Keurfontein Country House

The location of this hotel is fabulous. Step outside your cottage to bird song and rustling trees. Beautiful. The cottages themselves are a little rustic, but furniture and fittings all seem a good quality, but the downside was that we only had 2 of each type of cutlery (yet 3 bottle openers!) and trying to prepare a meal with such a small quantity of cutlery was frustrating. There was no outdoor table so difficult to have a meal outside. As for the rest of the place it all feels a little tired, the website needs updating....there is no restaurant/country kitchen on site, no options for B&B, only self catering and the pool was green. This place could be amazing with a bit more TLC.

We had a lovely stay overnight, the staff are very friendly and accommodating. The food is top class and we had room service with a smile.

I had two bookings about a week apart. Both instances, there was no clean water to shower. The water was muddy. The owner sad this was due to loadshedding. Surely at R 1100 per night, the minimum requirement is a clean bed and decent bathroom facilities. This will definitely be the last time I book this establishment

This visit was altogether disappointing. A few reasons: 1. The pool was empty. 2. The only way to get supper was to pre-order, have it cooked before 4pm and then heat it up in a microwave. Boarding school? 3. We stayed in two 'self catering' units. The self catering part was open plan to the bedroom, and comprised tatty cupboards with minimal cutlery, crockery and glasses and a microwave. 4. The bath, cracked and in desperate need of renovation, had three rings of dirt around it. 5. There was a general air of shabby and not alot of chic.

I had an early lunch here on a Sunday in January 2023. I last visited Sophia's about 5 years ago when she was still in Willowmore itself and really liked it. The farm setting, on an arid hillside surrounded by beautifully hued mountiaslns, is quite spectacular and the restaurant is filled with interesting curiosities and objets d'art. I had a venison pie with a salad, and vegetables which arrived in a cute phylo pastry basket. The pie was good, albeit not properly warmed through and not exactly bursting with flavour. The veggie basket was smotherd in melted cheddar which definitely struck a false note. The salad was served with a mayo dressing which I also thought peculiar. The whole thing was prettily presented and adequate, but I wasn't blown away. Cheesecake (fridge, not baked, as I was incorrectly told) and a decent coffee to end off with, at R240 all in incl tip. There is accommodation available as well which looked very nice, from the outside at least, but I noticed that the swimming pool was dry. I had decided to sleep over at The Willow Guesthouse in the town itself and will write a review of that later. I've realised that one has to adjust one's expectations when visiting this part of the world. I'm sure it's difficult enough to get good produce and keep standards up, so that anything more interesting or creative than a Wimpy burger and chips is generally to be welcomed.

What an awesome experience and surprise, we stopped there for lunch. At their restaurant “Sophies Choice” Delicious food, 5 star presentation and taste. Wonderful eclectic antiques and paintings, amazing views and buildings. Will definitely stay there next time we drive in that direction!