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Grande Roche is a restored luxurious 18th century manor estate located in the famous Paarl Valley wine region near Cape Town. This lovely 5 star hotel is surrounded by vineyards which continue to export grapes and produce some of the finest South African Wines. The Grande Roche of Paarl has become a legend on the local hospitality scene for having won such a formidable array of awards and culinary accolades since its opening in January 1992. Set on a gentle slope overlooking vineyards and rugged mountains, this gem of South Africa manor house and its sprawl of individually decorated suites are a gentle alternative to the hurly-burly of big city life. It is the hotel's subtle attention to detail that sets it apart from the rest.
Within only a few short months of opening Grande Roche received its full 5-star status - scoring the highest marks on the score sheet. Its superbly stocked cellar with close on 300 vintage wines, in addition to more than 6500 bottles, has won the Diners Club award, three times for the best winelist of the year and was a winner of the 2001 Diners Club Diamond Award, for its winelist, and the excellence of it's wine cellar.
The Grande Roche Hotel was ranked among the 10 top wine country hotels of the world in the 1998 October issue of America's Food and Wine magazine. The hotel ranked with other exotic destinations for an ideal wine getaway including a castle, convent and farmhouse in the foremost wine-producing countries of the world. Grande Roche was described as "South Africa's most hedonistic property".
Bosman's Restaurant was named as South Africa's top deluxe restaurant by the American Express/ Style magazine for two years in succession. In the German gourmet magazine VIF, it scored 18 out of 20 points. It was also rated among the Top Ten Restaurants of South Africa in the 1996 Perrier Restaurant Guide and in Flying Springbok Magazine. The restaurant has received the official blazon from the highly respected group of gastronomes, the Châine des Rotisseurs - a guild that was formed in France in the middle ages to promote all the arts - including the culinary arts. Bosman's was selected South Africa's best Châine Restaurant for 1996 by the Châine des Rotiseurs.
In 1993 the Grande Roche, together with all its farmland and restored historical buildings, was declared a national monument. For all those involved in the planning and restoration this was indeed an auspicious occasion. The Grande Roche was the first hotel in South Africa to be awarded the Silver Classification according to SATOUR's (South African Tourism Board) new national grading system. This is once again proof of their commitment to excellence and their world-class standards.
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