KwaZulu-Natal’s Midlands Meander is a foodie’s dream: a winding route through a beautiful countryside of rolling emerald-green fields, dotted with farm stalls, cheese farms, country cafes, gourmet restaurants and charming guesthouses and hotels serving country fare. One of the unmissable highlights of this route is Hartford House, an elegant hotel set on a leafy stud farm with an award-winning restaurant that matches the luxurious accommodation.

Executive chef Jackie Cameron, who’s been at the helm of the hotel’s restaurant for several years, has won numerous awards along the way, placing Hartford House firmly on the country’s gourmet hit list. Five-course dinners feature innovative, playful, sophisticated and exquisitely presented dishes – think caramelised onion soup served with wholegrain mustard and sesame seed ice cream, smoked salmon salad-nori terrine with quail eggs and deconstructed ‘peanut butter and syrup on toast’ – peanut-sauce semi- freddo, maple syrup ice cream, sugar glazed banana and vanilla creme anglaise. Breakfasts are equally spectacular – three-course affairs that feature starters, main and dessert (the Maltabella ice cream topped with Amarula cream was a stand out).

Suites in the elegant colonial antique-filled manor house (where you eat dinner in the formal dining room and breakfast on the sunny veranda) are the most affordable, and there are garden and pool suites spread out on the lush lawns, but it’s definitely worth spending a bit more to stay in one of four suites overlooking the estate’s lake. These apartment-sized suites feature spacious lounges, private plunge or rock pools, luxury finishes and contemporary Afro-chic décor.

Even if you’re not an equestrian person, it will be hard not to be charmed by the beautiful horses on the stud farm (which is home to prize stallions belonging to the rulers of Dubai). Take long walks around the beautiful farm to meet some of the horses, or go on guided horse rides. Other activities include trout and bass fishing lessons, spa treatments, guided trips to the historic battlefields in the area, swimming and tennis.