Unlike most Cape Town boutique hotels, this Winelands establishment is on the quirky side.  Its six rooms have each been stylistically inspired by the colours and textures of different kinds of mushrooms-and, yes, one in honour of the magic mushroom, known here by its Latin name. The scientific nomenclature is fitting, perhaps, since the look is serious and level-headed, so rather than tawdry toadstool references, designer George Velissariou has used inspiration from the colours and textures of the eponymous fungi-some brilliant and unexpected hues used to good effect. He’s studiously modernized the restored original Digteby manor house, first built in 1890-much of the original building has been retained, so the final result is a very clever amalgam of old and modern. To deepen the impact of the world’s first mushroom-inspired hotel, the manager isn’t a hotel school graduate, but a former science professor (who taught for two decades at Stellenbosch University) whose knowledge of fungi is staggering. Then, to cap things off, there’s a fine little in-house restaurant run by the impossibly young and talented chef whose enthusiasm in the kitchen means that you start your day at the most sumptuous breakfast table in the Winelands.
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