Boschendal is the place to experience a luxury farm stay with a wide variety of accommodation options including garden suites and cottages, a tented camp and even a six-bedroomed villa at the foot of the Simonsberg Mountain. We checked into the Werf Garden Suites, a row of self-catering cottages with one and two-bedroom options (lucky number seven has the best mountain view, but at Boschendal there are no bad views).
Farm stays and restaurants
The cottages are in a secluded part of the vast estate with superb mountain views and a swimming pool facing a forested area, within a few steps from the back door. While Boschendal has two restaurant options – The Werf Restaurant serving a small plates menu designed by Executive Chef Allistaire Lawrence and The Deli for casual eating and aimed more at day visitors with its breakfast and lunch offering (open for dinner on select days) – the farm also has the excellent Boschendal Farm Shop & Butchery, opened in 2020, a showcase of the incredible array of produce and ingredients produced on the property.A working farm livestock includes Black Angus cattle, Duroc pigs and free-roaming layer hens. This is truly farm to table dining. We were told that even some of the furniture was made from wood sourced from the farm.
A note about The Werf's small plates is that they are also well priced by comparison to many wine farm restaurants, and generously portioned. The menu is, of course, seasonal – and we especially enjoyed our bubbles with oysters, burrata with fresh sweet tomatoes and a tuna tartare. For breakfast the fruit-covered flapjacks are a joy, and the zucchini fritters with whipped feta and a poached egg, light and fresh.
Food philosophy
Impressively, the restaurants work to reduce food miles, with around 75% of ingredients sourced within 30 kilometres of the farm and much of it grown in the gardens that roll out below The Werf Restaurant. As a hotel guest, you even get to pick some produce to take back to your cottage. A particularly great feature is that Boschendal also offers the option of cooking in your cottage – and if requested you'll find a carefully thought out selection of goods waiting for you straight from the farm shop, and the firewood neatly chopped for the braai on your patio.
Picnics
The property is beautifully laid out, optimising the wide open spaces. The front garden of the original manor house flanked by large shady trees is the location of the restaurants and shop, and has plenty of outdoor seating options, including bean bags under the trees. It's a great stop for a picnic lunch from the farm shop. There are also more organised picnic options from Werf Farm Picnics to a full service picnic with a view of the rose garden
Activities
The Boschendal team is motivated and friendly and seem to be forever inventing fresh ways to keep visitors busy. The Trail Centre is the place to contact about booking activities such as MTB trails (bike rentals are available), hiking (guides are available if requested), horse riding, and kids aged five to 14 will get an authentic farm experience at The Tree House playground.Wine Tasting
Of course, Boschendal is a wine farm. An extensive wine range is produced here, from Cape bubbles (the Methode Cap Classique or MCC, a term used in South Africa since 1992, find out more about MCCs from the Cap Classique Association) to an award-winning white wine and much else in between. All to be sampled in the Cellar Door Wine Tasting Centre, where you can also order cases to be delivered home.Location
Located in the Drakenstein Valley (less then 60-minutes drive from central Cape Town), Boschendal farm has one of the finest settings you'll find in the winelands. Farming can be traced back on this land to 1685. Originally the farmland was named by its French Huguenot owner (of course today this history of 'ownership' is highly contested) as Bosendaal, meaning wood and vale. For an extensive and well-written history of the farm, head to this article from The Heritage Portal.With so many options and so much space, Boschendal offers everything from weddings and romantic getaways to family vacations. It's all a children-friendly delight, and for adults, a space to take and enjoy deep breaths and freedom from busy-ness. In 2020 Boschendal was voted one of the nine best family hotels in the world by Conde Naste Traveller.
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