Hotel Review : Akademie Street, Franschhoek, South Africa

After our amazing Macatoo experience, we headed to Cape Town for a week, spending the first few days in Franschhoek in the Cape winelands.  Here's a wee bit of info on the history of Franschhoek:-

After the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in France in 1685, when Protestantism was outlawed, hundreds of so-called Huguenots fled their homeland, 277 of them arriving by ship at the Cape of Good Hope.  Many of them were given land by the Dutch government in a valley called Oliphantshoek (Elephant's Corner) - so named because of the vast herds of elephants that roamed the area.  Soon after they settled here, it became known as Franschhoek (French Corner).

This heritage lives on today with the Huguenot monument standing proudly at the top of the village.  The museum nearby chronicles the history of those brave pioneers, with each of the original Huguenot farms having its own fascinating story to tell.

We found the wonderful Akadamie Street Boutique Hotel and Guest House on www.tripadvisor.com and they luckily found room for us.  We stayed in the charming Vreugde ("joy") suite, with it's HUGE Cali King sized bed, glorious bathroom and our own private garden, plunge pool and patio.

All of the different Akadamie Street Guest Houses join through winding pathways and meet at the beautiful site of Twyfeling - the Cape Dutch main home where breakfasts are served under a vine-covered patio by your hosts.

The staff at this family owned and run boutique hotel were absolutely first class, as is the property.  Your nightly rate includes the contents of the posh mini bar and all the yummy snacks in your room, as well as a breakfast that will make your eyes boggle - it was truly glorious.  I'll try to post a separate picture of the fruit plate that was presented before orders were taken for our hot selection - it's a work of art.

The hotel has a friendly dog, Anna, who put us very much in mind of our lovely Archie.  Anna will happily befriend you and she's lovely, but I'm sure that if you're not a dog person, the staff would be very helpful in that respect.

Akadamie Street is two blocks back from the main street, and it's VERY walkable.  Franschhoek is very safe to walk around, day or night, and it's incredibly beautiful.  It reminded us a lot of Hahndorf in South Australia - friendly, pretty and lots of cafes, restaurants and lovely little gifty shops stocking lots of pretty things you don't need, but really want.

I can't say enough good things about this glorious place, it really is top notch.  And it's got FREE WIFI, just like all the nicest places - yay!

Akadamie Street

Boutique Hotel & Guest House

5 Akadamie Street

Franschhoek

South Africa  7690

Phone:- +27 0 82 517 0405

www.aka.co.za