Spier Hotel

Spier’s Signature Rooms are positioned upstairs in their village-style buildings, overlooking the courtyard and garden treetops. The large windows provide a light and airy space for guests to relax and unwind. Each bedroom includes your choice of two twins or a double bed, a small seating area and simple furnishings that match the natural colour scheme. The en-suite bathrooms feature a generous bathtub and walk-in shower with modern fittings. The showerheads are designed to conserve water and the room’s minibar is energy efficient.

The Signature Garden Rooms have direct access to the courtyards and swimming pools, as well as the verdant garden and an outdoor patio where guests can enjoy a refreshing beverage in the shade. Each room features a king-size bed fitted with soft linen and plush pillows, as well as a small seating area with comfortable armchairs. Two of the signature garden rooms include facilities for disabled guests.

The rooms are decorated with calm and neutral colours with wooden furnishings and splashes of vibrant colour. Original artworks from the Spier Collection are displayed on the walls, and guests can enjoy taking in the beautiful images. The en-suite bathrooms feature a generous bathtub, twin basins and walk-in shower with modern fittings. The showerheads are designed to conserve water and the room’s minibar is energy efficient.

The Signature Riverside Rooms are all located upstairs, offering incredible views of the Eerste River and the distant Helderberg mountains. The rooms are furnished with king-size beds and include a small seating area with a satellite TV.

Original artworks from the Spier Collection are displayed on the walls, and guests can enjoy taking in the beautiful images. The en-suite bathrooms feature a generous bathtub, twin basins and walk-in shower with modern fittings. The showerheads are designed to conserve water and the room’s minibar is energy efficient.

Each of Spier’s seven Signature Riverside Terrace Rooms are located on the ground floor so that guests can enjoy their own private patio area which opens out onto the hotel’s garden. Visitors can enjoy serene river and mountain views while sipping a glass of award-winning wine among the natural beauty of the gardens.

The rooms are furnished with king-size beds and include a small seating area with a satellite TV and original artworks from the Spier Collection are displayed on the walls. The en-suite bathrooms feature a generous bathtub, twin basins and walk-in shower with modern fittings. The showerheads are designed to conserve water and the room’s minibar is energy efficient.

Spier Hotel features five luxury suites, all uniquely designed and decorated to give a personal touch. Two of the suites are located upstairs, offering breathtaking views of the Helderberg Mountains and overlooking the Eerste River. The suites located on the ground floor have garden access, featuring a private area with comfortable daybeds and beautiful plants.

Each of the suites has a spacious bedroom with a king-size bed, and a separate lounge filled with comfortable sofas and armchairs as well as a flat-screen TV. Original artworks by contemporary South African artists cover the walls and add a splash of colour to the room.

The Spier Hotel Restaurant serves high-quality seasonal meals made with fresh local ingredients. Many of the fruit, vegetables and herbs are sourced from Spier’s farm and free-range eggs are provided by Farmer Angus. Enjoy a delicious country breakfast, lunch or dinner or indulge in one of the wine bar’s fine local bottles. Spier’s team of chefs are able to cater for any pallet, serving delicious burgers, games and traditional farm specialities.

Guests can enjoy delicious breakfasts and lunches at The Spier Farm Cafe, while admiring the sweeping lawns and majestic oak trees. Mouthwatering breakfasts are available from 8 am, such as sourdough waffles and eggs benedict. The cafe’s signature lunch dish is the 200g beef burger with potato roasties fried in pork fat. Vegan and vegetarian dishes are also available such as the vegetable tartine and cauliflower and harissa grain salad.

Guests can sit back on the handcrafted oak furniture and admire the beautiful garden views while enjoying fine wines grown at the hotel’s vineyard. Guests can also purchase Spier wines and homemade pickles, jams and preserves to bring back for friends and loved ones.

Guests can order picnics 24 hours in advance and be treated to a basket of seasonal treats presented in a plant-based basket. Ingredients are sourced from Spier’s farm and trusted local producers. Picnic baskets can be collected between 12 and 2 pm next to Spier Farm Cafe for guests to take and enjoy within the grounds. Sit by the picturesque dam, or under the shady oak trees and dig into a delicious lunch, lovingly prepared by Spier’s chefs.

Spier Hotel’s wine tasting room rests on the banks of the Eerste River, overlooking the charming dam and offering beautiful mountain views. Guests can sample Spier wine farm’s award-winning wines which are perfectly paired with delicious snacks.

Explore the beautiful vineyards in style on a segway – a two-wheeled, self-balancing electric vehicle which guests can control by leaning forwards, backwards and sideways to steer. Glide past the farm, taking in vibrant plants and sweeping pastures. Your guide will be able to tell you interesting facts about the farm as well as share insights about the process of producing food and wine.

Visit Eagle Encounters, rehabilitation, conservation, education and eco-tourism centre for birds of prey. Guests will be able to view and interact with the rehabilitating birds and learn about the crucial ongoing work that the centre carries out to protect these beautiful creatures. 65% of the centre’s birds are reintroduced to the wild each year after overcoming injuries, being poisoned or having been illegally removed from their nests.

Enjoy a relaxing afternoon at the Spier Spa and indulge in a soothing massage or relaxing facial. Guests can enjoy full-body treatments and skincare which will leave you feeling refreshed and rejuvenated.

Visit the craft market situated on the shady lawns beside the Tasting Room. Here, guests can browse for unique souvenirs and keepsakes to remind them of their amazing trip along South Africa’s wine route, or to bring back for loved ones at home. The market offers incredible local art, hand-carved woodwork, textiles, ceramics, jewellery and more.

Visit the incredible Spier Artisan Studio and watch artists as they create stunning mosaic art pieces. These South African artists craft beautiful pieces using ceramics and beadwork, which are then made available for the public to purchase.

Download the VoiceMap app and listen to amazing audio tours on your mobile device. Guests can stroll through the tranquil gardens or along the riverbanks while learning about the landscape and its history. An hour-long tour will take you through the farm and take you through its timeline, informing guests about its art, wines and heritage.

Guests can also discover Spier’s stunning art collection which is displayed all around the estate, or listen to Sannie’s Story, a short historical tour written by the famous South African playwright, Brett Bailey, which explores the farm through the eyes of a fictional slave woman, Sannie de Goede.

Explore Spier Hotel’s beautiful farm on one of the hotel’s Qhubeka Buffalo Bicycles, which can be borrowed from the hotel’s entrance. The sturdy bikes are designed for rough African terrain and are more than capable of navigating the farm’s grounds. Admire the sweeping vegetation and enjoy a pleasant journey through the grounds at your own pace.

Spier Hotel recycles more than 97% of its solid waste and uses all organic waste to create a nutrient-rich fertiliser that benefits the vineyards, garden and tree nursery, keeping the soil in good condition. The compost is also combined with the vermicompost produced on their worm farm which is sprayed on the vineyards.

The hotel aims to increase its solid waste recycling to 100%. To ensure as little waste as possible goes to the landfill, the different sections of the business individually sort their waste before it is all brought to the farm’s sorting facility where all waste is double-checked to make certain that none of it can be reused or recycled, and to ensure that no non-recyclable items are mixed with the recyclables.

Spier’s ‘It’s Sorted’ staff training programme gives staff ongoing lessons about the importance of recycling and how to reduce the amount of waste going to the landfill.

Spier Hotel supports Eagle Encounters, a wildlife rehabilitation, conservation, education and eco-tourism centre based at the wine farm. The centre houses over 200 birds of prey, and approximately 65% of them are rehabilitated and reintroduced to the wild each year. Spier donates land, electricity and water for the centre, and guests at the hotel can interact with the birds and learn about them and their importance to the ecosystem.

Spier’s food gardens, which were established in 2013 have significantly expanded under the guidance of Megan McCarthy, an expert in using eco-friendly and regenerative techniques to grow food. McCarthy has also been teaching local people from disadvantaged communities about growing fruit, herbs and vegetables using eco-friendly and regenerative techniques rather than harmful pesticides or artificial products.

The harvested fruits, vegetables and herbs grown at Spier are then used in its restaurants and sold through its online shop and at the Spier Farm Cafe. During the Covid-19 lockdown, produce was donated to 450 families from nearby communities in relief packs, along with seedlings and guidance in how to grow their own food. As a result, 11 families in Lynedoch have started their own food gardens which gives their families and neighbours access to healthy and fresh crops.

Each new member of the Spier team is given a five-day training course in order to reinforce employees’ understanding of Spier’s values and attitudes to social and environmental challenges. The aim of this course is to encourage all employees to participate in positive change as part of a global society.

Spier Hotel has partnered with Harambee, an initiative that sources, trains and offers employment opportunities for young people from disadvantaged backgrounds. Spier recruits entry-level staff through this program and has mentored 64 Harambee students since 2014. This provides essential work experience for young people and means that they are more likely to be able to forge a career, preparing them for the workplace.

‘Harambee is a youth employment initiative that connects employers looking for entry-level talent to work-seekers who are currently locked out of the formal economy. Started in 2011, Harambee recruits candidates where existing corporate recruitment networks do not reach, assess their competencies and match them to jobs where they are most likely to succeed. They then deliver high-quality work readiness programmes that directly address the risks identified by employers in taking on first-time workers.’

The Living Soils Community Farm teaches eco-friendly regenerative farming methods which produce nutritious food to a new generation of farmers, passing on the necessary skills and experiences to combat food insecurity in local communities.

Rirhandzu Marivate, the farm’s project manager, has been guiding the farm’s first three interns who are all local women from the Eastern Cape, in preparing the land and regenerating the soil with beneficial microorganisms and nutrients. The interns then planted a variety of vegetables and harvested 1700 kilograms of produce which was then used to prepare meals for approximately 200 impoverished and at-risk children from the Lynedoch community. The three women have since remained to take on leadership positions and are now mentoring the farm’s new interns.

Spier collaborated with Wildlands Conservation Trust to launch their Tree-preneurs initiative in the Western Cape in 2009. Spier gave the project a base of operations and free water and electricity. Tree-preneurs are given seedlings to nurture – which can be exchanged for vouchers to obtain food, clothing, agricultural goods, tools, bicycles and educational support – once the saplings have reached a certain height.

The Tree-preneurs nursery at Spier is home to ‘over 23,000 trees, plants and succulents. Many of the trees and plants are planted in disadvantaged areas of Stellenbosch in need of greening, donated to schools, NGOs, churches and used to rehabilitate the Plankenbrug river and Dwars River. The items exchanged with growers in return for trees – whether bikes for those without transport, or educational support for those struggling to pay school fees – unlock opportunities, provide support and spark inspiration.’

Tree-preneurs also enables local people to bring a positive change by using their vouchers to help others. Tannie Babs Visagie, a Tree-preneur from Heather Park, uses her tree vouchers to buy food for orphans in her community. She has also nurtured over 9300 trees, benefitting local people and the environment by participating in this programme.

Spier Hotel’s family-owned farm uses holistic farming in order to maintain a diverse and balanced ecosystem. The farm covers 620 hectares including historic buildings and adjacent land which have been restored, conserved and rehabilitated in order to preserve the land’s heritage while causing minimal impact on the environment. Spier’s main focus is protecting the soil and its fertility, which is maintained through high-density grazing and using nutrient-rich organic compost.

Spier’s organic vineyards don’t use any chemical fertilisers or pesticides which can be harmful to the environment and local wildlife. Indigenous plants and trees have been established in 8-meter wide ‘Nature Corridors’ which serve as windbreaks, protecting the vineyards from harsh weather.

The hotel’s restaurants use fresh produce from the garden and pasture-reared meat and eggs rather than importing ingredients. This reduces carbon emissions as the food doesn’t need to be transported to the hotel, and also means that Spier is assured of using high-quality ingredients from a sustainable source.