The Retreat is a Victorian farmhouse set in 560ha of the beautiful Groenfontein Valley Conservancy, bordering on the 129 000ha Swartberg Nature Reserve. The house, filled with yellow-wood and mellow Oregon pine, has a lounge and dining room - each with its own ceramic fireplace to keep them cosy on chilly winter evenings - leading onto a wide verandah, overlooking the sweeping gardens and majestic Swartberg mountains. Your Hosts, Grant and Marie, enjoy treating guests to true Klein Karoo hospitality. The smell of fresh coffee welcomes you back from a morning walk, to a hearty breakfast on the terrace, where dinner - cooked with Marie's continental flair - is also served when the weather is warm. Vegetarians are welcome and establishment cater for problem diets. The meals at Groenfontein have a health emphasis, using herbs and vegetables from the garden. Our Guests can enjoy Karoo lamb dishes and local Cape specialties. Meals are served under the stars on the veranda in the summer or in the beautiful dining room, with a crackling fire, during the cold winter evenings. The Retreat has a full liquor licence and carries a selection of fine wines of the region.
There are five comfortable en-suite bedrooms in the main house, with French doors opening onto a patio. Two suites in a new garden annexe have breathtaking views of the mountains from their private terrace. The Retreat is ideally situated for day trips to the Swartberg Pass, Meiringspoort, Seweweekspoort, Montagu Pass, the coast and more. Enjoy energetic hill walks or mountain biking in the clear air - or lazy summer afternoons cooling off in the shady, secluded rock pools that sparkle like jewels along the length of the tree-fringed river - or simply stroll along the peaceful, winding lanes of the Groenfontein Valley.
THE ROOMS: This lovely home has 5 comfortable en-suite bedrooms with French doors leading onto a patio, and 2 luxury rooms in a converted weaving-shed, both with King-size beds, which can be made up as twins, the larger with a Victorian bath and shower and a magnificent view of the mountains, the smaller with shower and a view from the verandah; while in the main house, the lounge and dining room - each with a fireplace - lead onto the verandah overlooking the sweeping garden and majestic Swartberg. The Retreat with its historically intact, charming architecture is one of the Western Cape's best kept secrets. It lies in the secluded Groenfontein Valley. The 560 Hectare property borders on Cape Nature Conservation land, the Swartberg Nature Reserve, and is traversed by the crystal clear Nel's River, which rises in the Swartberg mountains and feeds the Calitzdorp dam.
Establishment is only four and a half hours from both Cape Town and Port Elizabeth, and one and a half hours from George Airport. We are situated 20kms north east of Calitzdorp and the magical Route 62, and 59km northwest of Oudtshoorn. The Groenfontein road also continues to the famous Cango Caves (38 kms to east), and via the Swartberg Pass to the Karoo Town of Prince Albert through breathtaking scenery.