Romantic Weekend in the Cape Winelands – Paarl
Oh goodness – this weekend !!! If you’re looking for a honeymoon stop off, anniversary spoil, engagement weekend away or just plain good quality time as a couple – this is it – we’ve found it!
Welcome to La Bella Vita Studios
Nestled between Paarl and Franschhoek – surrounded by dams, mountains and vineyards – are a handful of luxury studio apartments. Each studio designed and inspired by a particular charity – so it wont surprise you that we chose their exquisite Rhino Room – which donates 3.5% of its annual profits to the International Rhino Foundation.
We’re all about feeling good and “justifying” our travel splurges you know!
There’s so much we can write about ‘what to do during a weekend in the winelands’, but to be honest we struggled to leave the room!! It was a wintery weekend and the cosy fireplace had us in such a trance. “Travelling” is about adventure and exploration, yes, but sometimes it’s also about dedicating time, in a beautiful setting, to just be (self-proclaimed quote right there).
But we really believe getaways or holidays give you what you need at the time – and having both had our busiest work weeks of 2018, we couldn’t have asked for a better trip.
We arrived straight from work and were greeted by the sweetest welcome basket. The red wine and cheese platters were opened before our bags even hit the ground. We soaked up every last bit of that sunset.
After chatting non-stop the entire drive there, we sat in silence for what seemed like half an hour. There was something about the isolation and stillness of where we were that made us drop our shoulders, sink into our porch chairs and just breathe! An Ouma and Oupa op die stoep moment for sure!
The next morning we headed off to Terbordore Coffee Roastery for breakfast. We’re kind of obsessed with our moka pot at the moment so some coffee shopping from the source was a must.
We then made our way to the quaint town of Franschhoek itself. This area was made famous by it’s ancient wine farms and Cape Dutch architecture, with wine tasting and vineyard hopping being it’s biggest draw card. As we watched enviously as groups of friends passed us by in the wine trams, we couldn’t help but feel excited to head back. Our second highlight of the weekend awaited:
Sante Wellness Retreat & Spa
Literally right next door to La Bella Vita Studios, is this luxurious Wellness Retreat and world class Day Spa. Because what’s a romantic weekend vacay without a little pampering and rejuvenation ;)??
We were greeted with robes and welcomed in to lunch as part of our Half Day Package.
So, we are very new and overly excited when it comes to “luxury travel” – having recently backpacked Asia for 8 months – but isn’t there just something about wearing robes that make you feel like royalty?
The glass-walled restaurant was pure magic. The chefs believe that nutritious food is the foundation of health and so all the wellness packages begin with an exquisite yet nourishing 3 course meal (sugar, gluten and dairy free). We personally wouldn’t have known the difference – it was SO delicious!!
After a few hours of facials, scalp massages, full body massages and steam rooms – we ended our half day package in the heated pool to chat about how shiny and amazing we were feeling (literally).
We somewhat glided and sleep-walked back to our Rhino Studio and – as if we weren’t already overwhelmed by the day’s spoils – were welcomed to a bed of red roses (RED ROSES)!
To say we relaxed and found some serious down time will be the understatement of the weekend. And as much as all the activities and gestures were incredible, the in between moments were probably the best. Rudi got to watch the Soccer, I got to read my book and we were able to spend some amazing time together – apart.
This sounds weird, but we’re actually pretty different (like most 2 humans in a relationship), and therefore love to enjoy “our own version” of relaxing, without forcing the other to do so in the same way. So after a few incredible quality conversations and time together, we took a moment or two to ourselves.
This concept is quite new to us, as we usually feel we have to spend every second of a trip doing the exact same thing. But really, we shouldn’t try to or have to be an exact girl/boy replica of each other – learning to not compromise on everything and letting each other enjoy an experience in our way, has been a great step for us.
Rudi’s happy place – watching the Soccer World Cup
Jen’s happy place – sitting in over-sized hoodies watching ducks swim
On our drive home we stopped off just next door at Babylonstoren. This is definitely one of our favourite estates to visit! We didn’t take pictures from this particular visit – but here’s our shots from June.
The Instagram famous Prickly Pear Field
The most insane vegetable gardens
And the reason we keep returning !!!
Some details incase you want to go?
Book a studio apartment as La Bella Vita Studios
Just fyi, all the details are on the website, but here’s a few small features we wanted to highlight: the array of quality coffee options made us so happy, the welcome basket of treats and wine was very special, the entire tray of bath goodies was beyond, and lastly – the little black stand they provide that you use to put infront of the DSTV decoder at night – so the lights don’t shine in your eyes – is just perfection (no more putting towels over the tv at night – this place has literally thought of everything)!!
Enjoy some surrounding activities:
Book a package at the Day Spa next door at Sante Wellness Retreat & Day Spa
You can book a half day or full day package with one of themes programs.
Enjoy some scenic activities like Butterfly World, the Alpaca Farm or hikes around Mont Rochelle Nature Reserve and the Paarl Mountain Nature Reserve.
And of course – go on wine tasting ventures to all the vineyards in Franschhoek.
La Bella Vita Studios – until we meet again!
View our South Africa Page to see more of our top travel experiences in the area.
