LOCAL TRAVEL
Then there’ s the hotel’ s best-kept secret. Drostdy doesn’ t simply preserve history; it helps shape the future. The hotel is owned by the South African College for Tourism, which trains unemployed young people, most of them women from rural and peri-urban communities. Guests aren’ t just checking into a beautiful property; they’ re supporting the next generation of South African tourism professionals. Now that’ s heritage with purpose.
LORD MILNER HOTEL, MATJIESFONTEIN, WESTERN CAPE If you have ever wanted to spend a night somewhere that feels like a film set, Matjiesfontein should be on the list.
DROSTDY HOTEL
The tiny Karoo village is essentially a living museum, filled with Victorian buildings, quirky characters, and enough history to make even a short visit feel like stepping back several decades. At its centre is the Lord Milner Hotel, an iconic property dating from 1899.
Named after Lord Alfred Milner, the British High Commissioner for Southern Africa during the Anglo-Boer War, the hotel has become synonymous with Matjiesfontein’ s old-world atmosphere. Its Victorian architecture, period details, and slightly eccentric personality are all part of the experience.
THE TURBINE BOUTIQUE HOTEL, KNYSNA, WESTERN CAPE Heritage doesn’ t always have to mean Victorian verandas and Cape Dutch gables. In Knysna, it comes with a little more steel and industrial grit. The Turbine Boutique Hotel occupies a beautifully transformed former power station on Thesen Island. What was once an industrial building has been reinvented as a stylish hotel while retaining elements of its original machinery and architecture.
The result is a fascinating mix of history and contemporary design. Old industrial details sit alongside comfortable rooms, restaurants, and modern hospitality spaces, creating a hotel that feels connected to Knysna’ s past without becoming a museum.
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