Setting an early alarm while on vacation never comes easily to me, but making time to wander Babylonstoren’s fruit and vegetable garden before the day’s searing heat took hold was no problem. One of the oldest Cape Dutch farms, set at the foot of Simonsberg in Cape Town’s Franschhoek wine valley, it’s a sprawling, fantastical, technicolor utopia — positively Eden-like, with a lot more than apples to tempt you. Scarecrows made from terracotta plant pots wave from fields teeming with 300 edible crops, fat pomegranates growing alongside tangy tamarillos, willow trees swaying in the breeze. Each morning, the estate’s waiters go out with garden staff to harvest fresh produce, picking everything from the food you see on the menus to the violets that decorate the tables at farm-to-fork restaurant Babel and the Greenhouse. A vineyard and cellar tour shows exactly how 340 acres are used to produce thirteen different grape varieties, which can be tasted, too. The highest vines — Pinot Noir and Chardonnay — lie against the Simonsberg mountains a staggering 800 meters above sea level.
To make things preposterously pleasant, you can sleep over, too — at least one night in a beautifully appointed, whitewashed Fynbos Cottage or larger Family House becoming quite necessary if you plan to explore the estate’s bakery, butchery and boutiques — and that’s before you’ve booked a workshop, wine tasting or treatment in the state-of-the-art spa building. Time spent at Babylonstoren is emblematic of all the very best elements of a Cape Town stay; passionate people helping you make the most of the area’s marvelous natural abundance, and often incredible weather.
A record number of seasonal expats (or “swallows,” as they’re commonly known) flew in to nest there in December 2023. I joined them, swapping my cold hometown for the southern hemisphere’s embarrassment of riches, and ended up staying for two months. These are the spots I’d recommend booking, before everyone else does.
If you like… wine
Stay: Franschhoek stalwart La Residence raises the already sky-high bar for luxury stays on private working farms in the Western Cape. Opulent and secluded, its private. thirty-acre estate is surrounded by mountains and vineyards, iconic yellow pool umbrellas shading the who’s-who of Cape Town taking a break from city life. Artisanal produce is a given in the gourmet capital of South Africa, here served with the world’s best wines under regal high ceilings in a Tuscan-style farmhouse, verdant views stretching all around. My sumptuous room invited pure indulgence, with a private garden area and deep freestanding bath with a view of the mountains.
Eat: Chef Richard Carstens helms the exquisite seasonal restaurant Arkeste, guests seated on sun-dappled outdoor decking. We hitched up our dresses to tackle the scenic (read: hilly) bike ride there from La Residence, toasting our efforts with Chamonix Old Vine Steen planted from a Chenin Blanc vineyard in 1965. The à la carte menu spans the likes of white pepper squid risotto with parsnip, wakame and yuzu for starters, followed by red wine-glazed springbok with greens and blueberries or citrus-glazed linefish with rouille in a bouillabaisse sauce. Truly idyllic.
Drink: The famed Franschhoek Wine Tram comes by every hour and follows a loop of stops at wine estates that allow just enough time for a wine tasting, before passengers hop back on for a quick change of scenery. And another glass. And another…
If you like… art
Stay: Future Found Sanctuary sits quietly in Hout Bay, in the shadow of majestic Table Mountain — a stylish and biodiverse gem so perfect, it’s hard to share. Two separate buildings, architectural masterpieces Maison Noir and Villa Verte, house owner Jim Brett’s extensive art collection, acting as destination galleries in and of themselves with jaw-dropping interiors by prestigious art gallery Southern Guild. Handily located twenty minutes from the delights of Camps Bay and central Cape Town, the serene split-level gardens manage to feel a world away from any bustle. There’s a huge focus on wellness, with five healing gardens spread across seven acres, plus a natural pool for refreshing morning dunks. An expansive menu of regenerative treatments like tai chi, breathwork, kinesiology and acupuncture is truly transformative (a nighttime yoga and sound bath session afforded me my best sleep of the year) while a four room spa and steam room facilitate journeys exploring the five senses. Heaven.
Eat: On days your private chef hasn’t prepared a rainbow of plates piled high with the finest locally foraged ingredients, there’s an abundance of other-worldly restaurants to explore nearby. Tear yourself away from your heated swimming pool to dress up for special occasion spot La Colombe on the iconic Silvermist estate in wine region Constantia — this is French-meets-Asian fine dining doing the absolute most. Even opting for the “reduced” menu, we left spoiled rotten, after gorging on tuna “La Colombe,” quail with crayfish, and karoo lamb with turnip and harissa.
Salsify at the Roundhouse is a fifteen-minute drive away, enjoying a unique position overlooking the (freezing — be warned) Atlantic Ocean. Like all the best restaurants in the area, its menus are driven by the seasons, the stand-out, ten-course Chefs Menu melding diced yellowfin tuna with basil emulsion and ponzu gel, and Durban langoustine with samp mielies salsa. The building’s walls tell a story, too, originally built as a guardhouse for the Dutch East India Company.
Drink: Sunday brunch at The Pot Luck Club is a local institution, elevated dishes (and a stunning elevated dining room, reachable by lift) drawing stylish crowds to get a little tipsy. Bespoke cocktails are deftly muddled by blisteringly cool, tattooed bar staff, proud to talk you through their house-made purées and syrups (they more than delivered when I simply asked for something strong, with a lot of Campari). More than twenty wines from revered local estates are available by the glass, showcasing interesting varietals. Your starter might be an Arnold Bennett (baked smoked haddock omelet) or a masa taco, combining beef sirloin with chimichurri and smoked jalapeño. Spilling out into Neighbourgoods market afterwards is a lot of fun, music blasting as locals leaf through vintage finds at outdoor market stalls.
If you like… culture
Stay: DORP hotel on Signal Hill, delivers culture (and quirkiness) in spades. Is it kooky, unpredictable and a little off-the-wall? Yes. Is it lavish, design-led and suitably indulgent? Also yes. Proclaiming “D” for Decency, “O” for Originality, “R” for Respect and “P” for Psycho, signs on the walls set the tone of a stay here. Rooms in whimsical green, pink and cream color palettes are tastefully put together, cavernous baths and small balconies enjoying sweeping of the Table Mountain, Devil’s Peak and the Twelve Apostles, peeping through Kloof Nek. Separate wing Onderdorp allows for bigger group bookings wanting good-value longer stays right in the thick of it, near important landmarks like the District Six museum.
The Salon is the beating heart of the hotel, where guests gather to talk and play games on squashy armchairs. Refreshingly, no booze is served at all, out of respect for culturally-rich Bo Kaap’s devout Muslim community, but you can bring your own if you so choose. Sensual buffet breakfasts by candlelight and homestyle sharing platters (the roast chicken is incredible) feel comforting and familiar. The urge to somehow recreate the hotel’s intangible, irreverent feel when you fly back home comes on strong. Happily, a boutique sells linen bathrobes and homewares, so you don’t have to pinch anything.
Drink: Before you hit The Athletic Club & Social to brush up on your South African sporting history — or rather, flirt with Dutch and German tourists — stop in at Elgr, a dark and sultry destination spot on Kloof Street. Most know the place best for the Neapolitan-style pizzas flying out of the wood fired oven, designed as great accompaniments to the dizzying cocktail menu. You might try a “Limited Creative Expression,” like a Royal Sour with Don Julio, Grand Marnier and Hone or one of the mixologist’s signatures. I liked the 2 Chai 4, muddling butter-washed Woodford bourbon with house-made spiced chai and milk froth — served hot.
Eat: A restaurant I repeatedly send friends to is Ouzeri, its name referencing Greek taverns that fling out small plates to soak up never-ending shots of ouzo. You can really feel the chef’s connection to top local producers, most evident in one dish I think about on a regular basis — “cream of the crop” halloumi dished up in its own whey, jazzed up with fresh, dry mint from Cyprus. Octopus with potato and caramelized garlic, alongside fakes (lentil soup) with grilled orange summer pumpkin in sherry vinegar and Greek salsa verde, makes the perfect order — all flown in from Greece. But seriously, the halloumi alone is worth making a reservation — and booking your flight.
