Steenberg Hotel

Steenberg Hotel Review

One of the area's oldest estates, the former Swaaneweide aan den Steenberg was granted to four-time widow Catherina Ras in the late 17th century by her lover, Simon van der Stel, then governor of the Cape, making her the first woman to own land in South Africa. She was, by all accounts, wild, and legend has it that she was given to riding her horse naked around the grounds, which might explain van der Stel's generosity. The original buildings on this working wine estate have been painstakingly restored, the gardens manicured to perfection, and the vineyards replanted on the slopes of the Constantiaberg. The original vineyards are now a championship 18-hole golf course. The buildings and contemporary guest rooms are all furnished with antiques. The three Heritage Suites offer exceptional accommodations on two levels. The Khoi Khoi suite, for example, is 1,710 square feet of custom-designed furniture and artifacts that hint at what life could be like if the original hunter-gatherer people of the Cape lived in luxury today. All suites have fully equipped kitchens. The estate's Catharina's restaurant is most famous for its Sunday jazz brunches where people spill outside to eat under the giant oak trees. Don't leave without buying some sauvignon blanc.