A few months before his death, John Lennon stayed under the pseudonym Mr Greenwood. He could be seen early in the morning meditating in the gardens, and the employees swear that there has been no more orderly guest: he made his bed every morning. Also, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle left his mark with his seances in the room. Agatha Christie, Marlene Dietrich, Margaret Thatcher, Henry Kissinger, or David Bowie slept between its linen sheets, and Winston Churchill described it as "one of the best hotels" of his life. He stayed there during his years as a correspondent for the newspaper The Morning Post after being a prisoner in Pretoria during the Second Boer War.
Even the Dalai Lama gathered more than 500 people in one of its meeting rooms. And Nelson Mandela had a reserved table for tea. These are some of the celebrities who have passed through Mount Nelson at Belmond Hotel in Cape Town, the most emblematic five-star hotel in South Africa, celebrating its 125th anniversary under the umbrella of the pioneering luxury tourism group, with 50 properties in 24 countries including trains like the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express, river cruises, safari lodges, and exclusive hotels like this one, where Queen Elizabeth II of England celebrated her 21st birthday.
His uncle Edward also came with his inseparable Wallis Simpson in 1925, being the Prince of Wales, so the entrance bears his name, led by a long row of huge palm trees. They were almost cut down in 1998 when the team of the then U.S. President Bill Clinton, visiting, ordered them to be cut down for security reasons. "Fortunately, they didn't listen," says Tiago Moraes, the current director of the historic colonial building, which saw the light in 1743 as the residence of the local governor of Dutch origin, Baron Pieter.
It would not become a hotel until 1899, being "much better than its London counterparts and the first with running water in the country," as the newspapers of the time pointed out. It was born to accommodate wealthy Britons arriving by sea with the Union Castle Shipping Line, with which it shared an owner, the auctioneer and businessman William Maude. By the way, although affectionately called the Nellie, its official name comes from two icons of Cape Town: Table Mountain (the mountain dominating the city and one of the seven new natural wonders of the world), at whose feet it is located, and Horatio Nelson, the English admiral who lost his life in the Battle of Trafalgar after stopping several times in South Africa.
Another key date is 1918 when the facade was painted pink (and optimistic) in the face of the Allied victory in World War I. And so it continues, with this color seeping into every corner. From the door hangers to the wine and gin in its restaurants and bars: Oasis, Harvest Table, The Verandah, Chef's Table, Planet Bar, or The Red Room, a kind of glamorous clandestine lounge to indulge in Asian flavors. Not to mention some of the 60 teas available in the classic British ceremony, led by the tea sommelier specialized in this type of beverage, Craig Cupido.
A special mention goes to the art, with dozens of works scattered throughout the facilities. The most prominent now is Colourful halt, an installation designed on-site by the renowned French painter and sculptor Daniel Buren in the garden, next to the pool, and the protagonist of the third edition of the annual Mitico festival, organized by Belmond and the renowned Galleria Continua, with eight venues worldwide.
Daniel Buren, with his work 'Colourful halt' from Mitico.
Now, all that's left is to retire to rest in any of the 189 rooms and suites with an elegant Victorian stamp and perfectly restored original furniture. Or sign up for some of the Belmond experiences, such as a guided tour of the city's main points of interest or an original sidecar tour of the Cape Peninsula. For those who prefer to relax, there is, of course, the essential spa to be pampered for a while.
The airline KLM (klm.es), the oldest in the world still operating under its original name (started in 1919), has been flying to Cape Town since 1938. It was one of the first companies to do so in a DC-3 PH-ALR called Reiger, which took off from Amsterdam Schiphol airport on a journey that included 30 stops each way and lasted six days to Johannesburg and another six to return to the Dutch capital.
Today, the flight to South Africa is aboard its B777 fleet, which offers a new Premium Comfort intermediate class, with more space, amenities, comfort, and privacy than Economy. The legendary company also presents a new seat in its World Business Class, wider and with a new independent sliding door that ensures more privacy. It has been designed taking into account a study conducted among customers, analyzing their preferences. Thus, it has more options for personal adjustment, including lumbar support and a relaxation function that massages the back. It can also recline fully to form a bed of 1.98 meters long.