Henry Fancourt White was an enterprising fellow. A Yorkshire man, one time parliamentarian and highly regarded member of the George community, he was the first owner of Fancourt, a home that he built in 1859, inspired by the architecture of the Cotswolds in his native England. Today that same property is known as The Manor House, a classical 5 star boutique hotel on the sprawling Fancourt Golf Estate, one of the jewels of the Garden Route. As soon as you drive through the main gates of Fancourt and arrive at The Manor House, you know that something rather special awaits.
Chilled bubbly & roses in my suite…the attention to detail is lovely
Carrol Boyes ice bucket, a stylish touch
The facade of the Manor House belies the fact that there are 18 suites within, individually decorated in muted tones with a subtle splash of colour here and there. The ground level apartments lead onto small private patios overlooking lush gardens planted with exotic and indigenous flora, and the pool that is reserved exclusively for the use of the residents and where chaise lazing with a glass of bubbly is mandatory.
Ground level suites lead out onto the pool area
Laze on a chaise with a glass of bubbly
Back indoors, you can relax in the double volume lounge, indulge in a delicious high tea, or curl up with a book in the library and perhaps play a game of chess as you sip on a G&T from the refined Montagu Bar next door that has retained its olde world charm. It’s beautifully quiet, even with high occupancy, and feels as if you have the Manor all to yourself.
Fancy a game of chess? Or perhaps just curl up with a book? The library is a lovely place to do just that…
The Montagu Bar with lovely olde world charm
And then, there’s Henry White’s, the elegant and newly revamped restaurant that was awarded Diamond status in the annual Diners Club Wine List Awards this year and prides itself on a four course menu that is regularly changed up and creatively presented. As Executive Chef Desmond Morgan says, “guests can look forward to delicious fare and elegant styling, but with a revived flair.”
Henry White’s newly reimagined elegant restaurant in the Manor House
This sublime starter – cucumber and prawn roulade with wild smoked salmon trout, goats cheese, basil flavoured mayonnaise and cucumber broth. (Pic taken by Melanie Mare)
Fancourt as a whole presents a multi layered offering that attracts both international and local guests through a broad range of activities including The Links, a privately owned golf club, that has once again been ranked as No1 in South Africa by Golf Digest, the world’s most reputed golfing magazine when it comes to course rankings. And if you’re not familiar with this aspect of the amazing Estate, their three highly reputable superior golf courses, designed by the legendary Gary Player and including Montagu and Outeniqua, are also ranked within the Top 15.
On the off chance that swinging a thin stick against a tiny white ball is not your idea of fun, there is loads more to do, including one of the best past times known to man, eating out, and outdoor activities like trail running, bicycling, nature walks, and, if the kids are in tow, (if you have little ones, it’s best to book into the main hotel at Fancourt) there is plenty to occupy them as well in and out of holiday season, leaving leisure time for the big people to indulge in a soothing spa treatment or some downtime at the pool.
The Manor House is a divine place to retreat for a few days in an atmosphere of understated luxury that is sophisticated yet unpretentious, and the service, be it from Management, butler, waitron, housekeeping or groundsman, is faultless.
The little lake outside the Manor House
A flight to George is a mere 40 minutes from Cape Town on SA Airlink. Once you’ve arrived you’ll be collected by the hotel and voila, in a few minutes you’ll be in luxurious surroundings and in for a memorable experience.
The Manor House awaits!
For more info and bookings, please click on this Fancourt link *
