With miles of unspoilt white beaches and its warmer waters, Arniston is a pretty village which makes for a fantastic weekend escape. If you go now, you’ll spot some whales. Photographs by Teagan Cunniffe.
How it works
TripAdvisor lists accommodation rated by guests, but as much as we love peer reviews, they don’t offer a comparative voice. So how do we know if Number 1 really is the best? Pippa de Bruyn, who has reviewed accommodation for 18 years for the likes of Frommer’s and the UK’s The Telegraph, scours TripAdvisor and other online sites when researching a destination. For Arniston, she created a long list of 29 to inspect. The following made the cut.
What we learnt about accommodation in Arnistorn
• There are two letting agents: Arniston-Etnas has the largest selection, with 62 options – arniston-etnas.co.za. Arniston Letting has fewer (36 options) but represents some of the best properties – arniston-letting.co.za.
• It’s a predominantly self-catering destination so TripAdvisor representation is thin. There are no stand-out B&Bs. Self-catering is geared to larger groups with few one- or two-bedroom options. Most are two-day minimum rentals.
• Given the beauty all around, it’s surprising how run down and shoddily maintained many places are. Needless to say, the properties featured on these pages are all in top nick.
• A large indoor braai – in the kitchen and/or enclosed lounge or sunroom – as well as an outdoor braai is a common feature of many Arniston houses. Nifty for those who really love to braai when the wind is blowing (which it does).
• Just about everything is within walking distance, so unless you really want a seafront location, it’s not that important. When booking, do ask how long the walk to Roman (best swimming) Beach and Harbour Beach is.
Best-value luxury without a sea view
1. Pirate Hill
Unlisted
Artist Linda Radford has spent a decade transforming a double-storey barn-like structure into a character-filled space that is much more textured than the more predictable beach-house style. The central open-plan living area, centred on a large fireplace, is filled with an interesting collection of furniture, much of it mid-century modern mixed with some Cape vintage pieces. Walls are a deep green sage and industrial steel-framed windows create a good contrast with the traditional thatched roof. The kitchen – modern and well equipped – is made for entertaining, overlooking a 10-seater dining table. The whole feel is eclectic and cosy, and who cares about the sea when you’re watching the sun go down over the fynbos plains from the upstairs deck? Linda’s managed to coax a fairly lush fynbos garden from the thin Arniston soil.
Room tip: The two upstairs bedrooms with king-size beds are the ones to bag, but all four are en-suite and in their own wings – two upstairs on either end of a mezzanine walkway, with the same configuration mirrored below.
Cost: From R2000 (sleeps 10).
Contact: 0833055140, arniston-letting.co.za
Most atmospheric beach cottage
2. Busch House
Unlisted
One of the first holiday homes to be built in Arniston, this charming low-slung 1940s house with its thatched roof and thick whitewashed walls has been in the same family for almost 50 years and exudes a well-loved aura. Kyra Schlebusch inherited it two decades ago and has slowly but surely imprinted her distinctive decor style, ‘doing something new every year’: a fireplace one year, a deep watertank-style plunge pool the next, built-in seating in the back garden, a decadent walk-in shower room, an outside en-suite guest room, and so on. The result is a barefoot-chic, easy-living beach house that feels more Churchhaven than Arniston, only more affordable. There are four bedrooms (sharing two bathrooms) in the house, plus the outside unit.
Room tip: For privacy, bag the outside suite.
Cost: From R3600 (sleeps 10).
Contact: 0828991549, inhoek.com
Best hotel stay
3. Arniston Spa Hotel
Tripadvisor No. 1 of 2 Hotels.
There is so much to like about this welcoming, unpretentious four-star hotel. Affordable, spotless, comfortable accommodation right on the seafront is already a big tick, but staff are also super, food satisfying and the rooms generously sized, with up-todate bathrooms. Then there’s the value-for-money rate that encourages an interesting mix of clientele – tattooed locals in slip-slops and tracksuits next to tables murmuring German or French, all gazing at the many-hued blues that draw the world to Arniston. There’s a bit of rust in the lift and staircase (that corrosive sea air) but overall maintenance is great – I inspected 10 rooms and they were all in great shape. Breakfast is a hot-meal station and great big buffet that serves up just about anything you could possibly want to kick-start the day, including bubbly.
Room tip: The best are those facing the sea on the top two floors. With the exception of rooms on the ground floor (where privacy can be an issue), it’s definitely worth booking a sea view (from R370 more) – but they are popular. Number 223 is the best pool-view room, with an oblique view of the sea from the bed and balcony.
Cost: Doubles from R1100 B&B.
Contact: 0284459000, arnistonhotel.com
Best contemporary beach house
4. Whale House
Unlisted
If you want to be a lob from Roman Beach and enjoy wrap-around sea and harbour views, and prefer modern interiors, then Whale House is a class-act choice. This airy open-plan beach house, on an elevated foundation, has been artfully renovated by its Franschhoek-based owners to create a main living space upstairs with large glass windows and sliding doors onto a large deck, really making the most of the elevated views. On the same level are two en-suite bedrooms. Very sensibly they have created two more bedrooms downstairs (sharing a bathroom) on either side of an open-plan TV lounge with fireplace, making this a cosy hideaway for kids. By far the best option on sought-after Harbour Street.
Room tip: There is only one double bed. Suitable for families travelling with children old enough to sleep on another level (downstairs).
Cost: From R2700 (sleeps eight). Minimum stay three nights (in season, seven nights).
Contact: 0833055140, arniston-letting.co.za
Best for big groups and celebrations
5. Inhoek Farm
Unlisted
When Kyra and Tom Schlebusch purchased this farm on the outskirts of Arniston (five minutes’ drive; ‘close enough to hear the sea’), it was derelict. Too small for agricultural purposes, the couple started chopping out aliens and transforming a swampy 6 x 8m hole into a fabulous swimming dam while they continued farming nearby. In 2013 they sold that farm and decided to build a large four-bedroom holiday house (fabulously furnished, with a wrap-around veranda, this is a real spoil). From here the project grew. ‘After the house came the cottages (Thelma, Madeleine and Mo), then someone said the sheds would make a marvellous function venue.’ They are too; recently Kyra – bowing to popular demand – opened a pop-up restaurant in one. ‘Sometimes I feel I’m bullied into things,’ she quips, ‘but things just fall into place.’ A very good place, as it happens.
Room tip: The farm sleeps 22 in total. The two bigger cottages are quite far from the farmhouse but close to each other – a great getaway if you’re six or eight people.
Cost: Farmhouse from R5600 (sleeps 12). Cottages from R1400 (sleep two to four).
Contact: 0828991549, inhoek.com
Best four-bedroom sea view
6. The Beach House
Unlisted
A contemporary, double-storey classic beach house, predominantly white, and well-furnished by owners Mike and Linda Pitt. Cleverly designed to provide sea views from three of the four bedrooms, and the decision to place the main living area upstairs delivers a wonderful sense of space beyond the large open-plan kitchen, dining and lounge, and outdoor balcony with braai enjoying great views. There is one en-suite bedroom on this floor; downstairs are two sharing a bathroom, an en-suite bedroom (shower only; no view) and another living area. Close to the hotel and Harbour Beach.
Room tip: There is an outside room that the owners loathe to rent out – it’s not in the same class as the rooms in the house but it is neat and clean. Worth knowing if there are nine or 10 of you (strictly no more!).
Cost: From R3 500 (sleeps eight).
Contact: 0833055140, arniston-letting.co.za
Best three bedroom house
7. Slipway
Unlisted
A classic thatched Arniston cottage built on a slightly raised stone-clad foundation, with partial sea views from the downstairs deck and a good sea view from the upstairs one. It accommodates four people in two bedrooms in the main house (sharing a bathroom, making this more suitable for family than friends) and two in a spacious en-suite cottage (as opposed to a converted garage or staff quarters, as is often the case). Furnished with practical, pleasing pieces (not a plastic chair in sight), there is an enormous hearth-like fireplace on the deep, semi-enclosed veranda and another in the kitchen, plus a wind-protected outdoor braai. The house is set back one block from the harbour area, a two-minute stroll from Harbour Beach. A great option for a small, multi-generational family.
Room tip: If Slipway is full, enquire about Seaview, a large apartment (attached to a house) that also sleeps six. It was occupied so I couldn’t inspect interiors but the location is super and it even costs slightly less (from R1500).
Cost: From R2060 (sleeps six).
Contact: 0828184529, arniston-etnas.co.za
Best luxury seafront house
8. Pirates Landing
Unlisted
If there is no budget restriction then this is the best option in the village: a large, luxuriously dressed house with a prime location on the elevated ridge overlooking the harbour and hotel. Harbour Beach is a minute’s walk away; Roman Beach is five to 10 minutes’ stroll from your front door. It’s a great house for a large group: the open-plan living space is huge, the four bedrooms are all en-suite, there’s a plunge pool in the wind-protected back courtyard and three braai options (sea-facing braai pit, in the pool courtyard or a built-in braai in the kitchen). Decor is classic beach house – all white walls and white wicker chairs with tasteful stripes. It’s pricier than The Beach House or Busch House, but that doesn’t stop it being booked out months in advance.
Room tip: If you have first dibs, opt for the upstairs loft-style room in the eaves. There is also a separate en-suite flatlet.
Cost: R6700 (sleeps 10).
Contact: arniston-etnas.co.za
Worth a look
9. Clydesdale House
A nondescript exterior hides a smartly decorated home with a modern kitchen, scrupulously maintained by owner Sunell Human. There’s a fairly unobstructed view from the patio towards the hotel and harbour. Sleeps six in three bedrooms.
Cost: From R2500.
Contact: 0824446967, capestay.co.za
10. Napier Street
The best self-catering option I saw for a couple, solo traveller or small family. It comprises two compact ground-floor flats under the main house. Unit 1 sleeps two adults and a child, and has a small private patio (from R500); Unit 2 sleeps three or five (an extra room with a double bed can be added) and has a sea view from its balcony. A smattering of antiques add character.
Cost: From R900.
Contact: arniston-letting.co.za
11. Nautilus
Another house owner who has partitioned off the ground floor for rental. It’s a one-minute walk to Harbour Beach, is well furnished and has one of the classic indoor braai hearths in the kitchen. Sleeps seven in three bedrooms.
Cost: From R1400.
Contact: arniston-letting.co.za
12. Full House
This is spot is good-value place has partial sea views and is very conveniently located for either of the swimming beaches, and has a good wind-protected courtyard. The Stellenbosch owners are clearly fastidious – the house is impeccably maintained and equipped. Sleeps 10 in four bedrooms.
Cost: From R2500.
Contact: arniston-letting.co.za
Do this
• Kassiesbaai, the 200-year-old fishing village at the harbour – home to Willeen’s craft shop and restaurant, 0837290651. Wanda’s Waenhuis 0783676672, also a restaurant and the fish and chips shop Richman Poorman, 0739316816.
• The Sterna Hiking Trail is a seven-kilometre circular route through nearby De Mond Nature Reserve, taking in coastal forest, fynbos and dunes. 0284253708
• Long beach walks over dunes towards endless horizons (you may spot the ribs of the Arniston wreck poking out the sand), and long swims in safe, warm waters at Roman Beach.
• Waenhuiskrans Cave.
This story first appeared in the March 2017 issue of Getaway magazine.
Our March issue features a self-catering trip to the Seychelles that you can afford, a karoo secret retreat, learning to fly-fish in Rhodes and a joburg road trip for beer lovers.
