Hartford House Hotel

This award-winning hotel and restaurant is situated at the Summerhill Stud on the picturesque Midlands Meander in KwaZulu-Natal. An easy drive from Durban and ideally placed as a stop over to the Drakensberg Mountains or Angle-Zulu Battlefields, Hartford House is known as the “Home of Good Conversation, Fine Wine and Classic Horses.”

Peering through the Teak wood door at Hartford House, you see the splendour of the 1800’s. The historic furniture and decor are married with a personalised service befitting the surroundings.

Esteemed guests from around the world make a pilgrimage to the Summerhill Stud to view some of the finest thoroughbreds in the southern hemisphere. Among its most celebrated residents are the champion sires Northern Guest, Home Guard, and National Emblem as well as Kahal, Rambo Dancer and Muhtafal, owned by the Maktoums, the First Family of Dubai. (All hotel guests are invited to take a tour of the stud if they would like.)

As befitting these guests, Hartford House offers the very highest standards of accommodation and food in the magnificent setting of the Drakensberg region. It is a retreat from the hubbub of the fast lane where you can relax by the lake or swimming pool and enjoy the solitude of your surroundings. If you need some activity, choose from a guided horse ride (or course!), fly fishing, tennis or a round on one of the nearby golf courses. The Drakensberg Mountains are a short drive from Hartford House, we can arrange a guide or a self drive route so that you can enjoy the mountain scenery.

Hartford House History
Hartford’s beauty was discovered by the Moor family almost 150 years ago, when they came by its vacant landscape in the early 1870s. Home to the family of John and Sir Frederick Moor, the last prime minister of old Natal, the property is now part of the greater Summerhill estate, former domain of Colonel Richards, a senator in the first Union government.

The Summerhill farmstead hosted the British Royal family for a period of their 1922 visit and the endorsement of the Treaty of Vereeniging by the leader of the local Boer kommando,  General Dawid Joubert, took place on its verandah in 1902.

Rooms at Hartford House
There are 15 suites on the property located either in the Manor House and its gardens or overlooking the lake. Every suite is individually designed and decorated, with most being named after a champion racehorse.

The spacious Lakeside Suites have a more modern feel and have utilised designs and materials taken from traditional Zulu building techniques. They have private patio areas and overlook one of the fly fishing lakes. Kick back and relax in these stunning and innovative properties and enjoy a soak in one of the unique bath tubs

Housed within the precincts of the original manor house, the Manor House Suites are named after the three families that occupied Hartford House for the first 150 years of its existence. The decor is sumptuous and traditional whilst embracing modern conveniences.

The Garden and Pool Suites have a prime location in the stunning gardens of the Manor House. Each suite has been individually designed, and like the other rooms on the estate have en suite bathrooms, a sitting area and a private outdoor patio. Close by are the Verandah Suites which are housed in a converted stable block and are the smallest rooms on the property.

Dining
The superb Hartford House Restaurant offers award winning cuisine of the highest order.

Call us if you would like to hear more about staying at Hartford House on +44 208 249 5919 (UK) or +65 919 412 56 (Asia), or you can contact us here.