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Schulphoek article: Wine
Magazine editor, Fiona McDonald writes …. What is it with me and baths?
I’ve always admitted to being a water baby but the last time I
did a guesthouse review, my defining moment occurred over strawberries in
the bath. And the same thing
happened at Schulphoek Guesthouse in Sandbaai, a seaside haven two
kilometres outside Hermanus. I’d
arrived back after an early morning cycle, all hot and sweaty, and
discovered that the bath in my suite boasted seven hydro-massage jets!
Until then I hadn’t noticed – I’d been more interested in the
massage shower that I put to good use before retiring the night before.
With two jets under my tired calves and one positioned perfectly in
the small of my back, I was in heaven!
The fact that a towelling covered pillow was already perfectly
positioned on the edge of the bath indicates the length to which Petro and
Mannes van Zyl go to ensure guest’s comfort.
If breakfast hadn’t been waiting, I’d have wallowed for hours
… it had all started the day before when Petro welcomed me to the
four-year-old establishment that started life as a modest seaside cottage
that owners Wehrner and Janet Gutstadt used to hire when visiting family
in Hermanus. Eventually they
bought the seafront property and set about renovating it extensively.
Like Topsy, it grew … and grew, all under the able stewardship of
the van Zyl’s. The
renaissance from seaside cottage to 5 star-graded guesthouse took four
years. ‘We’re so happy
here,” Petro admits. “Our
guests almost become friends – and they in turn recommend us to their
friends and colleagues.” Word-of-mouth
had prompted fellow guests Patrick and Caroline of Ireland to spend a week
there, and had also drawn ex-Liberty and JSE supreme Roy Andersen, wife
Wendy and son Mike. Patrick
and Caroline were looking forward to exploring the area, the walks at
Fernkloof nature reserve, golf at any number of local courses, a visit to
Stanford with a river cruise thrown in and maybe even a visit to the
Birkenhead brewery, fishing, wine tasting at the Walker Bay wineries …
For adrenaline junkies, there’s shark cage diving, sea kayaking,
even dune boarding. No fear of
boredom setting in. We all got
acquainted over a pot of afternoon tea, Petro and Mannes doing the
introductions as well as we all sat drinking in the sea view.
The polite chitchat shifted into friendly conversation over
pre-dinner drinks and by the time we were all seated at the long table, we
were friends dining together – and that’s the way it felt all weekend.
For me that was the biggest charm of Schulphoek.
So often on weekends such as these everyone rigidly maintains their
interpersonal boundaries, eating at separate tables, sitting apart, not
interacting, merely nodding and smiling politely at one another.
“We love to interact with our guests – and get them interacting
with one another, because everyone has a story to tell and is interesting
in their own way. But if they
want privacy or to be alone, we respect that too,” says Mannes.
Mannes was installing a newly imported kitchen range – the
Lacanche from Wine Magazine April 2004 Escape Route
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