In-love with gables, white-washed walls, dark thatch, sturdy front doors with a window above, evenly spaced windows and T, H and U-shaped house design?
The Cape Dutch house is one of the most sought-after designs for homes in the Western Cape.
And it’s not easy to find an original that dates back to the time the Dutch colonised the Cape. Even fewer retain their thatched roof – they’re an obvious fire hazard.
We are as much in-love with the Cape Dutch house style as the next person, and we’ve selected a handful in which you can stay, when you next visit the Western Cape:
Basse Provence Country House
Located in Franschhoek and set in amongst oak trees that are at least 300 years old, this retreat lies on an historic Cape Dutch wine farm.
Nine en-suite rooms offer a variety of accommodation options, but the secluded garden cottage, and two bedroom cottage, are what caught our eye.
The view: vines as far as the eye can see, with vast mountains as the backdrop.
Cape Dutch Quarters
Other than Stellenbosch, you’re not going to find another village centre quite as Cape Dutch(ified) as Tulbagh.
Cape Dutch Quarters lie in amongst a series of similar historic houses on Church Street (which, if you’re a Cape Dutch fan you’d be mad to miss out on), with restaurants and coffee shops only moments’ walk away.
Accommodation is divided over the Victorian House and the Victorian Coach House in the shadow of the Groot Winterhoek Mountains.
Hawksmoor House
The meticulously restored Cape Dutch country manor house, on a 220-hectare wine farm close to Stellenbosch, is one of a series of restored buildings (the others are the slave quarters, dairy and a farmhouse).
Offering 15 elegantly decorated suites all alive with antiques and beautiful fabrics, around a central pool, ornamental pond, a series of gardens (including vegetable and herb garden), shaded verandas, and views of the mountains.
Stellendal Guest House
A lovingly refurbished 90-year-old Cape Dutch house in Somerset West.
The Guest House offers private units with wooden floors, fireplaces, a lounge and library in amongst gardens with secluded nooks, oak trees and a pool in the valley below the impressive Hottentots Holland Mountains, at affordable rates.
Webersburg in Stellenbosch
This elegantly restored Cape Dutch homestead is also on the grounds of a boutique winery, on the slopes of the Helderberg Mountains.
An original Cape Dutch house dating back to 1786, the Manor House and Jonkershuis offer 10 suites that maintain the historical feel with antique decor, gilded mirrors, plush couches and fine linen.
Winter or summer, this is a wonderful option.
See more Cape Dutch Houses when you book Cape Winelands hotels or accommodation.
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