Only one night for our anniversary - great location (just outside the main town of Hermanus - hour' drive from Cape Town), very helpful and attentive staff, beautiful plush rooms and food to die for. Wine on tap. We will be back. If you're looking for a definitive answer whether you should book Birkenhead House or not, you've just found it. Do it!

Perfect location, perfect decor, perfect rooms, excellent food. Just wonderful. Like the Malibu house you've always dreamed of but could never afford in a million years. Damn near a perfect hotel. The crickets were a bit noisy at night.

The management and staff are to be commended for knowing what their guests want and going the extra mile to put us at ease. It's a boutique hotel so I expected a friendly welcome, but it's the extra little touches that make all the difference here. The sprinkling of rose petals to welcome you to your room & bathroom, every imaginable extra from jelly beans to nuts, a stocked fridge, tea and coffee, not 'just' a dressing gown for each guest, instead there's two, both silk, one for warmer days/nights and one for cooler! Nothing is left to doubt, and even if there was something, I do believe that someone would click their fingers and it would appear!
The meals were all fabulous, the service outstanding, the setting superb but its the staff and their attitude that make such a huge impact here. Nothing is too much trouble, after a late-ish night I decided to wake myself up with a shot of espresso before a morning jog, the minute I got back a glass of water and a towel were offered...it's these little things that make such a big impression. A secluded hideaway of great beauty and peacefulness - I found my Shangri-la!