Mount Nelson, A Belmond Hotel, Cape Town

Character and identity

The pink-painted "Nellie" has been a Cape Town landmark since 1899, sitting on nine acres of English country gardens between Table Mountain and the Company's Gardens. A palm-lined driveway delivers you to a porticoed entrance, and 198 rooms and suites are scattered across the main building, several wings and a row of restored Victorian cottages, with interiors recently reworked by London designer Inge Moore in lavish, romantic fabrics. Dining runs from all-day Oasis by the pool to Chef's Table in the kitchen with Rudi Liebenberg, the dinner-only Lord Nelson with its Union Castle shipping chairs, and the institutional afternoon tea. Librisa Spa occupies a heritage Victorian building with eight treatment rooms.

Who's it for

Bottom line

What you're paying for here is sense of place: 125 years of history, nine acres of garden in the middle of Cape Town, and a service culture built on staff who've stayed for decades. Couples should book a historic cottage for the picket-fence fantasy; families want a main-building suite near the Oasis Pool. Aim for November to April when poolside service runs and the gardens are at their best.