Halfway between Cape Town and Hermanus, the coast road comes over the rise at Kleinmond and there below you is the Bot River Lagoon, wide and still, with the mountains of the Kogelberg standing all around it.
Arabella sits on the shore of that lagoon. The hotel looks out over one of the most beautiful golf courses in South Africa, its fairways running down through the fynbos to the water’s edge. In the early morning there is mist on the lagoon and the only sound is the birds; in the evening the light goes gold across the water.
It is about half an hour from my home in Hermanus, and it makes a lovely place to stay on the Whale Coast: a round of golf for those who play, the spa for those who would rather not, and the whales, the penguins and the fynbos of the Overberg all close by.
John Sparks
The heart of the Cape Floral Kingdom
The Kogelberg is often called the heart of the Cape Floral Kingdom. Nearly 1,800 kinds of plants grow here, about 150 of them nowhere else on earth, in a landscape of mountains, rivers and sea. When the reserve was recognised by UNESCO in 1998, it was the first biosphere reserve in South Africa.
The Bot River Lagoon, at its eastern edge, is a gathering place for water birds: flamingos, herons, stilts and ibis feed in the shallows. On the marshes and dunes near the lagoon mouth at Rooisand lives a small herd of wild horses, said to be the only wild horses in South Africa that live in a wetland. Nobody is quite sure how they came to be there. Some say they were left behind by soldiers; others tell of a farmer who turned his horses loose after a quarrel over the sale of his land.
Golf, the spa and the table
The golf course
Peter Matkovich laid out the eighteen holes along the shore, with water in play on the par threes and the closing holes beside the lagoon. Golf Digest has ranked it among the top five in South Africa, and it hosted the Nelson Mandela Invitational for several years. There is a driving range, a pro shop and resident professionals.
The spa
The Arabella Spa has a hydro-pool, steam room and sauna, and a long “African Rainforest” journey through water, heat and cold, as well as massages and facials. The treatment rooms look out over the lagoon.
Jamani
The main restaurant, open all day, with farm-to-table cooking from the produce of the Overberg, and a buffet breakfast with a view over the water.
The Barnabas Bar and Laguna Lounge
For a drink overlooking the pool, or coffee and cake in the afternoon.
The pools
The main pool, named after its Laughing Waters waterfall, a lap pool and the hydro-pool at the spa.
For everyone else
Tennis, putt-putt, a gym, and a helipad for those who would rather arrive by air.
Mist on the lagoon in the morning, the mountains all around, and the whole of the Whale Coast on the doorstep.
A stay at Arabella, the way I like it
Along the coast
We come from Cape Town along Clarence Drive, the coast road between the mountains and the sea, and on through Betty’s Bay, stopping for the penguins at Stony Point on the way.
Golf or the spa
An early tee time for the golfers, while the others take the long morning at the spa.
The lagoon
A paddle on the lagoon among the water birds, or a walk at Rooisand to look for the wild horses.
Over to Hermanus
A day in Hermanus, my home town, for the cliff path and, in season, the southern right whales in Walker Bay.
Photographs to keep
Twenty-four photographs of Arabella, the golf course on the lagoon, the hotel, the spa and the restaurants, to look at large and download.
Open the gallery ↗Before you go
Where
On the R44 near Kleinmond, on the shore of the Bot River Lagoon, about an hour and a half from Cape Town and half an hour from Hermanus.
When
All year. From June to November the southern right whales are in Walker Bay; spring brings the wildflowers to the Kogelberg.
Golf
We book your tee times ahead. Collared shirts and tailored shorts or trousers on the course, and no jeans.
Getting there
We drive you from Cape Town or the airport, and take you out along the Whale Coast while you are here.
Who it suits
Golfers above all, and couples, families and friends who want space, the spa and the countryside within reach of the coast.
Pairs well with
The penguins at Stony Point, the whales of Hermanus, a night at Harbour House, and a day at Sopiesklip.