Embracing the quirks of a mission station-turned-hotel, Klein Oliphants Hoek is very much a part of Franschhoek's history. This delightful eight-roomed guesthouse is on a quiet street five minutes from the main street, which is a hive of restaurants, cafés, galleries and shops.

Residence Klein Oliphants Hoek has lovely high ceilings, wooden floors and beams and an unconventional variety of room styles and sizes complete with pitched ceilings in the loft rooms.

Bright colours offset the regal browns of the antique and collectable furniture pieces. All of the rooms have en suite bathrooms, air conditioning and heating, and free tea, coffee and wine. Though all are comfortable and spacious, choose any of the four suites, which go the extra mile with private plunge pools, hot tubs or patios, the final choice depending on your preference and the time of year.

Klein Oliphants also has a cosy restaurant featuring a small menu a cut above the average steak-and-kingklip variety common to South Africa but no so uncommon as to be a culinary bungee jump. Run by Renata - from Italy - and chef Viljoen - from Franschhoek - fresh and home made is the order of the day, from the fabulous gnocchi to the breads, pastas and preserves. High tea in the garden is about as decadent you can get.