One of South Africa’s oldest and most loved wine farms has entered a new season. Spier Wine Farm, renowned for its wines, contemporary Cape elegance, and commitment to regenerative farming, welcomed guests to its new hotel in March this year.

Since 1993, the Enthoven family has nurtured the 620-hectare farm, and the new hotel reflects their long-term vision. ‘The farm and hotel are immersive places of peace and connection. Set in a magnificent, wild Cape garden, it’s a more intimate farm hotel and a more encompassing expression of our family’s philosophy,’ shares Mariota Enthoven who has lived on the farm for a decade and spearheaded the project.

Tailored by Cape flora

Set within the Cape Floral Kingdom, Spier Hotel emerges as a sanctuary where nature and comfort meet. The property’s rewilded indigenous gardens are home to 39 000 reintroduced fynbos plants — a living tapestry of Cape flora. An expansive wellness spa features a Cape Herbal Bath House set among these gardens, where healing botanicals are cultivated for therapeutic treatments.

Of the 80 hotel rooms, many enjoy either a private space that opens onto wild-landscaped Cape gardens or Juliet balconies overlooking the Helderberg mountains. The renovation brings two new restaurants celebrating farm-to-table dining, three bars, and one of the largest heated pools in the Winelands. 

With a 3 600-piece contemporary South African art collection, the hotel features artworks that have been intentionally selected to foster grounding and tranquillity. Most of the artworks explore the relationship to the local landscape and flora, creating an aesthetic that contributes to the feeling of ‘home’ while capturing the diversity of South African stories. 

Every room was treated individually, each with a particular atmosphere. No two rooms are the same and this is amplified by the curation of the artworks. Some rooms feature artworks that explore the history of the farm itself, while another is captivated by the extensive flora of the Cape region; one room considers the importance of dreams. Spier also collaborated with artists on custom art commissions tailored to particular rooms or interiors. 

An ecosystem for South African artists 

With an evolving art collection, supported by Spier Arts Trust, new artwork is constantly acquired from contemporary Southern African artists, ensuring that the collection stays up to date. This is especially important in an era where we are constantly questioning the status quo, where we all have to navigate an ever-changing political environment as well as issues around land and conservation. To showcase some of these themes, the Spier Arts Trust holds rotating exhibitions in the Old Wine Cellar at the farm. A recent exhibition was held in support of ceramic artists in South Africa — looking at the land, its soil and water, as a starting point for creativity and human identity.

Envisioned as an ecosystem of career development programmes for visual artists, the Spier Arts Trust enfcourages artists to develop many aspects of their careers, including technical skills, conceptual thinking, and understanding how to operate in the art market more generally. Spier is a core partner in these projects that aim to align artists with opportunities like setting up their own solo exhibitions, working on collaborations with studios that specialise in tactile mediums such as beading, mosaic, or embroidery, or pushing their own creative boundaries by working on large site-specific works. Whichever direction they intend to take, local artists receive holistic support from the Trust’s programmes, keeping the Hotel’s craftmanship stories close to home.

“The property’s rewilded indigenous gardens are home to 39 000 reintroduced fynbos plants — a living tapestry of Cape flora.”