Mr & Mrs Smith

Mr & Mrs Smith have just returned from a stay at this Cape Winelands luxury hotel, and just as soon as they've unpacked their jodhpurs and bikinis, a full account of their stay in South Africa will be with you. In the meantime, just to whet your wanderlust, here's a quick snapshot of La Residence in Franschhoek…

Just 90 minutes from Cape Town, this mini, modern Versailles may have a contemporary shell, but the interiors are pure romance: everywhere the eye comes to rest there’s an objet recherché, an exotic antique from India, Indochina or Tibet, or one of the beautiful canvases that make up an astonishing art collection worth several billion rand.

It really is hard not to gush about La Residence – everything about it is just a shade better than anywhere else you’ve ever been. Seasonal, local produce matched with fine wines? A laze by the mountain-view infinity pool? Wine-tasting on horseback? Consider it done. Regally positioned between the vine-filled Winelands valleys and hilltop ridges of Franschhoek on a private estate, this grand terracotta-toned house makes a memorable first impression.

Staff greet you proffering pink champagne, before magicking away your car and whisking you into the bosom of luxury. In your art-adorned, vast-bedded suite, your cases miraculously unpack themselves, clothes perfectly hung and folded. And there in the endlessly long reception hall is an indicator of yet more splendour to come: a 1.5 metre high antique chandelier, its gorgeous glass layers refracting candlelight across polished black and white floor tiles and red velvet armchairs in the distance. King and Queen for a day? Be their guest…