Soverby Guest House is situated on a Wine farm in the
Stellenbosch district. The first Guesthouse you’ll find from Cape Town
International Airport. Indulge your entire being in country splendor and
hospitality. Yesteryear’s (1907) wine cellars have been transformed to provide
refined living for the honeymoon couple, the lone traveler, a family or two
groups of friends, exploring the winelands together.
Soverby Guest House is situated on a Wine farm in the
Stellenbosch district. The first Guesthouse you’ll find from Cape Town
International Airport. Indulge your entire being in country splendor and
hospitality. Yesteryear’s (1907) wine cellars have been transformed to provide
refined living for the honeymoon couple, the lone traveler, a family or two
groups of friends, exploring the winelands together.
The Old Farm
When you choose Soverby for your accommodation, you will sleep in
what was once a wine cellar, built in 1907 by the Joubert Family. Later
the cellar was converted into a stable, and as farming methods changed
and cooperative wineries were established, the rooms each took on yet
another new purpose:
Room 1 (now transformed into a honeymoon suite) continued to be
used as a stable. Room 2 (now a family suite) was a garage, as cars had
become affordable. Room 3 (now a twin-bed room) was a bachelor's flat
used by older sons of the family. Rooms 4 and 5 (now double-bed rooms)
were a large store room. Room 6 (now a family suite) was a farm shop in
use until 1995, and rooms 7 and 8 (now also double-bed rooms) were the
"poison room".
The Guest House
Gielie Hanekom bought Soverby in 1988. After much thought and
research, Gielie and his wife Dolly decided to convert this old cellar
into eight guest rooms.
Renovation started the end of 1995. It took about two months to
demolish the old wine tanks which were reinforced with steel cables!
Steel had not been readily available at the turn of the century, and
these steel cables had been transported to the farm from the Okiep
Copper mines in Namaqualand. After their removal during the renovations,
the cables were reused in the entrance wall, just to keep the history
going!
"So-verby" means "just beyond" - beyond the border of Cape Town
and Stellenbosch. By coincidence it has an appropriate meaning in
Danish too: "Sleep village"!. Soverby Guest House opened its doors to
the public on May 1996 and since then, Gielie, Dolly and the staff count
themselves fortunate to have met so many people and made so many
friends.
Soverby at Schonenberg
On May 1st 2008 Soverby at Schonenburg Estate became the latest addition to Soverby.
For that long stay during the South Africa summers, or just a
break away for the week-end out of the city, Schoneburg Estate is
situated in a security complex situated opposite the Lord Charles Hotel
for conferences and next to Waterstone Village.
Contact: Dolly Hanekom | Cell: +27.829258785.