Spier Hotel

Spier Hotel sits on a 650-hectare working wine farm in Stellenbosch, established in 1692 when Governor Simon van der Stel granted the original title deed to Arnoud Jansz — making it one of the very first farms founded in the district, and by 1754 already home to more than 30,000 vines. The Enthoven family has owned and run Spier since 1993, guided by what family owner Mariota Enthoven describes as a promise "to leave things better than we found them": the farm has been certified organic since 2015, follows regenerative farming practices, and has rewilded its endemic gardens with some 39,000 reintroduced fynbos plants — praised by Condé Nast Traveler as "stunning to look at, stunning to smell, and even more stunning to live amongst" in naming Spier among its Most Exciting Hotel Openings of 2025.

Architecturally, the estate carries 21 Cape Dutch gables, more than any other South African farm, a restored Manor House, and South Africa's oldest dated wine cellar, alongside oak trees planted as far back as 1682. The 76-room hotel spans Luxury Rooms and Suites and two 434 m² Private Villas with their own heated pools and private chefs. Wine tastings, led by Cellar Master Johan Jordaan — named a Global Chenin Blanc Master Winemaker in 2025 and 2026 — range from a R105 introductory flight to a sight-free R450 Sensorial Tasting inspired by the estate's own contemporary art collection, one of the largest in the country. Dining runs from the farm-to-table Veld restaurant to Vadas Smokehouse & Bakery and Spier Manor, a dining and events venue inside a restored manor house more than three centuries old, while the Cape Herbal Bath House offers a signature three-hour ritual using rooibos, rose pelargonium and river stones gathered from the estate's own Eerste River.