Located just outside the town of Stellenbosch, the Protea Hotel Stellenbosch offers a convenient base from which to explore the surrounding winelands. However, the hotel’s real strength lies in its value as a business destination.

The largest conferencing venue in the area, the hotel has three large conference rooms, which can be broken down into smaller rooms and can seat a total of 880 guests (cinema seating). The conference rooms, which all come with the latest audio-visual equipment, can also be used for gala dinners or wedding receptions. One of the draw-cards of the hotel is that, due to fiber optic cables, it has the fastest internet speed in the area – possibly, I was told, in the whole of Cape Town. All guests get 100MB of free WiFi per room per day.

With the exception of the executive rooms, all of the rooms (176 of them) are situated apart from the main hotel building. As a result of this, there is plenty of parking and the rooms are spacious and surprisingly quiet at night. The deluxe rooms come with their own lounges and kitchenettes. For larger groups or families, a standard and deluxe room can be conveniently combined to create an apartment. Although the location, Techno Park, sounds offputtingly like an industrial area, all of the rooms have fantastic views of the Kleine Zalze and Blaauwklippen wine estates.

The hotel has two restaurants – Cultivar Restaurant, which serves buffets, and the Vineyard Restaurant and Lounge, which serves à la carte dinners. However, given the proximity, it is well worth splashing out and eating at least once at the award-winning Terroir restaurant, which is situated on the nearby Kleine Zalze estate.

The hotel is conveniently located close to two golf courses – Stellenbosch and De Zalze. There is no gym at the hotel; however, you can access to the boutique gym across the road for free. There is also a large exercise pool and a smaller heated pool.