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MATJIESFONTEIN
- THE LORD MILNER HOTEL:
For a memorable stay make this gracious Victorian Hotel, which
was used by British officers during the Boer War, one of your
stopovers. Travel through spectacular scenery where you can
stay in the little village and turn back the clock over 100
years. The double-storeyed building was built in 1899 by James
Logan, in the early stages of the Anglo-Boer War. The hotel
was used as a military hospital
during the conflict by the British forces and the hotel turret
was then used as a lookout post. Some 12 000 troops were
camped around the Village. James Logan, founder of
Matjiesfontein, died in 1920 and is buried in a little
cemetery 10 kilometres from Matjiesfontein, where his tomb is
located next to the grave of George Lohmann, one of the
greatest English cricketers, who spent the last years of his
life in the superb climatic environment of the Karoo. In the
late 1960s, David Rawdon, a
hotelier par excellence, whose claim to fame was the
establishing of the well-known Lanzerac Hotel in Stellenbosch
and the Marina Hotel in Hermanus, purchased Matjiesfontein
Village. After performing extensive renovations on the hotel,
utilising the wealth of antiques gathered during his world
travels, Mr. Rawdon re-opened the property in 1970 and renamed
it The Lord Milner Hotel. 
The
building can be described as an elegant double story edifice
with three castellated towers, each with its own flagstaff,
the Union Jack and two South African flags snap in the breeze.
The fashionable Victorian ironwork known as "broekie
lace" decorating the front wall and balconies shines
white in the sunlight. Inside, an imposing mahogany staircase
leads to the comfortable bedrooms. Heavily padded armchair
chairs wait for an occupant. A portrait of a shawled,
lace-capped dowager hangs on the wall. The bouquet of wax
flowers under a glass dome, although faded and wan, recalls
front parlours of long ago.
 
All furnishings are authentically Victorian in style;
furniture, fittings and even washbasins and toilets are the
“real thing”, many of them salvaged from
soon-to-be-demolished period buildings and restored by the
tireless and dedicated new owner. The Lord Milner's
58 guest rooms have been well maintained over the years
and a high standard of service upheld.
The esprit de corps of the courteous
staff, the clean crisp air and the warmth of the
atmosphere surrounding the Hotel, makes for a relaxing and
revitalising stay. A pond, fountains, a riverbed and beautiful
lush gardens can be seen around the hotel and guest rooms.
Along with the blood-red sunsets, remarkable fauna and flora
and its age-old traditions, Matjiesfontein and the Lord Milner
Hotel gives itself to the ultimate
tranquil escape. 
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