Birkenhead House

Wow what a fabulous hotel. Beautifully put together and perfectly situated. A little expensive but worth every penny. The room was fantastic as was the food and wine which if you stuck to the local producers was all included in the price. The view onto the surf beaches was perfect and we sat in the sun. The only downside was the free shuttle into Hermanus. They let us down on the return journey as we had to wait an hour twiddling our thumbs until the car came. Don’t trust their whatsup system it fell down

This was our third visit to Birkenhead House, & of course we were looking forward to it. It’s always a bit dangerous going back to somewhere special: staff change, properties get older, things move on? Nope, all as good as it’s ever been. Food & drink & rooms & facilities still fantastic, all assisted by the fantastic beachfront view. Our only complaint was we’d missed the end of Whale Season given the views there are so good, but that’s hard to complain about (unless the owners can sort that next time too?…..)

Birkenhead is one of those rare places which is so much more awesome in person than it looks in photos. I confess to having been only medium excited about the stop from looking online - I very nearly decided to skip Hermanus and I’m so glad I didn’t! The only downside to visiting in April is missing out on whale-watching season from June to November, which is what Hermanus is famous for. The hotel has an amazing location and great vibe to it. It’s a 1 hour brisk walk along the cliff path to the main town, and behind the hotel there’s also an hour hike up to a viewpoint which I’d highly recommend making the effort for. BY FAR my favourite thing about the hotel is the jacuzzi overlooking the sea. There are big, beautiful, crashing waves at all time of day here, and just spacing out, and looking out at the horizon while listening to that wonderful sound was one of the highlights of my entire trip. It’s also fantastic that the hotel allows guests to use it at any time of day - I enjoyed it most at night, when I also got to see a cute little genet cat scurrying across the terrace. My only complaint is that my room (8) didn’t have much privacy unless you closed a few shutters, and if you’re light sensitive like me expect to wake up early, because the shutters really don’t do a good job of keeping the room dark. Some blackout blinds would be nice!

a great combination of excellent food, amazing views from the veranda and personal, but relaxed service. Clive the chef made for a wonderful eating experience, very tasty, locally sourced food and wine. I'm not a 'foody' but ate fish most evenings and lapped up the puddings :-). We were full board, which I think is standard and with such a variety of dishes, we never got bored. We stayed here for 6 nights and tried to keep active with walks, swimming, a marine five trip and some eMTB and a wine trip. If this is your thing then I would suggest; - If driving from CT, take the coast road and stop at Pringle for a coffee and a led stretch. - hiking in the Fernkloof (hills behind the hotel) lots of trials, ask the management or look on strava for recommendations. watch out of the baboons, friendly-ish, but don't entice / feed or try and scare them away....just be cool...and they wont hassle you. if they do, call the baboon hotline...yes, there is a baboon hotline. - Mountain Biking at Oak Valley Wine estate - see my review if this, but go for the biking and not the food or wine - and use Joe Ride from Cape Town as a guide. - The Marine Big Five - just do it. We were out of whale season and saw copper sharks, a hump back whale (yes I know right) lots of dolphins, penguins and fur seals. We didn't hang around in Gainsbaii, but seemed nice enough. - Cafe at Grotto beach. - Walking along the coastal path and swimming in the sea. Its cold, and find out of about currents, but very refreshing.

Unbelievable one of a kind experience. Charming atmosphere and I can't stress enough on the outstanding service, so kind and polite. Luxurious service with attention to every little details. Love about this stay is that in includes all beverages and food, which tastes really good. Scenery was so beautiful to complement this stay. All correspondent before arriving was through email, they took care of every request we had. So professional in all aspects. Room service and care was on point, every time we come back we found beds clean, new waters and bed heater bags were applied! They even have adapters ready ( we learned to get our adapters with us before traveling to South Africa ) To be honest I can't describe the magical experience we had, thanks to the team for all the care and hospitality.

We were firstly greeted by the lovely and smiley Nikita. She checked us in and gave us an orientation about the hotel which was helpful. The rooms are absolutely incredible! The views are spectacular. I don’t know the chefs name! But whoever he/she is are INCREDIBLE. The food was delicious. Chris seems to be everywhere and do everything, always with a smile on his face! We love Chris! We want to take him home. He was so helpful. The waiter Athiani was also smiley and helpful! I have never felt so boujee and have never been in a hotel quite this posh. I have 0 complaints but 1 suggestion is that instead of having opening doors, maybe look to having sliding doors instead. The wind can get really bad so the doors can knock which gets noisy.