Grande Roche Hotel

We in fact stayed for two months at this hotel, from mid January to mid-March 2025, wanting a relaxed base for a long holiday in South Africa, to avoid the European winter. We chose this hotel from good experiences in previous short stays. We were not disappointed. The hotel itself is small, with only about 30 rooms, but spread around the beautiful grounds and historic buildings. Its setting evokes a Manor House and wine farm, with vineyard areas as well as lawns and attractively planted gardens and great, ancient oak trees. Apart from the hotel accommodation itself, there is a sheltered swimming pool, a spa, and courts where energetic guests can play pickleball. The Venue (the conference and function area) is well-positioned, away from the majority of the hotel accommodation, and there is really no disturbance. Some of the accommodation (the “heritage” rooms) are spilt level, with sleeping space upstairs and a spacious living area downstairs. However, because my husband has eyesight and mobility problems we chose a terrace suite, which has spacious accommodation all on one level, in small thatched terraced groups. Each such suite has its own patio and an evening pleasure was drinking a gin and tonic, or sharing a bottle of house wine from the Hotel’s associated wine farm “Under Oaks”, sitting on this patio and watching the colours change an the mountains opposite as the sun went down, and the lights of Paarl began to twinkle. In the room itself, the king size bed was very comfortable. There was reasonably good wardrobe space; only full length dresses being a little problematic. The sitting room was also comfortably furnished, and all was decorated with an interesting miscellaneous mix of eclectic pictures and ornaments. The bathroom was modern and spacious, and whilst there was some trouble keeping the water inside the surround of the walk-in rain-shower, the housekeepers always restored the bathroom to pristine dry order each day. The food at the Grande Roche is outstanding. First, the hotel scores enormously for not having the ubiquitous buffet breakfast! Usually in such cases, it gets boring seeing the same offering spread out every morning, and all too often, the additional help-yourself items turn outs to be a bit stale. At the Grande Roche, the breakfast menu includes about a dozen imaginatively varied dishes, (so there always feels like a good choice) and all are cooked freshly for you. Furthermore, if you fancy a variation on the actual menu, they will do their best to provide it. So a leisurely breakfast on the terrace, with gorgeous views over the restaurant entrance garden and onwards over vineyards and the Paarl Valley to the magnificent mountains opposite, with the sun rising above them, is a memorable and delightful experience, every day. Dinner raises the standards yet another notch, with a selection of fine dining dishes, with interesting taste combinations, continually being vari

What an amazing place. We had never stayed before, and this was our "treat" place on this trip. By booking directly you get a room upgrade (if available) and a bottle of wine. We did get the upgrade to the Merlot suite which was just gorgeous. The photos do not do it justice. The reception staff and the lovely man who takes your bags were very welcoming, and the iced rooibos tea with blood orange was so welcome on arrival. We used the large pool which was like something from north africa with the palm trees, pool lilos and comfortable sunbeds. The turndown service was lovely. Charlotte Rhys toiletries, and robes are provided. The breakfast on the stoep overlooking the valley was generous and delicious, especially the avocado toast. The only thing that let it down was the restaurant, but I will leave a separate review for that.

From the moment we arrived at Grande Roche we were greeted by a team of staff whose warmth, attentiveness, and professionalism set the tone for our entire stay. It’s rare to encounter such genuine, discreet service, but the team at this hotel truly goes above and beyond to make you feel welcomed and cared for. Every request, no matter how small, was met with a smile and handled with incredible efficiency, making us feel like valued guests at all times. The hotel itself is absolutely stunning—exquisite in design and beautifully maintained. It strikes the perfect balance of luxury and comfort, with every detail thoughtfully considered. From the spacious rooms to the elegant common areas, it’s clear that no expense has been spared in creating a space where guests can truly relax and unwind. This hotel is, without a doubt, one of the best (if not the best) we’ve had the pleasure of staying at in South Africa. The impeccable service and sheer quality of the accommodations made for a stay we’ll never forget. Our flight was cancelled on the day we were meant to check out and the team have handled it brilliantly. We are comfortable and fortunate to be at the Grande Roche. We can’t wait to return!

We believe the Hotel has recently had new owners. The whole venue is starting to look a little tired and being one of the most expensive Hotels we have stayed in, in the area, this is not good enough. Issues: Air conditioning unit leaked soaking some of our clothes, this took two days to repair. Food in the dining room was very good with large portion sizes, too big for us, but service was haphazard as your meals were delivered in stages, you could have finished your meal before the side dish of fries arrived. The Pass in the kitchen needs to get sorted. On leaving we could not get a copy of our bill as the printer was broken and was promised that this would be emailed immediately, still waiting. As our departure was at 6am we were promised a breakfast box, never produced. Paving in the grounds is very uneven and could prove a serious hazard. Our room was priced at around $600 for a Hotel in that area and with the above issues.

A perfect New Year’s Eve, most amazing food. Incredible staff performance, especially our waiter Bobby. The whole premises are gorgeous with magnificent landscaping. Management is on top of things. Room 1: nice little cottage house with a strong thatch smell at the entrance. Was not bothered too much, as it was not present in the bedroom. Loved our stay.

Beware if you have a sensitive nose or allergies, or asthma… We booked one night at the grand Roche hotel, thankfully not more. When they gave us our room, I thought I was going to be sick the smell was so overwhelming. I can’t describe it, but there was no way I could even be in the room and was planning my overnight stay in the car! They told us it was the thatch roof, however I’ve stayed in many thatched roofs over our years of travel and have never experienced this. In fairness and appreciation to the hotel they did give us the option to move and showed us another couple of rooms. They also smelled, but the one we chose was to a lesser degree IT IS a beautiful property, the staff are very friendly and the breakfast we had there was amazing! Just knows your nose may not like it .