Elgin is more than just apple orchids and the N2 stretch between the Peregrine and Houw Hoek where you can sample some of the best pies. It is home to some really cool wines, literally. Its cool climate means it makes some of the best Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs in the country.
In this quaint, often overlooked, valley, you can enjoy idyllic farm stays, view zebras from a tiny house or stay in a secluded stone cottage while you explore what the valley has to offer. Here’s our selection of some of the best accommodation stays in Elgin.
1. Cherry Clamping
A tiny house taken straight off a Pinterest wall, placed on a hill in Elgin, add a few zebra, Springbok, and Bontebok, and you get Cherry Glamping.
A small kitchen, bed, fireplace, shower and toilet with unmatched views have all been squeezed into a building the size of a shipping container – but still, feel like you have a lot of room.
The woodfired hot tub already had a fire going when we arrived, all that was left to do was pop open a bottle, watch the sunset and watch the zebra come past. And if a hot tub isn’t for you, one of the doors opens up to a hammock-style lounger to lazily pass the time.
- Location: N2 Elgin, 7180
- Website: cherryglamping.co.za
- Contact: 082 788 9837
2. South Hill Vineyards
Situated on a boutique wine farm in the Elgin Valley, Accommodation includes a guesthouse which can sleep up to 12 guests, a honeymoon cottage and their newest instalment and a houseboat on their main dam
The Pumphouse Honeymoon Cottage is located among the vineyards and includes an open-plan living room and kitchen, a deck opening up to the dam, and a private courtyard with a hammock and woodfired hot tub.
The Houseboat is an original refurbished houseboat from the Langebaan Lagoon that provides views of the surrounding mountains, vineyards and of course, rooms opening up onto the vast dam. Be sure to get up early and take the kayak out.
- Location: 113 Elgin Valley Road, Elgin
- Website: Southhill.co.za
- Contact: +27 21 844 0888
3. The Galileo
The Galileo Farm is scattered with several private and secluded cottages among apple orchards. My lodging for the night was “The Shack”, a corrugated iron abode perched alongside a dam.
With a double bed, a kitchen and an indoor fireplace, you can set yourself up nicely, whatever the weather. The kitchen had everything we need to cook up a nice dinner, listen to the hum of frogs while we dine on the deck. At night, the fire cracking was our soundtrack for the night as the flames cast shadows on the high ceiling.
- Location: 72 Highlands Rd, Elgin, Grabouw, 7180
- Website: galileofarm.co.za
- Contact: 082 804 5115
4. Wildekrans Country Lodge
An 1811 Cape Dutch homestead has retained all of its country charms as a guesthouse. Wildekrans is also the home base for hikers doing the Green or Blue Mountain Trail. Antique furniture and contemporary art scattered throughout the home create a cosy – yet relevant – aesthetic with an expansive garden for guests to explore.
Littered with sculptures, the garden has the mountain as its backdrop in this open-air gallery. Take in the country air, contemplate a piece in the , have a dip, read on the grass – this is the place to unwind.
- Location: N2 Houw Hoek, 7180
- Website: greenmountain.co.za/wildekrans
- Contact: 028 284 9827
5. Brookelands Cottage
A gorgeous stone cottage surrounded by trees and the constant flow of a stream, Brooklands Cottage truly feels like a faraway escape. Kitted with a self-catering kitchen, a private outdoor shower, indoor fireplace, the place is perfect for winter andsummer.
As you cross the bridge over the creek, the impressive cottage slowly reveals itself . This enchanting escape is a proper escape, where you forget about the outside world.
- Location: Brookelands Farm, Valley Road, Grabouw, 7160
- Website: elginfarmstay.co.za
- Contact: 082 650 9054
6. The Residence Boutique Hotel
Picture: The Residence
The only five-star hotel in the region, The Residence has played hosts to esteemed guests like Gordon Ramsay and Richard Branson. With its own vegetable garden, the hotel serves hearty meals, has rooms with wood-fired hot tubs and a gorgeous garden that will be your escape while you enjoy the pampered life.
- Location: 11 Essenhout Ave, Swannie River, Grabouw, 7160
- Website: theresidenceelgin.com
- Contact: 072 660 2773
Follow us on social media for more travel news, inspiration, and guides. You can also tag us to be featured.
TikTok | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter
ALSO READ: The 11 best adventure activities in Cape Town
