Perched on the cliffs with uninterrupted views over Walker Bay, Cliff Lodge is a stylish guesthouse with an intimate feel, offering just a small number of guest rooms and a highly personal service from the owner-managers, Gideon and Gill.
Rooms are spacious, light and airy and the lodge has excellent facilities, including a well-stocked honesty bar, a pool with views over the bay and a welcoming lounge area where you can relax with a cup of tea or coffee. The spacious balcony is ideal for unwinding with a glass of one of the Cape's wines while admiring the panoramic ocean views, while between July and November you can watch humpback and southern-right whales out in the bay.
We feel that it’s the scenery here that’s the real draw, with each room offering a splendid ocean view. One of the world’s best whale watching locations, it’s a wonderful place to unwind while appreciating nature.
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The spacious, individually-decorated rooms feature satellite TVs, hair dryers and en suite bathrooms, offering king sized or twin beds. All have a private patio with ocean views, with some also overlooking the aloe garden and the East Room looking out over Walker Bay Nature Reserve. South Room has an outdoor bath on its patio, while East Room has an outdoor shower, and West Room is set apart from the main guesthouse, situated by the pool area. The Ocean Suite offers further space and luxury, featuring a separate lounge and a private balcony overlooking the bay toward Cape Point — an excellent spot for whale watching and stargazing. Decorated with South African art, it has a two-person bath and a private setting.
The lodge is situated in the village of De Kelders on the Cape South Coast, close to Gansbaai and 30 kilometres from Hermanus. Cape Town is 160 kilometres away. The Overberg area is dominated by rolling hills, sandwiched between distant mountains and the ocean. It’s known for its beautiful fynbos (wild flowers and shrubland), wineries and white sand beaches. Migratory whales can be spotted from the shore, which swim up from Antarctica to calve.
The lodge serves continental and cooked breakfasts in the sunny conservatory or on the deck, which have wonderful views over the bay. The lounge has tea and coffee making facilities, including organic Arabica coffee beans and a range of loose leaf teas, which are brewed in traditional Japanese teapots. A selection of the region’s wines can also be tried. Staff will be happy to recommend local cafés, bars and restaurants to try for lunch and dinner.
The outdoor pool is surrounded by a sandstone deck with loungers and has sweeping views over the ocean, making an excellent place to relax. The lounge with its fireplace and ocean views also makes a peaceful place to unwind, as does the all-weather conservatory and spacious balcony, where you can sip wine and look out for whale sightings.
Where possible, we like to offer a range of accommodation for each stop of your trip, chosen by our specialists as some of their favourite places to stay. To help you make the right choice, we give each property a rating based on its facilities and service, but we also look for hotels with distinct character or a location that can't be bettered.
