South Africa’s oldest and continuously run hotel, Oude Werf in Church Street, Stellenbosch in the Western Cape, is owned by the Petousis hotelier family, who also own another, equally historic hotel – the Vineyard Hotel, in Claremont, Cape Town.

The Vineyard was once home to Lady Anne Barnard and her husband Andrew, colonial secretary to the governor of the Cape of Good Hope.

Oude Werf was built on the site of the first church built in Stellenbosch, and the Petousis family have history and hospitality in their veins. In 1968, they purchased Trocadero, just around the corner from the first Dutch church in Cape Town, from South African Breweries.

They demolished it to create the 107-room Townhouse Hotel, which was highly acclaimed for 50 years but sadly shuttered during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Architectural charm

The Petousis family are descendants of the Albertyn family, who were among the congregants of Stellenbosch’s first church, built between 1686 and 1687. A thatch-roofed building, its bell tower is visible in the earliest known sketch of Stellenbosch from 1710, before the church and much else of the town was twice destroyed by fire.

Though attempts were made to rebuild the church, a new site, in 1770, was chosen at the top of Church Street.

Oude Werf takes its name from the ‘old churchyard’. You can still see the original foundations, a disinterred grave, and even the remnants of the original pulpit of the first church, under the hotel’s restaurant.

The hotel information says: “On this ‘old churchyard’ would rise the Cape Dutch-style Wium’s Inn, the two-storey Arcadia and, in the 20th century, after much rebuilding, Oude Werf Hotel.

After 1889, a second storey was added in the Georgian style. Arcadia and Harmonia functioned as a ‘parlour boarding house’ for some of the first female students at the fledgling university – the origin of Stellenbosch’s first women’s sorority house, Harmonie.” A red lantern still stands outside the front door.

Fast forward to 2015, when the family commissioned architects Revel Fox & Partners to create the hotel we know today. Their seamless integration of contemporary renovations and extensions was so sympathetically accomplished that it won an architectural award.

Exploring Stellenbosch

The four-star graded Oude Werf Hotel has 58 rooms in three styles – Comfy, Whimsy and Plenty – to describe their increasing sizes.

Most rooms are positioned around the courtyard pool and gardens, or in the historic house.
In spring, when Farmer’s Weekly visited Stellenbosch to attend Woordfees, the town was particularly picturesque, with the giant oaks freshly green and the white-washed Cape Dutch buildings reflecting the light. The hotel’s substantial display of clivia was also at its best.

As a university town, ‘Stellies’ has a vibrance and edginess that makes it very desirable. This is especially so if you are young at heart and want to be in a stimulating academic and creative hotbed. Being there during Woodfees is witnessing creative life with the volume turned way up.

As almost no one in the historic centre of Stellenbosch has parking available, having your vehicle valet parked by the hotel’s wonderful staff is in itself a luxury. Spending most of the time there on foot, it is easy to reach the many areas of interest.

While there are many high-end dining options, Java Bistro, diagonally opposite from Oude Werf, is very affordable (and extremely popular). A little around the corner is Vadas Pasteis de Nata & Café, at 36 Ryneveld Street, which is a great place to grab coffee and sensational custard tarts.

Then, consider walking along the Eerste River to take in the outdoor art installations.
The hotel interiors have a delicious dose of whimsy: animal trophy heads as you enter are not taxidermied pieces but sculptural forms covered in crocheted fabric, beads, and papier-mâché.

Lights are massed together to excellent effect. In the cosy lounge and bar that looks onto the garden, there are antique-style hanging lights, with pulley and counter balance, covering much of the ceiling.

In the restaurant, the same thing occurs over the buffet table area but with industrial-type lighting.

Farmer’s Weekly stayed in a second-floor room that has a skylight with electrically operated blinds. The bedroom still has original sash windows and wooden flooring while the bathroom, a spacious new build with a sculptural tub and standalone shower, is separated from the room by sliding semi-frosted doors.

A marriage of the old and new continues with the room’s antique furnishings in contemporary fabrics and avant-garde lighting.

With its most recent upgrade, this historic hotel is speeding towards the next century with natty tech like using the Wi-Fi to cast your media to the TV via an on-screen QR code.

Dining at Oude Werf

A full hot and cold breakfast buffet is served in the restaurant but there is also an extensive breakfast menu if you’d prefer to be served. Stand-outs on the breakfast buffet include delicious home-made cheese spreads with smoked snoek, and salmon. The breads and other baked goods were particularly excellent.

During the day and into the evening, select from a snack menu, which can also be served in the bar area, while the all-day menu has a wider selection, including dishes considered to be traditionally South African: grilled springbok served with pap and chakalaka (R280), venison bobotie with Mrs Ball’s chutney (R260), and Cape Malay vegetable curry with rice and roti (R145).

A drawback for people lodging in Church Street-facing rooms may be noise from the busy road and the many vibey nearby restaurants with outdoor dining, although this is modulated by the front rooms having double-glazed windows. Ask for a quieter room if you think this will bother you.

And, because of the opacity of the bathroom glass doors, turning the bathroom light on during the night may wake a sleeping partner.

Best is to use a small torch or grab the cell phone happily charging on the nightstand via USB or the multi-plug adaptors.

Beds and linens are wonderfully comfortable and make it hard to leave the cosy cocoon of the room despite the appeal of being out and about.

There’s top-class in-room coffee supplied and a mini bar, too.

The courtyard garden and pool area is lovely and rooms with balconies have tables and chairs to enjoy the outdoors.

Watch out for the series of woodcuts by artist Jacobus Hendrik Pierneef displayed in the foyer and other larger-scale Pierneef works in the public areas.

Lean on the staff, many of whom have been at Oude Werf for many years and have deep local knowledge, to make recommendations for restaurants (and snap up those elusive reservations), as well as bespoke wine and other experiences.

Visit oudewerf.co.za.