- Site of one of the world's most esteemed restaurants
- In a tranquil village rife with wine-tasting rooms, shops, and restaurants
- An easy overnight from Cape Town
- Bold, stylish room decor
- Super-attentive service
- Pricey
- Franschhoek is quiet and secluded - not for fans of nightlife and urban energy
- 16 Huguenot Rd., in heart of the village of Franschhoek, about an hour's drive from Cape Town.
- 15 rooms, 6 suites, 1 cottage, plus full-service spa, cinema, boutique, and two superb restaurants.
- In-room perks include DVD/CD players, free Wi-Fi, wood-burning fireplaces, safes, and complimentary snacks and beverages.
- All rooms have spacious bathrooms with heated floors, separate showers and baths, and distinctive local bath products.
- Book online or call (27) 21-876-2151.
- Guests receive free shuttle service within the town of Franschhoek, full breakfast, and use of first-rate concierge service.
- Rooms start around US$350 nightly, and suites start around US$650 nightly.
- This is a mainstream property with a mixed clientele - gay-friendly.
- The formal Tasting Room restaurant and lighter iCi Cafe-Bistro are both onsite. Bread and Wine is a sister restaurant nearby.
- It's right in Franschhoek village, and with several shops and eateries within a short stroll.
No trip to Cape Town is complete without at least a one- or two-night excursion to the stunning Cape Winelands region, just inland from the coast and rife with superb wineries, haute restaurants, and charming country inns. As Cape Town has become Africa's leading urban destination for gays, the Winelands area has quickly developed a following as a romantic and gay-welcoming spot for a country weekend. Le Quartier Francais is one of that area's most inviting high-end options, a genial collection of airy suites and rooms overlooking lush gardens and just an hour from Cape Town.
Le Quartier Francais has rooms in several configurations and sizes, from standard doubles (which are quite large) to mammoth suites. You can add a treatment (using Decleor Paris products) in the full-service spa, or visit the inn's winery, Moreson Winery, with its excellent Bread & Wine restaurant.
But what you must not miss at Le Quartier Francais is a meal in the signature restaurant, The Tasting Room, where you can go all out with an eight-course tasting menu, or choose one of the more manageable four- or six-course menus. Margot Janse produces some of the most imaginative cuisine on the continent - it's the sort of experience that you savor for an entire evening. Adjacent is the more relaxed iCi bistro, still a stellar choice for dinner, lunch, or a light snack of wine and cheese.
It's easy enough to rent a car to explore the Cape Winelands, but a number of tour operators can also set up driver-led tours through to wineries. Philadelphia-based Premier Tours, a gay-friendly company that specializes in tours throughout South Africa, is an excellent resource for booking a complete Cape Town and Winelands vacation, and they offer use accommodations at Le Quartier Francais.
