Hartford House – Kwazulu Natal

The owners of Hartford House humbly refer to themselves as ”custodians of one of Africa’s most treasured legacies”.
Theirs is a grand home that grew into a hotel which is at the same time comfortable beyond dreams yet innocent of pretence, with fourteen uniquely decorated and incomparably styled rooms set in seemingly endless landscaped gardens.

The restaurant is rated among the Top Ten in the country where dinner is a spectacular five course affair served in candlelit splendour, either in the historic dining room or on a rambling colonial verandah, accompanied by a Diners Club Platinum awarded wine list.

Situated in the foothills of the Drakensberg near Mooi River on a land grant by Queen Victoria, Hartford was the home of the last prime minister of the colony of Natal and is now part of the Summerhill Stud estate, home to the stallions of the rulers of Dubai and South Africa’s champion racehorse nursery, and also home to the local community that looks to it as its watering hole, nexus of entertainment and fountain of gossip.