My First Farm Hotel Experience
Just a few days ago, I had one of the most exciting trips to date and it was an amazing experience to Cape Town! While I was there, I had the utmost pleasure of staying at the beautiful estate of Babylonstoren in Paarl.
Only 45 mins drive from the city centre of Cape Town, we arrived at the beautiful wine estate on a perfect sunny day. Babylonstoren is a boutique hotel situated amongst it’s 200 acres of organic farm, vegetable gardens and vineyards. As soon as I read up about this place online, I knew I couldn’t miss out on this amazing experience and knew I had to stay here during my visit to Cape Town. Continue reading to see how my first farm hotel experience when!
As we arrived at the estate, we were greeted by the most hospitable staff who assisted us to our room. I was pleasantly surprised to be presented with a luxurious farmhouse suit at the farmhouse hotel. As I entered the bedroom, it felt and smelt familiar in many ways. The space was roomy, yet cosy with various hints of wood and fresh elements from the farm. And if it wasn’t all, the bathroom was the true winner of this space, with a bathtub situated in the centre of the bathroom accompanied by the best view overlooking the farm.
The room was also well supplied with various refreshments and local wine from the Babylonstoren’s own vineyard. I was also very excited to find that the room had a cozy fireplace to snuggle up to during the cold nights, this place definitely knew me well! It felt like the perfect place for a couple getaway or to enjoy with a close girlfriend (like I did!).
After making ourselves comfortable, we decided to explore the premises. Right below us was the Butterfly Room, this was the sitting area and library for guests to enjoy a great selection of books stocked in the bookshelves, along with a collection of rare butterflies on display.
The bar was also available for guests to help themselves to cocktails, wines and many others and drink to your hearts content! Just around the corner was the spa and outdoor heated pool, I cannot express how ecstatic I was to take a dip in the water as soon as I saw it.
We quickly got changed to try out all the facilities at the spa, with a sauna, sea salt room, rain showers and a heated jacuzzi, what more could a girl ask for? Well, there was more, the hotel also arranged a couple spa for us at the Garden Spa.
The private hammam water ritual was one of their signature treatments that took place in their beautiful, purpose-built marble hammam. We opt for the traditional soap treatment that consists of a traditional scrub, soap wash and massage. It truly felt like an oasis in the middle of the winelands.
We started our next day at The Babel, this was Babylonstoren’s restaurant that boasts its farm-to-fork philosophy. The food at this is farm hotel was anything but ordinary. Serving a seasonal menu, all ingredients are either freshly picked from straight from the farm and garden or locally sourced from nearby farms. The meals were delightful and simplistic, yet full of surprises with unexpected flavours, beautiful presentation and various combinations of fresh organic fruits and vegetables.
There were so many things about this luxury farm hotel and estate that I could rave about, but the one thing that stood out to me most was how much emphasis and care people at Babylonstoren put towards the gardens. I loved that they had a garden tour every day that took guests through the vegetation grounds and we could freely pick and eat from the vegetable and fruit gardens.
My personal favourite was coming across dozens of lemon trees and strolling through the rose garden. I loved that they educate how to connect with your food and nature, and to know what actually gets put on your plate. There were many unforgettable memories made here, like having breakfast at the Babel restaurant while savouring the exquisite view. To take an evening dip in the pool whilst gazing up on the starry night sky.
Babylon is the perfect weekend getaway for close friends or honeymooners who are looking for a unique experience. Contrary to my first impression about farm hotels, this place went above and beyond my expectations of how modern, clean, simple yet sophisticated a farm hotel experience could be.
If you’re looking to book a trip to Cape Town (or ready to book one because you’ve just read this) I would highly recommend it to anyone!Thank you to Babylonstoren for hosting me on my recent trip to Cape Town. I can’t wait to plan my next trip to this beautiful country and farm hotel again! Watch out for my vlog on this trip coming soon!Have you ever experienced staying at a farm hotel? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
Photography by my friend Belicia and your’s truly.