"Known to many as “The Pink Lady” for her blush-colored exterior, Mount Nelson, a Belmond Hotel is a Cape Town institution. Well-heeled locals have been frequenting her terrace and manicured lawns for high tea and fancy picnics for decades, and the Librisa spa has long been a favorite for massages or manicures. Those fortunate enough to stay at this grand palace can spend time at the long pool fringed with daybeds and the 198 guest rooms and suites lined with patterned curtains and windows opening onto the garden. Some of the best rooms are the Victorian garden cottages, along a rose-lined path in the garden. (Be sure to have breakfast on your private terrace.) On the hotel’s doorstep is the Company’s Garden, the green space and heritage site that’s home to cultural institutions like the Iziko Museums of South Africa." - Mary Holland