FACED WITH THE pro- spect of spending a night in a "rondawel", a traditional South African hut-like dwelling, one might anticipate the sound of crickets chirping, and perhaps the roar of the occasional far-away (one hopes) lion. You definitely wouldn't expect to be listening to the gentle lapping of Loch Tay. These little curved-walled huts are more normally found at game lodges in Africa, rather than in the middle of rainy Perthshire.
That is, until the recently completed £1.6 million overhaul of Ardeonaig Hotel by Pete and Sara Gottgens.
The couple have owned the hotel since 2003 and, with the blessing of their regular guests, have sympathetically redesigned the interior of th
e main 17th-century house, as well as installing five of these specially constructed rondawels (pronounced ron-da-vels) in their 14 acres of grounds.
You might think these tribal houses would look incongruous in the Scottish countryside but in fact they blend in beautifully.
"We think they work so well because they're similar to Highland crannogs, the houses on stilts that used to sit in lochs, and we've thatched them in a traditional Scottish manner," says Sara. "They fit perfectly with the local scenery, beside the burn that runs through the gardens, and they are surprisingly spacious."
She's right. The rondawels are really rather Tardis-like. Inside, there's a sitting area, large bedroom and spacious wet-room with a double-ended roll-top bath. As Pete, the South African half of the couple, points out, they wouldn't have been able to fit quite so much into these open-plan spaces if they had kept the huts, as tradition dictates, completely in the round.
"We actually had to make them octagonal," he says. "If the walls had been rounded, it would have been a waste of space, as furniture wouldn't have been able to sit flush against any of the walls."
The imported dark-wood beds and chairs are a focus of each property, so losing any potential space would have been a terrible waste of Sara's vision. She has been able to use her design knowledge and contacts book – she once worked as a buyer for Marks & Spencer's homeware division – to get every inch of the interior of these seven-metre wide huts up to standard.
Out of Africa-esque white mosquito (or should that be midge) nets feature in some of the bedrooms, hanging from the ceiling and draping romantically over the bedsteads. Sara's tastes are pretty refined, however, so don't expect any theatrical animal pelts or wooden souvenir carvings.
"I just wanted to take what I, personally, think is fantastic about South African design," she says.
"We imported almost everything from over there. The fabrics that I chose for the rondawels are quite simple, as I wanted a safari lodge feel. So, I went for a lot of linen and cotton material for the blinds and the curtains. For the upholstery I chose chenille and velour for added texture and warmth."
The pieces that were not sent over in huge packing crates were chosen at design shows in London and Birmingham. The authentic-looking framed seed-pods that hang above the beds and feature dried marupa leaves and sea beans were sourced from UK-based company, Florentine Designs.
The result of all this intensive styling and sourcing is what Pete describes as a "Scottish colonial feel".
The look continues into the main house, where there are 20 rooms and two luxurious garden suites.
Another space with a flavour of the Western Cape is The Cellar dining room. Here, Sara has lined the walls with wine bottles imported straight from the likes of Stellenbosch. The accompanying food, which Pete oversees as head chef, combines familiar Scottish cuisine with South African specialities, such as chocolate mielie meal pudding.
The furniture here continues the look of the rest of the hotel.
"The tables are made out of yellow-wood and mahogany," explains Sara. "They're the exact same tables they have in the oldest vineyard in South Africa, which is in Constantia. We wanted to give The Cellar dining room a really authentic feel."
Alongside the tables, the traditional "wimpy" chairs, made from wood and woven leather string, are also originals. These were imported, along with all the other pieces, in one of the two massive crates, which were freighted over by sea.
Reinventing Ardeonaig Hotel has clearly been a huge project for the Gottgens but now, after seven months of non-stop hard work, the couple hope they can take a break from jetting back and forth between Scotland and South Africa and concentrate on keeping their pioneering, vineyard spirit alive in rural Perthshire.
So, if you're after a little of the exotic up north, Ardeonaig could well be the destination for you. If you're more of a traditionalist, however, you can visit safe in the knowledge that they have left all the original features of the 17th-century house, including the beams and combed walls, untouched. It's this unusual blend of cultures that is surely going to be attractive to prospective guests. For Pete, though, the addition of the little huts in the grounds is not just a business project, it's part of his personal journey.
"The Scots were hugely influential in South Africa," he explains. "My ancestors started out over here, before emigrating. Now, I've returned to this country and brought a little bit of South Africa with me. I don't want to sound corny, but I really feel like I've completed the loop."
Ardeonaig Hotel and Restaurant, South Road, Loch Tay, Ardeonaig, Perthshire (tel: 01567 820400, www.ardeonaig hotel.co.uk).The full article contains 941 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
