From its exhilarating cliff-top position overlooking the whale watching paradise of Walker Bay, Birkenhead House offers the perfect Hermanus luxury accommodation for those seeking a superior seaside experience. The hotel’s contemporary feel is an artful mix of classic beach house style and quirky opulence, and furnishings and artwork are arresting and eclectic. While Birkenhead House is Hermanus luxury accommodation at its best, the hotel is characterised by a relaxed and easygoing atmosphere where you can breakfast at noon, take tea on your balcony, then watch the ocean at dusk over a cocktail or two. Dinners are leisurely, staffs are friendly and knowledgeable, the pace is laidback. Relaxation is the order of the day. www.theroyalportfolio.com | [email protected] | +27 (0) 21 671 5502
I fell in love with Birkenhead House from the beginning.
Our synergy, our spirits kind of grew together.
It's quite a spiritual place.
Hermannus is up the east coast from Cape Town.
It's known as the town with champagne air,
and people from the Borank used to go down there
because the air is so clean and fresh.
We are perched right up on the cliffs
with the two best swimming beaches on either side.
You have this beautiful oasis of the Walker Bay environment
and you immediately feel relaxed.
The decor at Birkenhead House is quite young, trendy,
a lot of white and bright colours,
and there's some mad pieces of furniture too.
It's a bit of a mixture of cultures put together,
but you're still trying to create that beach environment
with that luxurious five-star class to it.
Hermannus is the start of the garden route.
It's very diverse in that it has amazing fynbos,
beautiful walks on the mountain, wonderful beaches.
The whale watching is unparalleled across the world.
You do shark cage diving in Gansbaai,
which is about a 35-minute drive from here.
It's not just getting into the cage and viewing the sharks,
it's actually enlightening yourself about great white sharks.
What's riding in Hermannus is something really magical to do
because you can just ride endlessly for miles and miles on this beach.
Our GM, Shane Brummer, is a very keen surfer.
His favourite thing is to take his surfing.
It gets you really in tune with the ocean
because when you're out there and you're paddling
and you tackle from that first wave,
it's the best feeling in the world.
The culinary experience is different
in that they concentrate on a lot of seafood.
We're really lucky to have the Atlantic on our doorstep.
We go down, we pick some black mussels for the guests,
come back up, cook them for them, do it actually with them,
show them the recipes.
It's very one-on-one and personalised.
The feeling that I want our guests to leave with
is that they have had an absolutely magical experience.
