Maybe it’s the cool breeze blowing through the purple wisteria.

Perhaps it’s the birdsong that you hear on the verandas and patios, although the hadeda ibis don’t care about five-star hotels — they just fly overhead cackling loudly.

There’s more than one reason why Richard Branson, Desmond Tutu and Kofi Annan have stayed at 10 2nd Avenue Houghton Estate. Films are shot here and the house is known to millions of South African TV viewers as Edward’s Mansion in the soap opera, “Egoli, Place of Gold.”

With 14 rooms and a presidential suite, 10 2nd Avenue Houghton Estate hotel started out as a house built in 1932 in the wealthy Houghton suburb. Converted to a hotel in 2003, the bedrooms of the main house are now several small, intimate dining rooms, each with its own fireplace and one or two tables. The floor tiles are original to the house. The menu changes daily and guests give rave reviews of the food.

You can dine outside on the terrace overlooking the tranquil garden if you choose. If you sit down in any of the hotel’s outdoor spaces, you’ll be offered a drink within minutes, and probably a biltong snack.

I loved strolling around the courtyard fountain, and found many inviting areas where I wanted to pause including a bar overlooking the pool.

My room was the kind of room that makes you want to take deep breaths and hold it in for a while. When I returned after being away a few hours, there was a biltong snack under a small glass dome next to my bed and a glass bottle of water. On the tea and coffee tray were filtered coffee sachets and delectable shortbread snacks.

My spacious bathroom was above and beyond with high-end hair care products, and it seemed mandatory after showering to step into the robe and slippers that had been placed near my bed.

The bed was divine. I didn’t want to go to sleep, it was so nice.

Next to my bed in an envelope with my name on it was information about nearby attractions such as the Rosebank Mall, a night market, botanical gardens and Theater on the Square at Mandela Square.

All the south-facing rooms in the hotel have fireplaces and upstairs was a cozy library with guest computer and free, unlimited Wi-Fi throughout.

The champagne breakfast the next morning was a lavish affair with cheese (asiago, emmental and fontina) and meat platters (salami, pastrami and peppered ham), muesli, yogurt, honey and fresh and dried fruit. Apple and pear muffins, custard pastries and flapjacks with golden syrup were just a few of the offerings.

Forget the diet.

Forget ever wanting anything. Here, just for a moment, you have it all.

Everything was beautifully taken care of by an attentive staff that worked together as a team to make sure I was happy.