Laborie Estate

We were excited to return to Laborie after its extensive renovation. We were not disappointed - the gardens were beautiful and all looked very welcoming. We were directed to our villa which was a short drive from the main house to a corner of the estate. Initial feelings were that we were slightly isolated from the main centre and it was a ten minute walk back to the restaurants and bar. Our room however was large and very tastefully decorated- there is no questioning the quality of the furnishings although we were disappointed that there were no feather pillows - we both slept badly in the ‘cheap’ hollow fibre pillows and woke up with stiff necks. More disappointing was the complete lack of any toiletries in the bathroom- no flannel, bar of soap, shower hat , cotton wool etc- absolutely nothing except bottles of shampoo, conditioner and shower gel. I am sorry but in a 5 star establishment such as Laborie this is the least I expect. I made my complaint clearly to reception on departure. In the evening we ate at the newly built Stoep restaurant. A beautiful setting looking at the mountains but unfortunately we had to move inside due to the chilly wind. We ordered wine which arrived immediately but our food order took nearly one hour . There appeared to be plenty of staff but no manager or leadership to take charge. Our waitress, though quite friendly was at best indifferent to what was going on and we got increasingly frustrated at the wait. The following day we took breakfast at the same restaurant and were told that ‘in-house guests’ were only allowed to order one dish and one drink from the menu. When I asked if we could have a glass of orange juice I was emphatically told ‘No’. This is utterly ridiculous and in a 5 star guest house, whether ‘ in house ’ or not is an orange juice really that much of an expensive extra? We waited 40 minutes for our coffee and had to get up a couple of times from the table to ask what was going on. Our food finally arrived - it was nicely prepared and presented but we had waited so long that the enjoyment of breakfast in the sun looking at the mountains quickly dwindled. So in conclusion- would we return? Sadly I have to say that until the necessary tweaks have been made the answer at the moment has to be’No’.

Beautiful vinyard close to the centre of Paarl . We enjoyed a sharing platter at Suzanne’s . A wine tasting , a walk around the property. A comfortable nights accommodation , the room had all the extras you would want. Staff were all friendly & helpful. Would highly recommend.