There was no better word than "heavenly" to describe Babylonstoren . We spent two nights there but wished we could have spent an entire week. The staff at Babylonstoren had a great passion for what they do and it showed in all the little details. We loved our elegantly designed cottage . It has all the modern comforts one can expect from a luxury hotel, but was not over the top. The old charm and simplicity of the farmhouse was well preserved.
Food at the on-premise restaurant, Babel, was excellent. Everything was so freshly and creatively prepared that we had one of our favorite meals of all time (Yes, we thought it was that good). We also enjoyed many of the activities on premise: farm & garden walk, garden fruit picking, wine tasting and winery tour, etc. We highly recommend the farm & garden walk. It's early in the morning (8am) but you probably won't have public visitors during that hour (... the farm is also open to non-hotel guests). We ended up being the only guests on the walk and really enjoyed the morning serenity with our awesome guide, Jerome. He even made us a beautiful bouquet from the wild flowers picked on the walk. (Yes, you are allowed to pick full-bloomed flowers and ripe fruits on the property.) We also went for a little harvest in the garden one evening. We ended up sending these fruits to the kitchen but guests are welcome to eat anything they harvest.
Babylonstoren is a good base to explore wineries and restaurants nearby (and the cute Franschhoek town center as well). The hotel helped us rent a car (dropped off at the hotel and picked up from the hotel when we left). The area was very safe to drive around on our own. Just remember that South Africans drive on the left side of the road!
Book spa appointments in advance at Babylonstoren. It was fully booked when we tried to get a massage after our arrival. We tried a Turkish bath treatment (the only thing available) but didn’t like the experience.