Babylonstoren
SOUTH AFRICA
THE PERSONALITIES
Garden wanderers. Wine lovers. Food enthusiasts. Adventurous families. Slow travelers who savor heritage and soil.
MOMENTS
Early mornings spent barefoot in the garden. Cycling through vineyards with the Simonsberg rising in the distance. Long, lingering lunches under the oaks. Canoeing on the serene farm dam. Wandering through the Story of Wine museum, surrounded by centuries of stories in corks, maps, and barrels. Wine tasting in the cellar where the air smells of oak and earth. Watching the sunset turn the mountains gold.
BEST VISITING MONTHS
Come in spring (September–November) when the gardens are alive with blossoms, or during autumn harvest (March–May) when the vines glow gold and the cellars brim with new vintages. Summer is bright and fragrant, with long warm days and fruit at its ripest, while winter brings quiet beauty, crackling fireplaces, and full-bodied reds best savored slowly.
COST
WHY STAY
Babylonstoren is a working Cape Dutch farm at the foot of the Simonsberg, in South Africa’s famed Cape Winelands, where heritage and contemporary design exist in effortless harmony. Here, vineyards sprawl across fertile valleys framed by the Drakenstein Mountains, less than an hour from Cape Town yet worlds away in atmosphere.
Whitewashed 17th-century gables and cobbled courtyards set the tone, while the interiors of the suites and cottages balance rustic textures with modern simplicity—thick stone walls, fireplaces, and glass additions that frame the surrounding gardens and mountains. Guided by owner and design visionary Karen Roos, every detail feels intentional, where architecture and interiors remain deeply connected to the land.
The farm is alive with rhythm and ritual. Guests wake to the sound of guinea fowl in the orchards, wander through twelve acres of fruit and vegetable gardens, and join gardeners and winemakers in the daily work of harvesting, pruning, and tasting. The spa, inspired by the healing qualities of water and plants, offers a serene pause—its hammam, hot spa, and vitality pools designed to echo the farm’s natural cycles. Afterward, it’s back into the landscape, whether soaking in the quiet of a lily pond or cycling into the vineyards.
But staying here is also about savoring the abundance Babylonstoren creates. Beyond the award-winning Babel Restaurant and Greenhouse café, the farm’s shops offer a trove of take-home treasures—artisan cheeses, cured meats, freshly baked bread, olive oil, honey, herbal teas, preserves, and, of course, the farm’s own wine portfolio. Each product reflects the same ethos as the farm itself: simple, seasonal, and connected to place. It’s a rare stay where South Africa’s geography, Cape Dutch heritage, food, and landscape all speak the same language—of soil, tradition, and slow living.
WHY WANDER
Babylonstoren stretches across 200 hectares of orchards, vineyards, gardens, and mountains, inviting you to move at the rhythm of the farm. Take a guided garden tour through acres of fruit and vegetables, each plot grown organically and in season. Join the team in harvesting figs, pressing olives, or pruning vines, and you’ll begin to understand the farm’s cycles firsthand. Follow it with a cellar tour, where Babylonstoren’s winemakers reveal how gravity-fed production and diverse fermenters shape their ten wines—and yes, there’s tasting along the way.
But wandering here also means losing yourself in the small moments. Paddle a canoe on the farm’s peaceful dam, cycle through orchards on one of the complimentary mountain bikes, or hike up Babylonstoren Hill for views that sweep from the Simonsberg to the Drakenstein Valley. Pause for tea and homemade scones at the Greenhouse, tucked beneath oaks and glass walls, or simply linger in the silence of the gardens, watching dragonflies skip over lily ponds.
And just beyond the farm, Soetmelksvlei opens a window into the late 19th century. This living farmyard recreates a slower pace of life, where butter is churned by hand, wheat milled daily, and moerkoffie served at the farmhouse table. Visitors can join workshops in blacksmithing, carpentry, leathercraft, or distilling, explore the Old Cellar’s blend of exhibition and play, or browse the farm shop for preserves, knitted blankets, and courtship candles. In the kraal, miniature donkeys Faf and Tjokkie wait alongside cows, horses, sheep, and chickens, reminding guests that animals, too, are at the heart of the farm.
INDULGE IN
At Babylonstoren, food is a celebration of the farm. The award-winning Babel Restaurant transforms just-picked produce into plates that are both rustic and refined, while the Greenhouse serves simple, seasonal fare in a sun-dappled conservatory. Fumoir and themed evenings at the Old Bakery add to the rhythm of eating and gathering, and the Tasting Room pairs the farm’s ten wines with boards of cheese, charcuterie, and seasonal fruits.
The experience extends into Babylonstoren’s shops, where farm-made cheeses, baked goods, olive oil, honey, teas, and preserves invite guests to take the flavors of the Cape home. Add in the celebrated wine portfolio—from crisp Chenin Blanc to the flagship Nebukadnesar blend—and you have a destination where every taste is tied to the land itself.
GETTING THERE
Babylonstoren lies in the Drakenstein Valley between Paarl and Franschhoek, about a 45-minute drive from Cape Town International Airport. Roads wind through vineyards and mountains, making the journey itself a passage into the Cape Winelands.
WILD INITIATIVES
Sustainability is the farm’s guiding principle. Babylonstoren runs on regenerative farming practices, recycles its water, and prioritizes soil health and biodiversity in every vineyard and garden. The Story of Wine museum educates visitors on wine’s cultural and environmental legacy, while daily tours bring guests into the heart of regenerative agriculture. Every experience here ties luxury to stewardship, showing how heritage farming can shape a more sustainable future.
*Images property of Babylonstoren Hotel
