Welcome to the Arabella Hotel and Spa – our romantic hotel stay outside Hermanus.
“I woke up to the sound of a door creaking open as Rudolph slid out of bed and stepped out onto the balcony. I grabbed my white gown and my bed side chocolate I forgot to eat the night before, and joined him behind the curtains. Looking out onto the lagoon, we both yawned and took a breathe. A flock of birds disappeared into the morning mist..
The calmness that surrounded us – from the natural scenery to the warmness we felt from the staff – was enough to make us forget about any stress we may have had prior to our arrival. The luxurious baths, food and spa treatments may have also helped in this regard ;).
We had arrived to not the “traditional luxury hotel” we had imagined, but instead a space of complete tranquility and unique attention to detail.
“A bed of roses”
We arrived on Friday night to pure bliss. A warm and cosy room that treated us to lagoon views and bedside snacks (it’s as if they knew us personally).
We jumped into our matching gowns and poured ourselves a bedside G&T – our expectations for a romantic weekend were exceeded in those first few minutes.
A spot of paradise
The pool was one of our favourite features. But being Winter it served more as a great view to stare at – with cocktail in hand – than a place to cool off in.
We recommend waking up early and enjoying these dreamy sunrise views from the pool side of the hotel. In Summer maybe even take a sunrise dip to experience this giant pool and cascading waterfalls all to yourself.
A day of activities
Arabella is famous for their pristine Golf Course that boasts indigenous fynbos, mountain and lagoon views. It’s been voted one of the top 10 courses in South Africa and as nature enthusiasts, we can see why.
We took a one hour ‘Pro Golf Lesson’ with Andre Loots from EOGA Arabella Golf Academy. It was such a treat and quite an honour to play on such a stunning course.
We then moved on to Arabella’s Spa – a wonderful place whereby we would like to hibernate for the Winter. We had the ‘His & Hers Spa Special’ which couldn’t have been more romantic.
The Spa’s Hydro pool made us feel so much better about not being able to swim in the cold outside pool. We’ve actually decided that Arabella is an amazing spot for a Winter Stay – because who doesn’t prefer hot bubbling hydro water!!
The benefit of being a hotel guest over a spa day visitor is that you can visit this pool after hours – having a much higher chance of swimming alone.
In touch with our surroundings
We love to explore the area that we’re visiting – so we organised a quad-biking adventure through Arabella’s Travel Desk. They hooked us up with one of the most fun excursions we’ve done thus far in the Western Cape.
We ended up having our own guide and got to drive as fast as we were capable of! After going through single track forest trails and up past pristine farmlands – we arrived at an incredible viewpoint which overlooked Hermanus. Such a great day!
Honeymoon goals
We didn’t stay in the Executive Penthouse Suite (aka CEO or honeymoon suite), but we decided to take a visit as it was unoccupied for the weekend. After seeing the bath we thought it was only right to take a quick dip to truly be able offer an authentic review. lol
We approve ;).
A private sunset dinner
Our favourite part of our long weekend was probably our last evening’s dinner date. After speaking with the Restaurant Manager the night before, we were offered to have our dinner served up on our private balcony instead of in the restaurant. *This is a service that you can request from the manager (at no extra cost which we think is quite special).
We sat down – barefoot – with uninterrupted views of the greens and lagoon below – and chatted for hours about our dogs, our upcoming travel plans and who was more pro on the quad bike. It was only the next morning that I realised we hadn’t once brought up work on that date – and I think that’s testament to how our stay provided us with “a darling escape”.
Cocktail hour
So cheers to yet another romantic find in the Western Cape. Arabella – part of the #exactlylikenothingesle Autograph Collection – was a special treat we will never forget.
