Laborie Estate

Beautiful scenery, reasonably priced, many different eateries, ranging from extensive to small snacks. Farm shop stocks reasonably priced good quality meat and fresh produce. Large farm. Good location. Beautiful scenery. Picnic on large lawn.

Staying at Laborie was an amazing experience for us. We got a room upgrade and especially enjoyed the luxurious bathroom. The breakfast at the Stoep restaurant on the estate was the best breakfast we've had on our entire trip. Also the food and drinks in general were amazing. The surroundings and vineyards of the estate are so beautiful, we felt lucky to be here. The staff was friendly and helpful. In short, if you have the opportunity you should definitely book a stay at Laborie.

We booked Suzanne restaurant for Christmas lunch......... what an absolute let down!! The starter was served and half of the items advertised were not included. Eventually after what was at least an hour they rectified this. The waitress really tried her best but the service was not great. We eventually got the mains about an hour after the starters. The mains were supposed to be served family style (sharing plates) they weren't. Instead, everything was piled onto the plate. The meat was tough and fatty/grisly, the cauliflower was cold, the chicken was so salty and everything was so dry. The Yorkshire puddings were really bad! All in all a crap Christmas lunch. We have now been waiting for deserts for some time...... let's see what these are like. Mass produced food at a very low standard with inexperienced waiters.

My husband and I went there for the weekend to get some down time. Unfortunately our experience was not what we expected. Our "villa" room was too close to the busy main road. Also we were rudely awakened by another guest who tried to enter our room for more than an hour. After failed attempts to contact the emergency numbers provided,we managed to get the intruder to quiet down somewhat for a very short period of time. Hotel management, Anna Marie ignored our presence at checkout and continued with her WhatsApp chat instead. Definitely not worth the money or time, considering the other value for money spots in stellenbosh, franshoek and Paarl areas.

We were excited to return to Laborie after its extensive renovation. We were not disappointed - the gardens were beautiful and all looked very welcoming. We were directed to our villa which was a short drive from the main house to a corner of the estate. Initial feelings were that we were slightly isolated from the main centre and it was a ten minute walk back to the restaurants and bar. Our room however was large and very tastefully decorated- there is no questioning the quality of the furnishings although we were disappointed that there were no feather pillows - we both slept badly in the ‘cheap’ hollow fibre pillows and woke up with stiff necks. More disappointing was the complete lack of any toiletries in the bathroom- no flannel, bar of soap, shower hat , cotton wool etc- absolutely nothing except bottles of shampoo, conditioner and shower gel. I am sorry but in a 5 star establishment such as Laborie this is the least I expect. I made my complaint clearly to reception on departure. In the evening we ate at the newly built Stoep restaurant. A beautiful setting looking at the mountains but unfortunately we had to move inside due to the chilly wind. We ordered wine which arrived immediately but our food order took nearly one hour . There appeared to be plenty of staff but no manager or leadership to take charge. Our waitress, though quite friendly was at best indifferent to what was going on and we got increasingly frustrated at the wait. The following day we took breakfast at the same restaurant and were told that ‘in-house guests’ were only allowed to order one dish and one drink from the menu. When I asked if we could have a glass of orange juice I was emphatically told ‘No’. This is utterly ridiculous and in a 5 star guest house, whether ‘ in house ’ or not is an orange juice really that much of an expensive extra? We waited 40 minutes for our coffee and had to get up a couple of times from the table to ask what was going on. Our food finally arrived - it was nicely prepared and presented but we had waited so long that the enjoyment of breakfast in the sun looking at the mountains quickly dwindled. So in conclusion- would we return? Sadly I have to say that until the necessary tweaks have been made the answer at the moment has to be’No’.

What a wonderful stay! Our villa among the vineyards, set off from the main estate, was so lovely and comfortable. Our foursome had "the family quarters"--two rooms and a sitting room. And ow great that they have 3 restaurants on site!! We loved the breakfast, had a very nice and very filling meal at Giovanni's, and drinks at Suzanne's. Got some nice things to take home at the farm store, too. Would love to come in summer to enjoy the pool, mountain biking (rentals at a new kiosk on the estate), and outdoor dining. It's a beautiful place, and close to town while seeming very remote.