
Few experiences capture the character of The Cellars-Hohenort like High Tea at The Greenhouse. It is a four-course affair that begins with savoury bites and tea sandwiches, moves through the hotel’s legendary scones with Chantilly cream, and concludes with a selection of delicate pastries and confectionery. Each sitting is accompanied by bottomless cups of Nigiro tea or Lavazza coffee, with the option of a flute of Cap Classique to elevate the ritual. The hotel worked with master tea blender Mingwei Tsai to create its own signature Nigiro blend. Inspired by the Liz McGrath Rose that blooms in the gardens outside, it carries a bronze-apricot hue and subtle spice on the nose. This detail speaks volumes about the thoughtfulness of the experience. Every element of High Tea, from the blend of teas to the tiered presentation of sweets, is considered not only as a meal but as a ceremony. The setting completes the moment. High Tea is served in a bright, garden-facing space that invites a touch of formality, without ever feeling stiff. Guests dress up a little, linger for hours, and treat the occasion as a celebration in itself. It is popular with couples, bridal and baby showers, or groups of friends, but it remains equally compelling as a quiet indulgence for two. In a city known for its dynamic food scene, High Tea at The Cellars-Hohenort stands out not as a trend but as a tradition, a reminder that timeless rituals still carry immense value in a modern context.
What sets The Cellars-Hohenort apart is its ability to merge heritage with modern expectations of luxury. It is both family- and pet-friendly, yet delivers a level of polish that appeals to international travellers in search of exclusivity. From the Liz McGrath Villa’s private courtyard to the Madiba Villa’s dedicated services, every detail has been designed to offer guests an estate experience that feels distinctly South African and yet globally competitive.
The Cellars-Hohenort is a five-star country estate with genuine city polish, a place where heritage, hospitality, and contemporary comfort meet in a way that is rare even in Cape Town’s rich hospitality landscape.
Ntokozo Maseko has never been one to wait her turn. At 25, she became the youngest editor in the history of South Africa’s heritage title BONA, steering the four-language magazine into the digital era and winning the title a Thetha Masombuka Award for linguistic excellence along the way. Named one of the Mail & Guardian’s Top 200 Young South Africans, she has since built a 17-year career shaping the voice of iconic brands across luxury, lifestyle, and culture.
Her editorial eye has graced various mastheads; from a legacy print title, an innovative digital magazine to a pan African luxury platform. Today, as inaugural Editor-in-Chief of Robb Report Africa, Ntokozo curates a world where African excellence meets global luxury, telling the stories of the continent’s most remarkable people, places, and creations with precision, wit, and unapologetic style.
