About the owners
Franschhoek, South Africa, has always held an undisputable allure for Angie and Joey Diamond, a power couple that lived in Bantry Bay, Cape Town, until 1999. As Angie says, what’s not to love? It's the perfect place to live - just look around at the graceful slope of the Franschhoek mountains or take off your city shoes and get your feet wet in the gently coursing Stony Brook River and you'll understand. A business man to the core, Joey always knew he wanted to 'retire' to winemaking as soon as corporate life became too much. The couple originally purchased Klein Genot purely as a wine venture and family estate, only deciding to branch out into accommodation as an afterthought. And what an afterthought it turned out to be!
The Diamonds stumbled upon Klein Genot in June of 1999. After lying fallow for many years, the 30 hectare farm was overrun with as many as 25 000 alien trees that were sapping every last bit of the nutrients and moisture the soil held. The Stony Brook River was heavily eroded, as was the dam that now houses a few graceful swans and forms a delightful focal point. Engineers were called in to correct the erosion and facilitate proper drainage while Angie and her team set out to remove the unwanted alien foliage. This took them the larger part of a year!
Once the estate was cleaned up, 365 fruit trees were planted, spanning an amazing 34 varieties (including litchi, mango and cherry). The fruit trees are a salute to Angie's childhood in Namibia. As children, whenever Angie and her siblings were too warm to sleep, they would busy themselves by pinching fruit from the trees right outside their windows - something she wanted to recreate for Klein Genot's visitors. Today every visitor to this Franschhoek farm has access to a private balcony, mere centimeters away from the arbor and its sun ripened fruit.
Angie wants her guests to take with them a feeling of genuine African hospitality, as well as a sense of ownership and exceptional service. She doesn't care for CV's and instead employs her staff intuitively, claiming she can tell whether or not someone would be a good addition to the Klein Genot team as soon as she shakes their hand. She prefers 'rough diamonds' (excuse the pun) - untrained individuals with initiative and a willingness to learn, which she can gently mold into representatives for Klein Genot. Page through the visitor's book and you'll soon notice that almost every single inscription mentions the excellent service that makes up a big part of the estate's unique charm.
Joey still attends his business, driving to and from Cape Town quite often, but Klein Genot is very much Angie's baby. You'll find her flitting about the property at all hours, plumping pillows, chatting to visitors and instructing her staff. Nothing escapes her eagle eye, whether it is a loose thread on a couch's upholstery or a strange bubbling in the koi pond, she is quick to notice and take action. The Diamonds' dedication to their estate is palpable and their deeply caring philosophy is a refreshing change from the sterile accommodation options that seem to be today's norm. No matter which way you slice it, a stay at this Franschhoek hotel is a breath of fresh air.