Life ?????
sought a private weekend retreat, it didn’ttake them long to decide the gardens had to be shared with the public, and they opened the estate in 2010 after a full revamp.
New offerings soon followed: a farm shop, butchery, bakery, coffee shop, and store for dairy essentials each a rustic stop, with a touch of glamour.
The estate also recently opened a Story of Wine museum and, with the purchase of the adjacent Backsberg wine estate two years ago, there will no doubt be further additions to what’s on offer.
There’s a lot of retail going on, from fresh farm produce to baked goods, from croissants to rustic loaves and there’s a new gelato shop. Olives, almonds and fresh produce are hardly new age, but the packaging is gorgeous. And you can order these goods with free delivery in urban centres such as Joburg and Cape Town.
Then there are items such as gold hosepipes and spades for more than R1,000, whichmake the garden shop feel more Harrods than your local neighbourhood store.
So it’s perhaps understandable that locals may feel a bit overwhelmed: this is no longer a place they can pop into to buy bread, milk and a few bits and bobs. Today, there’s a ticket office and entrance fee though a guide tells the FM that R100 gives annual membership and access, and this money provides the farmworkers with proper meals every day of the year.
Last year, Babylonstoren opened a new hot spa (hotel guests have 24-hour access). It’s one of the few facilities in South Africa to offer a Turkish bath, or hammam along with the sauna and steam rooms and there’s also a traditional Rasul chamber.
The large indoor-outdoor pool area allows you to connect with nature, with views of the vineyards and blue sky through large windows. You can also order some home-grown fare from the Greenhouse Restaurant menu here.
There are several hotel options for those looking to stay over, with rooms that offer a rustic elegance that is both stylish and inviting. The garden cottages have thick whitewashed walls and hearty fireplaces. Inside, Cape Dutch meets Scandi chic. The cottage the FM stayed in had a glass extension to the kitchen that felt like its own conservatory, offering views into the vineyards.
Then there’s the food. Dinner atBabel was delicious and in line with the farm-to-table theme, with only the freshest ingredients on offer and presented in a sophisticated manner. Still, it’s not overly complicated fare; expect lots of fresh food and herbs.
Lovely touches included giving flowers to women celebrating their birthdays, and allowing children to
The signature yellow salad
pick fresh strawberries from a bountifulbasket.
The breakfasts are on another level, with colourful fruit creating an artful display, and seasonal juices include a tangerine-coloured prickly pear. What isn’t produced in-house is sourced locally.
Babylonstoren has been a huge success it’s a regular on globalmust-see lists, and in recent years it’s been recognised by CondéNast as the No 1 hotel in Southern Africa (2022), and by Travel & Leisure readers as the best resort in Africa (2023).