The Village at Spier, Winelands: Accommodation Review

The Village at Spier
R310, Lynedoch Road
Stellenbosch, Cape Winelands | Map

Accommodation type: Small hotel on an activity-filled wine estate.
Number of stars: 4
Rooms starting from (per person sharing): R1450 and up
SA Blog recommends? Definitely

Snippet
When it comes to the Village at Spier, a reviewer hardly knows where to start. The small winelands compound on the route from Cape Town to Stellenbosch is a self-contained African Xanadu.

(See full review below.)

Low season specials? Yes
Breakfast included? Yes
Dedicated non-smoking rooms? Yes
Staff friendliness (out of 10): 8
Staff competence (out of 10): 7

Room options: Single, Double, Suite
Room comfort level (out of 10): Not reviewed
Noisy? No
Does the TV remote work? Yes
Fan or A/C? Both
Pool? Yes

Concierge? Yes
Restaurant? Yes
Conference facilities? Yes
Three ink blot adjectives: Lavish, cheetah-friendly (!), fair trade
Value for money? Yes

Booking information
The Village at Spier
PO Box 1078
Lynedoch Road
Stellenbosch 1078
Tel: +27 (0) 21 809 1100, Fax: +27 (0) 21 881 3141

Review
When it comes to the Village at Spier, a reviewer hardly knows where to start. The small winelands compound on the route from Cape Town to Stellenbosch is a self-contained African Xanadu. Among other things, guests have the chance to experience:

• Wine tasting
  From Spier’s own vineyards.
• The Arts
  During Spier’s famous “Summer Arts Season”.
• Cheetahs!
  By visiting the estate’s hand-raised cheetahs, in the care of the Cheetah Outreach Programme.
• Golf
  At the De Zayze Golf Club.
• Food
  In one of the estate’s five restaurants (including the famous Moyo’s).
• Eagles, falcons and vultures
  At the Birds of Prey Rehabilitation Centre.
• Holistic treatments, including aromatherapy and reflexology
  At the Camelot Spa.

The estate’s 155-room hotel boasts not just the standard luxurious single and double rooms, but also special paraplegic-friendly accommodation, and, for families, six interleading ground-floor suites, each with its own pool.

Given this “everything-friendly” approach, it’s no surprise that Spier is Fair Trade-certified, too, having gained these credentials for its support of emerging black farmers in the organic produce trade, and the fact that its general policy is to leap into the breach when a good cause presents itself. More tick-marks: Spier published a voluntary sustainability report in 2005, and its winery was one of the first to be accredited by WIETA, the Wine Industry Ethical Trading Initiative.

• What is Fair Trade toursim?
• Find more Fair Trade products and destinations on SA Blog.

There’s so much going on at Spier – and so much for the greater good – that one can lose sight of the fact that it’s pure indulgence to stay there. Go on – relax, taste some wine, have a stroll over to the cheetahs, get in nine holes, hit the spa, laze about. It’s Spier, after all, and you’re a veritable Kubla Khan, for a day or two at least.