Most Luxurious Train in the World - Rovos Rail

As soon as I heard the violin playing on Cape Town station and I stepped off the grey concrete platform onto a red carpet, I knew my trip on Rovos Rail would be one to remember.

I was only going from Cape Town to Pretoria, normally an overnight journey, but on Rovos Rail it takes a leisurely two and a half days of comfort, elegance and utter decadence. Once aboard, absolutely everything, including champagne, is complimentary.

More spacious than any other train

Yourever-vigilant cabin attendant tidies up after you to the point where I could not find anything I had left lying around. You might imagine that in a railway carriage there would not be room to lose a great number of things, but Rovos Rail have a maximum of three cabins per carriage and only two in the Royal carriages.

It is for this reason that they can safely call this the most luxurious train in the world, offering more space than any competitor. ‘The train is an expression of my own taste,’ says owner Rohan Vos, ‘I am very tall so I wanted everything to be roomy from the King size beds to the claw-foot full length baths in the Royal Suites.

The attention to detail is quite astounding from the exquisitely presented food to origami with a bedspread which was folded and rolled into two rose bud shapes with a bottle of champagne and some chocolates nestling in it. The staff were charm itself and the atmosphere totally relaxed with none of the pomposity that luxury sometimes brings out in people.

The journey took us through Cape Town and into the neighbouring lush valleys and rocky mountains of the Cape Winelands, where during lunch, we sipped a creamy wooded Backsberg Chardonnay, just one of the fine wines from the extensive range.

By late afternoon we had crossed the mountain ranges and entered the vast semi-arid plateau called the Karoo, famous for its lamb which was naturally on the menu that night. We stopped at the British flag-flying village of Matjiesfontein where the entire one-street town is a National Monument. It was a renowned Victorian health resort where those suffering from lung complaints found respite in the clear dry air.

It was also a station for British troops during the Boer War and now the beautiful buildings have been restored to allow visitors overnight stays in garden suites, cottages and large creaking rooms in the grand Lord Milner Hotel.