Calitzdorp Accommodation
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 fireplace to keep guests cosy on chilly winter evenings – leading onto a wide verandah, overlooking the sweeping gardens and majestic Swartberg mountains. There are two suites and two garden rooms away from the house with breath-taking views of the mountains from their private terraces, and 4 comfortable en-suite bedrooms in the main house, with French doors leading onto a under cover patio.
Your Hosts
Your Hosts, Marie and Erika 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 is also served when the weather is warm. Guests and hosts eat together at a long table and the conversation is convivial and lively! By request we can do a separate table.
Dining
The meals at Groenfontein have a emphasis on health. We cater for all dietary requirements. Our Guests can enjoy Karoo mutton dishes and local Cape specialties. Meals are served on the verandah during summer months or in the beautiful dining room, with a crackling fire, during the cold winter evenings. Please do take note that our rates on all online booking forums do not include meals. Breakfast & Dinner are served, but charged seperately on departure. Light/packed/picnic lunches are also available on request.
The Retreat has a full liquor licence and carries a selection of fine wines of the region. a Corcage fee is applicable for own wines.
Peace
Here, there is no cell phone reception, so the tranquillity is unbroken by loud conversations that command attention. Likewise, there are no TV sets blaring forth from guest rooms to disturb the peace (we do have DVD in the main lounge, mainly to entertain young children while their parents are enjoying dinner). We operate on solar power plus generator backup, so no inconvenient power-outs! It does mean there are no fridges or kettles in the rooms but we supply ice, cold drinks, tea and coffee on request. It also means that we have limited cooling systems – ceiling-fans only in the 4 garden rooms, but our ‘micro-climate’ and location in the mountains produces a prevailing coolth by late evening which makes sleeping comfortable – and windows can be thrown wide open because we have almost no mosquitoes.
Pet Friendly
We are pet friendly and love our own well–behaved, well-socialised dogs!
Enjoy energetic hill walks or mountain biking in the clear air – or 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.
On parle francais, Wir sprechen Deutsch, Si parla Italiano, Vi pratar Svenska
GPS Location: (WGS84) – dms
(degrees, minutes, seconds):
S33° 26′ 15.6″ E21° 47′ 20.9″
Testimonials
I’ve never experienced anything like The Retreat at Groenfontein. About fourteen kilometres from Calitzdorp on a twisty dirt mountain track, you’ll find a long driveway leading you over a river and past a field with Arabian horses, to a beautiful, serene colonial home. It’s filled with bird song and the promise of rest and friendship.