SOUTH AFRICA'S TOP RESTAURANT : AS BIG AS IT GETS

Pecan Nut Praline Parfait
(Photo : Michael Nefdt)

HOUSE AND LEISURE / VISA BEST OF SA AWARDS

Let us not underestimate the enormity of the occasion. At a gala function this evening, the Hartford team of Cheryl Goss and Jackie Cameron step up to the winner's podium for the second consecutive year as the country's top restaurant in House and Leisure / Visa Best of SA Awards. The finalists included the national icons La Columbe and The Tasting Room in the Cape Town vicinity, and Mosaic in Gauteng, and yet, despite their remoteness, the gourmet public have proclaimed them the masters.

It's a marvellous tribute to a tireless team, forged from the ranks of a community where unemployment is the norm rather than the exception, and where skills in hospitality when Hartford House first opened its doors fourteen years ago, were almost non-existent.

The great thing is, this team is still a work-in-progress, and there are places they still have to go, yet it needs to be said that it's entirely through the encouragement and patronage of our guests, that all of this has been possible.

For those who travel thousands of miles to visit us, there is good news this morning in the government's interim budget, which relaxes our foreign exchange controls, weakening the Rand, and making travel to South Africa even more competitive. This at a time when the Australian dollar has reached the value of its American counterpart for the first time.

For more information please visit :
www.hartford.co.za

HOUSE AND LEISURE ANNOUNCES BEST OF SA FINALISTS

House and Leisure Magazine
"Stylish SA at Home and Play"

House and Leisure / Visa Best of SA Awards

House and Leisure magazine has announced the finalists in the 2010 Best of SA Awards, in association with Visa. These awards celebrate the best hotel, spa, lodge and restaurant in the country as voted for by House and Leisure readers.

"We have narrowed down the search this year to the top five finalists in each category and now give readers the opportunity to vote for their favourite spot," says Naomi Larkin, editor of House and Leisure magazine. "The finalists represent the best South Africa has to offer, from urban chic hotels and world-class spas and restaurants to luxurious country lodges."

House and Leisure / Visa Best of SA 2010 finalists :

Hotels :

• The Owner’s Cottage (Franschhoek, Western Cape)
• The Oyster Box (Umhlanga Rocks, KwaZulu-Natal)
• Shamwari Townhouse (Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape)
• 15 On Orange (Cape Town, Western Cape)
• Kurland (Plettenberg Bay, Western Cape)

Spas :

• Fordoun Hotel and Spa (Nottingham Road, KwaZulu-Natal)
• Pezula Resort Hotel & Spa (Knysna, Western Cape)
• Karkloof Spa (Karkloof, KwaZulu-Natal)
• The Saxon Hotel and Spa (Sandhurst, Gauteng)
• Equinox Spa (Cape Town, Western Cape)

Lodges :

• The Homestead (Phinda Private Game Reserve, KwaZulu-Natal)
• Singita Sweni Lodge (Kruger National Park, Mpumalanga)
• Granite Suites, Londolozi (Sabi Sand Game Reserve, Mpumalanga)
• Tswalu Kalahari (Near Kuruman, Northern Cape)
• Bushmanskloof Wilderness Reserve (Cederberg, Western Cape)

Restaurants :

• Hartford House (Mooi River, KwaZulu-Natal)
• The Tasting Room (Franschhoek, Western Cape)
• La Colombe (Cape Town, Western Cape)
• Marianas (Stanford, Western Cape)
• Restaurant Mosaic (Elandsfontein, near Pretoria, Gauteng)

House and Leisure readers stand a chance to win amazing prizes in the House and Leisure / Visa Best of SA Awards. By voting for the winning hotel, spa, lodge or restaurant, four lucky readers will each win a five-star trip for two to one of the winning establishments. For more information on how to vote, see the August issue of House and Leisure magazine.

House and Leisure is the authority on "Stylish SA at home and play". It is South Africa’s beloved premium home-grown shelter title, showcasing the South African dream : stylish homes and people. Inspiring decor. Delicious and innovative food. Inspiring travel and leisure. House and Leisure's readers are discerning, up-market pleasure seekers who are at home in South Africa and the rest of the world. House and Leisure is their trusted guide, celebrating what matters to them most - their homes, passions and pastimes.

House and Leisure won the Best Décor and Home magazine award at the recent AdVantage AdMag Awards.

For more information please visit :

www.houseandleisure.co.za

HARTFORD SELECTED SA BEST RESTAURANT FINALIST

2010 House and Leisure / Visa Best of SA Awards
(Photo : Hartford House)

AT THE TOP, THE HEAD NEVER SITS EASILY

We’ve just received the news from the organisers of the House and Leisure/Visa Best of SA Awards, that Hartford has once again made the finalists in the Best Restaurant category. As last years winners, we go into the 2010 edition as the reigning champions, with little to gain and everything to loose, as our friends at Summerhill tell us racing people would describe our position.

We’re always humbled to be selected for these finals, especially when you consider the other finalists in the category include two world top fifty restaurants, so this remains a singular and terribly important honour for us.

To those who know us, we hope that we can rely on your support once again to ensure the crown remains on this side of the Drakensberg. It’s very unusual in hospitality or in the world of cuisine, for local establishments to enjoy the recognition of those who live in “wonderland”, and it’s especially reassuring to know that we got there last year courtesy of the readers of the No.1 lifestyle magazine.

It’s also especially pleasing from a KZN perspective in general, and as members of the Land Of Legends in particular that last year’s winners in their respective categories, Best Lodge and Best Spa, Phinda Homestead Lodge and Fordoun respectively have once again made the finals. For the small, but highly selective brotherhood of Land Of Legends members, this is an accolade of dreams.

Visit
www.landoflegends.co.za

THE ONLY WORLD CLASS HOTEL ON A WORLD CLASS STUD FARM...

Please click above to view Hartford's Ezulweni Lake Suites.
Once open, click the button in bottom right to toggle full-screen mode.

...IN THE WORLD

It's been a tough year, we know.
And you've earned a break, at the nation's Number One boutique hotel.
Hartford House.
Where we've just won the House and Leisure - Visa Best Restaurant in South Africa award.

 

For more information please visit :
www.hartford.co.za

FROM THE HORSE'S MOUTH

LAND OF LEGENDS

Just a few weeks back, we told the world of our joy at Hartford being voted South Africa’s best restaurant in the House and Leisure / Visa Best Of SA competition. The results are now in the public domain following the publication of the November issue of House and Leisure, and we applaud our fellow KwaZulu Natal and Land Of Legends pals, The Homestead at Phinda Game Reserve and Fordoun Spa, for topping their categories alongside Hartford.

To quote House and Leisure editor, Naomi Larkin, “each of the winning destinations has a unique touch and global appeal, and deserves to be named the best in South Africa”.

And then back to renowned food critic, Anne Stevens, who wrote this past week in The Mercury : "But that’s not all, as they say in the ads. Hartford and the Beverley Hills in Umhlanga have earned Diamond Wine List awards as well”.

“The celebration was twice as sweet for both; the “Bev” was also awarded an American Express Platinum Award for its signature restaurant, The Sugar Club, and Hartford took its fifth consecutive American Express Fine Dining Award in Johannesburg”.

click above to visit
www.landoflegends.co.za