Its wine route offers about 150 estates to visit – which makes Stellenbosch a youthful, stylish town worth visiting often. Here’s where to check-in.
By Pippa de Bruyn & Anton Crone
What we found about accommodation in and around Stellenbosch:
• No surprise. Stellenbosch is blessed with choices across all hospitality categories. Most start at around R750 per person, though we found a few good options for budget seekers. For those with luxury in mind, the options are also good as special offers for South Africans abound.
• The town addresses to look out for are Church Street, Dorp Street and Die Laan – the 18th-century track that linked the old Drostdy with the road to Jonkershoek. If you prefer farm stays, look at options located at the end of cul-de-sacs rather than off busy routes. Jonkershoek, Helshoogte and Devon Valley are particularly scenic areas.
• There are plenty of one-bedroom or studio options and a few two- or three-bedroom apartments, but expansive villas catering to a large extended family, or friends wanting to gather for a special occasion, are limited.
Best Overall
1. Lanzerac Wine Estate
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For luxury, hospitality, service and setting there’s no competition here. Lanzerac’s staff are the friendliest and most accommodating we’ve met in a long while; you’re at ease the moment you meet them – they take care of everything. The spacious rooms, recently re-decorated, are classic contemporary in style. No two are alike; each with its own distinct setting in expansive gardens, courtyards or vineyards. You’ll be tempted to come back and try another room for a different experience. Three swimming pools are available to guests and four of the suites have their own private pools. The expansive spa and hydro has the best view looking out over the vineyards towards Jonkershoek Nature Reserve and its mountains. Relax after a treatment on the large shaded deck to take it all in, glass of Lanzerac MCC Blanc de Blancs close at hand.
Room tip: Suite 105 (the only suite with its own steam room, including a private pool, fireplace, lounge, underfloor heating, stocked and complimentary minibar).
Cost: From R3975 for two in a classic room including breakfast daily, complete with tea & coffee, select mini-bar, replenished once daily, complimentary use of the Spa’s hydro facilities, a complimentary wine tasting of 5 Lanzerac Estate wines at the Lanzerac Tasting Room, a complimentary cellar tour of the Lanzerac Winery, complimentary transfer service between the Hotel and Stellenbosch town at set times.
Contact: 021 887 1132, lanzerac.co.za
Best View
2. Banhoek Lodge
Wow. That’s the gut response when you walk into your room, the floor-to-ceiling slide-and-fold doors swept back to frame the perfect views of this tiny valley dwarfed by the surrounding mountains. The seven-room lodge is beautifully furnished, but it’s the location that sets it apart. Surrounded by vineyards, it’s built on a terrace at the base of the Helshoogte Pass, a road with perhaps the most extraordinary views in the Winelands (a region hardly short on competition). It’s a view for which you can expect to pay: just a few hundred metres above is Clouds (from R2,250 a room) and Delaire Graff (lodges from R14,550) so you see what exceptional value Banhoek Lodge offers. It’s within walking distance of five wine-tasting rooms (including Thelema, one of my all-time favourites) and three superb dining options: Delaire Graff, Indochine or Tokara. How wonderful to stroll back after a tasting, or lunch, perhaps to an in-room spa treatment. I can’t wait to return.
Room tip: All seven rooms have the same gorgeous view and amenities (including a fireplace, underfloor heating, stocked minibar), but I particularly liked the mountain-facing suite, a corner unit that has a truly gobsmacking view.
Cost: From R1250 per person sharing B&B, including complimentary wine tasting vouchers for nearby Thelema and Zorgvliet wine estates.
Contact: 0218851791, banhoeklodge.co.za
Best guesthouse
3. River Manor
Located in two adjacent manor houses on oak-lined Die Laan, River Manor Boutique Hotel has been one of my top choices since I started reviewing in 1998. The new owners have revamped the rooms and decor, and spruced up the grounds, so it’s looking better than ever. The rooms – now more pared down and uncluttered – are comfortable, but it’s the elegant public spaces that are the real visual treat, as is the well-groomed garden they overlook. River Manor has one of the largest pools in town, with plenty of loungers to relax on, and pretty tables on deep shaded verandas. Its location is great too: it feels like you’re embedded in a residential suburb, yet you’re a two-minute stroll from Stellenbosch’s historic heart. River Manor has plenty of hotel services, such as 24-hour reception and a daily turn-down, but there’s no restaurant per se (there’s a bar and light snacks are served), so I rate it as a guest house. There’s one caveat: it’s billed as being ‘on the banks of the Eerste River’ – a bit of a misnomer, as the river runs through a manmade channel on the other side of the road.
Room tip: I like all the upstairs rooms but the studio room is the bargain.
Cost: From R1193 per person sharing B&B.
Contact: 0218879944, rivermanor.co.za
Best hotel in town
4. Coopmanhuijs
The TripAdvisor reviewers are spot on – this 16-room five-star is the best hotel in town. First off is the location: overlooking delightful Church Street, diagonally across from pretty Oude Werf (another great hotel, but not as intimate or plush). Then there is the sense of history: built in 1713, this was one of the first residences in Stellenbosch, and it took the current owners three years to carefully craft its current incarnation. They have done a superb job, creating a timeless gem with an atmosphere that is reminiscent of those grand, old European hotels. Its neo-Georgian facade is unchanged, and the interiors have been skilfully done, with several carpeted staircases leading to rooms tucked away in various corners, and a sense of discreet opulence. There’s a serene courtyard at the back, centred on a pool, but the charming front terrace with its wrought-iron tables is the ideal place to watch the passing parade. Service and food are excellent: dining on a superb steak Béarnaise, looked after by an ebullient waitron, one can be forgiven for wishing that time could just stand still. Even if you can’t stay at Coopmanhuijs, do book at least one meal here at Helena’s.
Room tip: It’s popular so you’ll take what you can get! There are five room categories; all equally good. If you’re on a budget, consider booking into its sister property, the three-star Stellenbosch Hotel: it is also accessed from Church Street but without the prime location, with prices from R1160 for two sharing B&B. (stellenboschhotel.co.za).
Cost: From R1860 for two sharing B&B.
Contact: 0218873644, coopmanhuijs.co.za
Smartest self-catering
5. Collection Luxury Apartments
I love the vibrant atmosphere of Church Street, with its two-storey balconies above the bars and restaurants that line this leafy, single-lane hub. If you want to rent a self-catering apartment with five-star facilities here, Luxury Apartments is professionally managed by Phillip Woest, who personally handpicks his collection. He offers a choice of three on Church: two studios in the Oudehoek block, on the corner of Andringa Street, and a twobedroom apartment on the corner of Church and Ryneveld. Rozenhof Villa is a three-bedroom apartment on Dorp Street, which is lined with historic buildings. (Phillip has another apartment on De Zalze golf estate, but unless you’re a golfer it’s better to be in town.) All bedrooms are en-suite, and finishes and furniture throughout are top notch. Each apartment has its own dedicated housekeeper, and comes stocked with Nespresso pods, rusks, chocolate, milk and bottled water.
Contact: From R1600 a night (sleeps two).
Contact: 0764494080, luxuryapartments.co.za
Best for romance
6. Rest @ Chabivin Vineyard Studio
This spacious open-plan cottage, set amid the vines, is well decorated and beautifully equipped (I loved the coffee grinder and fresh beans), but it’s the large deck into which the owners have set a wood-fired hot tub that really gets the pulse racing. I’ve encountered a few of these eco-friendly tubs recently (they’re very popular in the Breede River Valley), and they are a real delight. Luxuriating in a large body of steaming water, watching the chimney smoke curl up into a starry heaven, is pure bliss. Also on the deck, within view of the tub, is a raised firepit. For those who prefer series to ‘bush TV’, there is a mobile tablet loaded with Netflix that connects to the flatscreen television. There’s also a Spotify music library (with Bluetooth speaker). There’s an indoor wood-burning combustion stove and open-plan bathroom with shower and bath.
Room tip: Vineyard Studio is visually private but do note that there is an adjacent two-bedroom cottage which, depending on the age of your temporary neighbours, could disturb your peace.
Cost: R1400 a night (sleeps two).
Contact: 0833242711, restatchabivin.co.za
Don’t miss this:
• Visit the Dylan Lewis Sculpture Garden, on the slopes of Stellenbosch Mountain.
• Watch a drive-in movie at Boschendal Wine Estate.
• Pop into SMAC Gallery in Church Street to check out the latest exhibition.
• Try the gourmet wares and handmade ice cream, with flavours such as rooibos, banana bread and butter pecan, at Creme de Levain in Dorp Street.
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Pictures: Anton Crone/Supplied
