€345.40 for 1 Night
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Vergenoegd Löw Boutique Hotel & Spa
€NaN€345.40/ Night
24/7 Support
Looking for help choosing or for a property we don't list? Message our Private Rates Concierge on WhatsApp for member rates and insider knowledge on the right stay
An 11-room boutique hotel on a 330-year-old working wine estate near Stellenbosch, with restored Cape Dutch buildings, regenerative farming and a famous flock of runner ducks.
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Award Winner 2024
World's Best Honeymoon Hideaway Hotel
Free extra on us
Guests receive a complimentary wine tasting, and 10% discount on any spa treatments.
Need To Know
- 11 rooms, suites and cottages, from 40-square-metre lodge rooms with a private jacuzzi deck to two-bedroom cottages with their own heated pool, plus a presidential suite and the owner's villa.
- On the Stellenbosch Wine Route at Faure, near Somerset West, between the Helderberg mountains and False Bay; about 20 minutes from Stellenbosch and Cape Town airport, 45 from the city.
- A spa in the restored farm buildings, a heated pool, the Geuwels restaurant, wine tastings across the estate, a gym, and walking and e-bike trails through the vines.
- The estate sits close to the airport and a main road rather than deep in the countryside, though once inside the gates it feels rural; the gardens are still maturing.
- Our Favourite Rooms: a luxury cottage for the private pool, or a lodge room for the jacuzzi deck.
Check in - Check out
Check in from 14:00; check out before 10:00.
We Love
- The ducks. Around a thousand Indian Runner ducks live on the farm, parading out twice a day to work the vineyards as natural pest control, a genuine spectacle.
- The heritage. A working wine farm since 1696, with a restored 1773 homestead and historic werf, carefully brought back to life without turning it into a museum.
- The wine. Fifty hectares of cool-climate vines on lime-rich soils near the sea, farmed regeneratively, with tastings held at different spots across the estate.
- The food. The estate kitchens, led by chef Michelle Theron, cook heritage South African dishes from the farm's own produce, with a clear sense of place.
- The art. Original works by the Dutch painter Jan Brandes indoors and sculptures by the South African artist Dylan Lewis set among the vines and gardens.
Key Features
Book Your Stay at Vergenoegd Löw Boutique Hotel & Spa
€345.40 for 1 Night
Address
1 Faure Village Rd, Stellenbosch Farms, Cape Town, 7134
Travel Info
Vergenoegd Löw is at Faure on the Stellenbosch Wine Route, about 20 minutes from both Stellenbosch and Cape Town airport, with transfers on request. It sits near the airport rather than deep in the Winelands, an easy first or last stop on a trip.
Last Updated: 2026-07-09
Expert Review
Origins
Vergenoegd, Dutch for "contented", has been a working wine farm since 1696, which makes it one of the oldest in South Africa. It sits at the coastal edge of the Stellenbosch Winelands, at Faure, on an ancient marine bed less than five kilometres from the sea, between the Helderberg mountains and False Bay, a position that keeps it a few degrees cooler than the rest of Stellenbosch and gives its wines their salt-edged, cool-climate character.
The estate is today owned and restored by Professor Peter Löw, as part of his European Heritage Project, a private portfolio of historic properties, and the second half of the name is his. The restoration has been extensive: the 1773 homestead, the historic werf and the surrounding farm buildings have been brought back with care, and the hotel woven into them, 11 rooms, suites and cottages ranging from lodge rooms with private jacuzzi decks to two-bedroom cottages with their own heated pools. Alongside the accommodation are a spa in the former farm outbuildings, the Geuwels restaurant, a wine cellar and tasting rooms, and grounds dotted with original art, including sculptures by Dylan Lewis. It remains, above all, a genuine working farm, run regeneratively as a WWF Conservation Champion, and it has a mascot to prove it: a flock of a thousand Indian Runner ducks that patrol the vineyards. It is a rare thing, a heritage estate that is still, three centuries on, very much alive.
Top Secret
Twice a day, at nine in the morning and again at noon, the farm's thousand-odd Indian Runner ducks are released to march in a long, comical procession across the werf and out to the vines, where they spend the day eating pests and fertilising the soil; guests gather to watch the parade, and it is every bit as charming as it sounds.
The Review
Vergenoegd Löw is one of the more characterful places to stay in the Cape Winelands: a small boutique hotel woven into a genuine working wine farm that has been in continuous use since 1696. It sits at the coastal, Faure end of Stellenbosch, between the Helderberg mountains and False Bay, and while it is closer to the airport and a main road than to the deep countryside, once you are through the gates it feels entirely rural, and it makes an ideal first or last stop on a Cape trip.
The estate has been restored, at considerable expense, by its owner Professor Peter Löw as part of his European Heritage Project, and the care shows. The 1773 homestead and historic farm buildings have been brought back beautifully, and the 11 rooms, suites and cottages are individually done, from 40-square-metre lodge rooms with private jacuzzi decks to two-bedroom cottages with their own heated pools, all in a style that echoes the estate's Cape Dutch architecture. Service, delivered in part over a much-praised WhatsApp line, is warm and quick.
The farm itself is the draw. This is a serious regenerative wine estate, a WWF Conservation Champion, its 50 hectares of cool-climate vines farmed with the help of Dexter cattle and a celebrated flock of a thousand Indian Runner ducks, which parade out twice a day to work the vineyards. Wine tastings are held at different points across the estate, the grounds are studded with sculptures by Dylan Lewis, and the kitchens, led by chef Michelle Theron, turn the farm's own produce into heritage South African cooking with a strong sense of place. The fine-dining Clara's Barn, set in the oldest building on the farm, is being restored and is due to reopen in 2026; in the meantime the relaxed Geuwels handles breakfast and lunch.
A couple of honest points. The setting is convenient rather than remote, and the young gardens are still filling in. But for heritage, wine, food and the sheer pleasure of a working farm run this well, and those ducks, Vergenoegd Löw is among the most appealing places to stay near Stellenbosch.
