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.
The meals at Groenfontein have a health emphasis, vegetarians are welcome and they cater for problem diets. 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.
This lovely farmhouse has two garden suites and two garden rooms in two annexes with spectacular views of the mountains, king-size beds which can be made up as twins, sitting-areas by a fireplace, three with Victorian bath and shower, the smaller with only shower, the two suites with an extra room with two single beds. We have one cosy standard room in a converted creamery, with king-size bed, fireplace and shower. In the main house, we have three comfortable standard en-suite bedrooms with French doors leading onto a patio. These four rooms do not have mountains views. The guest-lounge and dining-room in the main house, each with a fireplace, lead onto the verandah overlooking the sweeping gardens and majestic Swartberg.
The Retreat is a gracious Victorian farmhouse in the lovely Groenfontein Valley conservancy, bordering on the 129.000ha Swartberg World Heritage Site and situated 20km northeast of Calitzdorp on a winding gravel road, 59km northwest of Oudtshoorn, and 48km southwest of the Cango Caves (gravel and tar roads) just off the magical Route 62.
We enjoy treating guests to true Klein-Karoo hospitality with hearty breakfasts and traditional home cooked dinners served with a continental touch. Vegetarians are welcome and we cater for problem diets. Please let us know if you have any allergies or intolerances. We have a full liquor licence and carry a selection of wines from the region.
Enjoy peaceful walks along the charming lanes of the Groenfontein valley, climb into the foothills of the Swartberg, or simply relax at the pool and let the peace and silence soak into your soul. German, French, Swedish and Italian spoken. Children welcome.
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, 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.
