Four Seasons is heading to the Cape Winelands

Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts is apparently set to make its long-awaited Cape Town debut – not on the Atlantic Seaboard or at the V&A Waterfront, as industry insiders had speculated, but in Franschhoek, where the group is believed to be finalising a deal to operate Chamonix Wine Farm. 

Cape Town has been on Four Seasons’ radar for years. The group is one of the world’s most recognised ultra-luxury hotel brands, and a commitment to the winelands would signal that it sees this as a region ready to sustain international five-star rates. The move will help to further reposition the Cape Winelands as a world-class wine destination.

Chamonix, which borrows its name from the French Alpine town, sits against the Klein Drakenstein mountains and sports steep vineyards, oak forests, long gravel roads and pockets of indigenous fynbos. German entrepreneur Chris Hellinger bought the property in the late 1990s and gradually evolved it from a working wine farm into a boutique hospitality and lifestyle destination – one long regarded as a candidate for ultra-luxury redevelopment, given its dramatic setting and substantial landholding. 

That’s not to say it’s stopped producing wine. These have earned the estate an equally serious reputation; it’s won acclaim for its chardonnay, pinot noir, cabernet franc and Bordeaux-style red blend, Troika. It was Platter’s Winery of the Year in 2013. 

Hot news

The timing of the apparent deal is significant. Wildfires swept through Franschhoek in January, causing extensive damage to Chamonix’s guest lodge, which remains closed. The wine-tasting venue, Arkeste Restaurant, the cellar and the vineyards were unaffected and continue to operate, but the destruction of accommodation has effectively cleared the way for a reimagining of the property at a different scale. 

Four Seasons currently operates only one South African property – the Westcliff in Joburg – alongside hotels in the Seychelles, Mauritius, Morocco and Egypt. The winelands would give the group its first resort-style presence on the continent’s southern tip. 

The Western Cape is home to most of South Africa’s top restaurants (several of them on wine estates), a new airport is set to service the winelands, and foreigners with hard currency are struck by the value. No wonder luxury hospitality brands are believed to be scouting around the picturesque triangle of Franschhoek, Stellenbosch, Paarl and surrounds.

Making like the Mother City

Back in Cape Town that ship sailed ages ago. The first Edition hotel is set to open in October at the V&A Waterfront. This partnership between Marriott International and legendary boutique hotel pioneer Ian Schrager has lovers of fancy stays buzzing.

Meanwhile, Southern Sun has just announced it will be building a 330-room five-star hotel in the foreshore precinct, on land the hotel and resorts group owns, adjacent to The Cullinan hotel. It’s a proposed joint venture with Growthpoint Properties.

There is also talk of another boutique hotel at the V&A over the next few years.  

For the most part, Four Seasons operates an asset-light hospitality model. In most cases, it does not own the hotel but manages and brands properties that are owned by real estate developers, sovereign wealth funds, family offices or institutional investors. It is known for exceptional service, high-end accommodation, fine dining and wellness experiences, and it caters primarily to affluent leisure and business travellers. 

Chamonix said it could not comment, as a submission has yet to be made to the local municipality. A Four Seasons spokesperson said there are no new developments to announce in Southern Africa at this point. 

Small and beautiful

Tourism expert Gillian Saunders says Franschhoek is an incredibly strong tourism brand, which “has attracted a whole range of premium and high-end properties to the town”.

“It’s a successful, mature, premium-branded destination, so it’s a total fit for a Four Seasons five-star luxury hotel – as long as it stays on the smaller side,” she says.

Franschhoek, she explains, does not want big properties. “The town does need to be judicious about how much more growth it takes on, because it’s already getting crowded in season,” Saunders adds. “The main street can get very busy, and queues at some of the wine farms get quite long.

Many visitors who go to Cape Town tag on a few nights in the winelands – though Franschhoek, on average, achieves rates that are higher than those in Cape Town, and probably anywhere in the country with the exception of the high-end game lodges, Saunders says. In truth, some do charge those rates too.

With higher-end tourism, the job multiplier is much higher – the ability to pay good salaries is higher, and gratuities are higher. “So staying premium is really about ensuring the industry delivers the best possible benefits for the local community, and a low volume, high spend mitigates over-tourism,” she says. 

ALSO READ:

• Joburg is getting the first Marble Hotel
• Inside the revival of The Victoria Falls Hotel
• The coolest rooms ever: 80 hotels to lust after

_{Top image collage: ChatGPT.}