A hop, skip and jump through the rain from Rhino Africa HQ, the Rhino Africans were treated to a few glasses of bubbly at the sumptuous new MannaBay. Set to open officially to the public in June, we were invited to explore and give our verdict.
Each of the seven rooms are fascinating and uniquely designed by top South African interior designer Joe Jacob. I’m pretty sure I speak for everyone when I say we were blown away by the extraordinary attention to detail. After a detailed tour of the rooms and facilities by the General Manager, Desire (pronunciation like the pop star Des’ree rather A Street Car Named…) Avis (pronunciation like the hire car), we settled down to enjoy some mighty fine hospitality from what will surely become one of the Cape’s most sought after destinations. The views are truly breathtaking! Even among the winter clouds which put paid to us enjoying the normally magnificent sun set, the cityscape was all twinkling skylines reminiscent of Manhattan at night.
There’s no doubt this place is unique – our consultants were eagerly thinking about which clients they could match to which room. Each room is so different that this is going to be a great challenge. Adventurers in the Explorer room and surely the Versailles suite for the more indulgent thespian souls out there. There is an incredible sense of space at MannaBay – huge rooms and even larger common areas – a magnificent library, dining room, indoor and outdoor lounge, sun deck and patio.
We’ve been following the progress of MannaBay from inception – how incredibly rewarding to see the vision become reality. The style is exquisite – pieces and wallpaper sourced from around the world and collated with inspirational imagination. Seeing the furniture in place really makes all the difference. The passion and charisma that has gone into this project is obvious. I spent quite a while just ogling the Karin Miller artwork – try and spot Hilary Clinton waltzing with Barack Obama and the former Prime Minister Gordon Brown doing the cha cha with HM the Queen. Contemporary surrealism among some of the more period furniture.
MannaBay is luxurious and elegant but also playful – there is a real sense of fun about this place which is why we’re looking forward to incorporating it into some of Rhino Africa’s handcrafted, tailormade tours!
So if you’re out and about in Cape Town in June 2010, feel free to stop by and say hello to Desire and the team at MannaBay. They’re a friendly bunch and it would be difficult to find a better spot to take high tea or enjoy a cheeky glass of pinot on your way home.
