KIMBERLEY ANNE HOTEL

Minerva Gardens, Kimberley

LOCATION:

In the well-heeled suburb of Minerva Gardens, south of Kimberley’s city centre and just off the N12 to Cape Town. The hotel is close to the Diamond Pavilion mall — if that sort of thing appeals — and close enough to the city’s varied attractions such as the Big Hole Museum (thebighole.co.za) and the superb McGregor Museum (museumsnc.co.za). Even though the great road to the south is only a block away, the hotel is blissfully quiet.

STYLE:

The Kimberley Anne is just two years old. Its style is a sort of Baroque Modern with sometimes fussy décor — lots of dark wood, tiled floors and huge pillows. The 16 rooms are big and cool — vital in a town where summer temperatures regularly top 40ºC — and the vast bed offered me the best night’s rest I have had in months.

The centrepiece is the Copper Oryx restaurant around which the entire hotel seems to have been built. The fireplace — again, something you’ll want to be seated near in the winter — and its two towering chimneys dominate the room, reaching high up to the roof. The effect is almost cathedral-like, which is appropriate given the superb food.

THE FOOD:

Be prepared for some fine dining in the Copper Oryx. The menu is reasonably varied but vegetarians will battle (although that is a problem everywhere in this meat-crazy land of ours). Still the baked aubergine stuffed with Cape Malay vegetable curry was pretty decent — and the popadums were superb — and the vast caramelised pear, blue cheese and walnut salad was excellent and large enough to be dinner in its own right.

Breakfast orders are prepared fresh — you could even a buffet.

SERVICE:

look through the huge glass window to make sure your eggs are being done just right — so there is none of the lukewarm disappointment that usually accompanies Efficient and friendly. From booking to check-in, everything was fast and seamless. And I do like to sit down when I check in and sip a nice (alcohol-free) cocktail while people bustle around me. You don’t get that in a lot of places.

ACTIVITIES:

Being a small hotel, most of the entertainment is elsewhere in town. However, the hotel is proud of its Meerkat Deck, where you can chill outside with sundowners — or get married or have after-conference drinks (yes, there is a conference centre, the modern must-have for any hotel that wishes to prosper in the lean months).

BEST TIME TO GO:

Being at the edge of semi-desert, Kimberley is bitterly cold at night in winter and blisteringly hot during the day in summer. Not that you will notice either once inside the Kimberley Anne — that big fireplace will keep the winter chill at bay and the hotel has aircon throughout.

RATES:

I paid R1 450 for the night. The website currently lists rates at R1 250 per night, which includes breakfast and wi-fi.