Babylonstoren

Babylonstoren is a beautiful estate that has a lot going for it for a day visit, however as a hotel it is shockingly bad for guests staying there. The room rates here are amongst the highest in South Africa - we paid a little over USD 1,000 per night for our stay for an entry level room. With this price level in South Africa you would expect top tier 5 star hotel amenities and service - the reality is anything but. The main issues are as follows: 1. Outside Guests: The "hotel" receives an incredibly large number of outside guests who come for the day to walk around the gardens/have lunch/do wine tastings/spa treatments etc. These outside guests pay an entry fee of about USD 7-8 and get access to effectively all the same facilities and services as those paying the inflated room rate. Those visiting for the day are in no way at fault, but it feels as if management are just trying to maximise footfall in the property as opposed to run a luxury hotel. All the toilets/signs etc are what you would expect at a nice garden centre, not a luxury hotel charging in excess of $1000 a night. The whole property feels very much geared towards maximising the experience for outside guests with little thought given to those staying there. 2. Limited Hotel Facilities: The facilities for hotel guests are very limited, there a a few small pools of which the one at the spa is open to outside guests. There are not many places to go and relax aside from your room (If you leave your room between 10am and 5pm expect to jostle for space on the footpaths). The hotel is lacking a lobby type lounge area for hotel guests as when it rains (more on that below) there is really nowhere to go and the place turns into a zoo as everyone scrambles for the limited indoor areas. It's quite telling that the reception area for those coming for day trips is more impressive and larger than the small cottage reception for hotel guests paying 125 times as much. 3. Dining Options: There are 2 restaurants, one a more formal restaurant (Babel) which can be booked in advance, the other a more casual one (Greenhouse), both with indoor and outdoor seating. When it rains both restaurants loose about 50% of their seating, and carnage ensues. We showed up at lunchtime on a rainy day and both restaurants were "full" and we were told that there was a waitlist with no priority given to those staying in the hotel. We explained that as guests of the hotel we needed somewhere to eat and asked where this was possible, "you can order room service" we were told. Eating a sandwich sitting on your bed being the only available lunch option is not acceptable for a 5 star hotel. We had to leave the hotel to get lunch elsewhere. It's easy to see why this place has become so popular as the estate itself is stunning. However it has very much become over commercialised and now feels like a "luxury farm-day experience" as opposed to a 5 star hotel. Don't waste your money staying here, find a hotel nearby and v

R150 entrance fee I’m so outraged to be asked to pay a ‘voluntary’ membership, of R150, but if you choose not to, it’s a R150 entrance fee. If all the wine farms and estates started charging, we would soon find a complete desertion of local supporters and a total reliant on the seasonal tourists. Very short sighted. I wanted to go to the farm shop and buy some provisions, but I’m certainly not paying for the ‘privilege’. This is pure greed.

What an extraordinary experience - which could never be duplicated in Europe or the US (labor costs are too high!). However, for those on honeymoon or coming from a wilderness/safari experience, the huge crowds of day visitors are somewhat offputting despite the hotel's best efforts to give its guests some feeling of exclusivity (thank you Gavin for all your help!). We were most impressed by the number of activities available to hotel guests free of charge (including lavish wine and olive oil tastings, sundowners on the surrounding mountain, etc etc) and the generous free food and beverage offerings in the rooms. But we were surprised by some major design flaws in the rooms, given the owner was the editor of a major interior design magazine: dangerously slipperty bathroom floor, a safe at floor level requiring you practically to lie down to use it, no proper bedside tables or reading lights (instead, bright floorlaps), no sockets for electronics by the bed. This said, the sense of abundance, the attention to detail and the sheer beauty of the endless gardens and farmlands are amazing. The staff is invariably charming, helpful - and seem to genuinely enjoy working there.

We stayed at Babylonstoren for three nights in February 2025. As a day destination we can understand the hype - the gardens are gorgeous, they have a well organised set-up of shops, wine tastings and tours, and a great restaurant (Babel) which is worth a visit in its own right (it was one of our best meals on our trip). However, the hotel feels very much a second priority, and its price tag per night (particularly in a South African context) is not justified. 1. Rooms: We were staying in one of the estate cottages (a mid-tier room), and whilst we had no issues with the cleaniness of the room, we felt it was very old and dated, and in serious need of a full revamp. The room looked like it was last refurbished ten years ago, with the bathroom and furniture in particular looking old, out dated and cheap. This would be fine if the hotel wasnt charging a rate per night in line with the top hotels in the Winelands (Leeu Estates, La Residence, etc), but given the premium we expected better. 2. Pools: for a hotel of its size (I think it has over 30 rooms) it has a lack of pool space which is very surprising. We counted three pools in total, however one of them is a small pool essentially for guests staying in the Manor House (and is right outside their rooms), the other is at the Spa and weirdly has no view (surrounded by bamboo) and is also open to day guests, and the third (and best) is up at the Fynbos cottages but only has about 10 or so sunloungers. This really needs to be sorted out. We were very surprised there wasn't a big infinity style pool somewhere which made the most of its amazing location and views. 3. Service: we found service a bit haphazard. At the pools there is a complimentary bar. This is a great concept but seems to be at the detriment of any actual service. So we noticed that the wines and fridges were often only refilled at the start of the day, unless you asked them to do it. This led to a couple of occasions where the wine was left in the sun in no ice, and the fridges ran out of water and some of the soft drinks. In addition, at no point did any member of staff offer us a drink - which again for a five start hotel was surprising. Even if the drinks are complimentary it would be a nice touch if a member of staff offered people a drink (this happened at another of our hotels). What surprised us most about all of the above is that this is a hotel with a fabulous reputation and part of a group which includes the Newt (in our view one of the best hotels in the UK). They don't need to do much to solve the above, but at the moment it feels like they are resting on their laurels and focused on day guests. Definitely worth a visit, but there are better hotels to stay at.

Lovely gardens and views bit pretentious for us Big thing about fresh veg from the garden shame it is not cooked Travelling about the site in golf cart is not the best especially when they get taken by others when parked We found it difficult to contact reception by telephone and many of the trips were fully booked so our visit was left wanting Book before you go that’s the best I think Shame I was looking forward to this part of the holiday The mountain trip is well worth it

Babylonstoren spa is not inexpensive but the pedicure treatment I had there was not at all up to the standard portrayed by this luxury hotel and winery. I have had better pedicures at Sorbet! The inside of the ladies lockers were shabby and looked old and needed a lick of paint. Not a good first impression. When we were completing our forms, there was a dead bird visible outside on the paving. I was offered slippers, for a pedicure. Surely you have disposable slops for a pedicure, as slippers would ruin the paint job on the nails. Then to my actual Pedicure, which was held in the room where everyone fills in forms, so there was no privacy and people came in and out during my pedicure, which was very distracting. I sat in an uncomfortable wicker chair and the many flies in the room were extremely irritating. I was told that the pedicure was being held in that room as all the treatment rooms were booked. Mine was not a last minute booking, I booked for myself and my clients weeks ago. My pedicure started 8 minutes late (and finished 7 minutes early… definitely not the full hour paid for). I was surprised there was no presoaking of my feet, none of the equipment used during the pedi was sterilized in front of me. The foot massage was nothing more than maybe 3 to 5 minutes, so disappointing for a spa of this calibre. I spoke to the manager and sent her an email about this which was never acknowledged. I would have thought that they would be happy to get constructive feedback.