News and Events - Karoo Art Hotel, Barrydale

It's Rock n Rugby with Dobbo and friends July 3/4

2026-04-26T00:00:00+02:00

A rocking new theme .Awesome music, fantastic rugby

Program details

FRIDAY 3 JULY

5pm. Official opening in the Karoo Art bar

With Steven Kitsoff's Bomb Squad beer flowing but a real Spingbok rugby Bomb Squad in attendance behind the bar

Deon Fourie
Scarra Ntubeni
Frans Malherbe

Imagine you beer being served by these legends.

7.30pm. Arno Carstens.

In the Belanti Ballroom

SAT 4 JULY

AM. BARRYDALE AT LEISURE

kIck off with the early morning swim club in the pass
The Barrydale cycle loop
The Barrydale market
The retail attractions of the village

PM. LUNCH AT JOUBERT TRADAUW

In the vicinity Metanoia home of SA's new single malt whiskey
Just up the road Karoo Saloon

4:30 THE PREGAME RUGBY PANEL

Join Dobbo and a panel of recent Springboks for an unpacking of the battle ahead

5:40 SA VS ENGLAND TEST

With halftime comment by the panel

7:30 Peter G

The same magician / commedian who brought the house down last year

8:00 SUNSET SWEATSHOP

Cape Town's premier party band takes us into the night

2025 images in the gallery bellow give a clue to what these weekends are all about.

Book a room in the room of the hotel now as it fills up fast.

There is also quality B&B accommodation within easy walking distance of the hotel.

Accommodation

winter program

2026-01-16T00:00:00+02:00

All About Writing's Art of the Memoir workshop and retreat returns from 8 May.

2026-01-15T00:00:00+02:00

START PACKING YOUR BAGS FOR A WRITING WORKSHOP OF NOTE

INDULGE IN AN ESCAPE TO BARRYDALE STORYHOOD

Speaking personally: I've been fortunate enough to be a regular attendee at these workshops. They've made a huge difference to my progress and motivation as a writer. The workshop convenors and coach's Jo-Anne Richards and Joanne Hitchens are not only seriously accomplished writers themselves but both of them have the gift of being outstanding teachers.

Rick Melvill.

https://allaboutwritingcourses.com/

What participants have said about Art of the Memoir workshops

Like many of you I have been integrating in the last couple of days the magic of all that we have learnt and experienced over the weekend. I have given my romantic self permission to emerge and hope you will indulge my vulnerability in sharing these words.

I have life. I celebrate life. I want to live life as a poem. I want the lyrics of my new song to capture the magnificence of the ocean. I want to be dwarfed by the horizon at dawn and amazed by the whirling constellations in a velvet night sky. I want to feel tender plants break through the hard crust of Earth and smell the petrichor after a Lowveld summer storm. I've been on the outside looking in for the past months. I've seen the warm glow of a lamp, the sapphire and ruby shades of a Persian rug, the colourful crocheted blanket on the back of a chair. Now i walk through the blue front door and pull up a chair. Ahhh! I believe that the essentials of life are kindness and music and home and books and new friends and adventure and companionship and health and love. I am whole, I am healed, I am perfect. I am home. 💗🌷 Liz M

Merle Levine - ❤️❤️

A short relive which I share with my family and with you…

I’ve just returned from a wonderful Memoir Writing retreat in Barrydale, held at the Karoo Art Hotel.

Under the full moon and expert midwifery of the Two Joannes, we journeyed into the books we are each writing. We freefalled without a parachute, into our stories as we wrote our writing exercises furiously under an intense time constraint and then – no pressure - read our masterpieces to the group. What lives, what stories, what wise insights and courageous outsights were shared with such raw honesty.

I think we learned more about each other in this crucible of a weekend, than probably our families know about us.

One little taste of the humour and choreography of our hosts at the Karoo Art hotel, Sue and Rick and Charlie. For sundowners a corner bar room was set up with a classical guitarist and lights dimmed. I noticed to my surprise, tea cups and silver tea pots. Now I love tea but…

I was handed a china tea cup, with a slice of lemon rattling with an ice cube.
What's this? I asked, looking at a swimming sprig of mint.
"Green Tea" she said, the sweet waiter with a twinkle in her eye.
OK?
"Gee and Tea" she replied.

The weekend in short: The twists and turns of agony and ecstasy. To be a writer or not to be. Is there a choice or is it Karma? Good Karma or bad Karma or does it matter? As Hemmingway said: “It is easy to be a writer, you just sit at your typewriter and bleed.”

LISA PHILLIPS 🖖!

I know that I am more than myself. I know there is a vastness beyond although sometimes it really doesn’t feel like it. Pain. What is pain? Why is there pain? I love this world we call earth and I love the people who share this life with me. Why are we raw? Why are we vulnerable? Why are we naïve? What is hope? What is belief? If we believe it will be so. Is this why we are thrust into cages? Into bodies? Into difficult lives? Is this why we are pushed beyond our limits? Is this why we feel so alone? So that we can find company? So that we can arrive? Why do we compare? There is so much love. Fresh air. Freshly cut grass. Freshly baked bread. A ripe delicious strawberry. The blue of the sky. The moist sheet of mist. The drama of a thunderstorm. Communication with an 800-year-old tree. The wonderment of what an old tortoise is thinking. The bite into a fresh deep red tomato straight off the vine. To find the majesty. To find the glory. To find love. Love of all that is. Connection. Intimacy. Self-realisation. The love of the physical. The love of vibration. To understand the mind. To appreciate the miracle of all that is. Why do we choose to live with the devil? To break free of narcissistic abuse is to find yourself. To find your true self. Your connection to source. To appreciate all of life and its glory. To love yourself.

Thank you Jo Annes for a beautifil guided journey. Thank you to all the participants who deeply enriched my life with all of your formidable stories. I learnt so much. More please! Loved this group. It feels like new heart soul tributaries have been opened to flow.
Namaste🙏🏽🦋BALU NIVISEN 🦋

Donna Mckellar. May 1-3.

2026-01-15T00:00:00+02:00

There's a thousand words (read the write up) and then there is the joy of what you'll get to leave the workshop with; a picture that say's a thousand words.

Heidi Ansley Mosaic Workshop 12 & 13 June 2026

2026-01-15T00:00:00+02:00

Find out all about Heidi Ansley's fabulous Piet-my-vrou Mosaic school here

https://www.facebook.com/pmvmosaics/

A spitting image of Harry - in glass.

A sunbird in the Feinboss. Every facet a piece of glass

Ed in his purple collar with his exact cock of the head.

The goldfish in their glass jar on the porch.

WHAT HEIDI BRINGS

All the tools and the materials
22 years of experience
A process that in two days will see you leave with a finished piece of art to hang on your wall.

MORE ABOUT THE WORKSHOP

heidiansley@gmail.com

HOTEL BOOKINGS

Hotel reservations

MORE ABOUT HEIDI'S SCHOOL

https://www.facebook.com/pmvmosaics/

COST

(to follow)

Cathy Milner Art Workshop 27 March fully booked, spaces still available 20-23 August

2026-01-15T00:00:00+02:00

Images from past workshops below give an idea of the feel of the workshops.

December was a brilliant time to visit Barrydale

2026-01-10T00:00:00+02:00

It was the time of the annual Net vir Pret puppet parade.

This year Foxtrot Oscar , our Royal Enfield, had the honour of leading the parade as transport vehicle for this years puppet parade leader The Bull. Never has a driver taken their role more seriously (or found a better hat)

The LED Christmas light installation by Magpie lit up

world class creators of chandeliers and other lighting from found objects just across the street from the hotel sprang to life once again down in the park .

Graham Abbott's annual Analogue Festival happened

Bringing a dose of real hands on creativity in a world where currently mesmerised by AI. There were analogue prints on the wall selling for over R1000 proving that hand made and man made is only going to become more valued.

The dress theme for the New Years eve street party got people thinking

It's turned into a real dress up event

The new flags went up.

With an icon for each of the Arts of the Karoo Art Hotel. Pictured are just a few of them. The Art of the Road Trip, Art of dance, Long & Prosper (perhaps the key Art of all), the Art of the bar, the Art of a Karoo kitchen.

We resurrected the tradition of the movie posters on the bioscope wallWith a twist.

We are the movie

Charlie continued to get himself into many a pic

Sure proof that Sue is behind the camera

Each and every day brought another inspirational thought

Stand by. We're acting on the idea of an annual poster with a year of thoughts

With summer in full swing the verandah pumped once more.

New years eve came an everyone came to the party.

Here's to 2026 from the town of the year

HERE'S TO A STORY DRIVEN YEAR AT THE KAROO ART HOTEL

2025-12-10T00:00:00+02:00

In 1995 Sputnik, the hotel's much loved Rolls Royce Silver Cloud Wraith, has continued to be the vehicle for many a hotel story session with visiting celebrities and others of note. A 1980 Silver Wraith is a beautiful thing – especially on a dust road. But there is another Rolls Royce year I lean to: 1922, the year of the Silver Ghost.

Trevor and Sharon Binder

“He grates the gears a lot but he enjoys it”

Watch Rick's Interview With the Couple Here

Trevor and Sharon Binder, parents of MOTO GP ace Brad Binder (KTM) driving a 1922 Silver Ghost were one of hundreds of owners of extraordinary cars who graced our front entrance this year.

Amor, with our go to recipe book for classic Karoo dishes infront of trusty Aga invented in 1922

We must be the only 4 Star hotel worldwide with a working coal fired Aga in the dining
room.

Like the Roorkhee chairs and the bags from the high end retro Safari luggage and campaign accessory business that Sue and I founded in 1988, Melvill and Moon, our Aga speaks of the Age of empire and that of the Grand Safari era. Karen Blixen of Out of Africa fame’s cook Kamante used the exact same model as ours.

Karen Blixon’s lover Grand Safari icon Dennis Finch Hatton with his Gypsy Moth at Voi just prior to its fateful crashing.

Out of Africa, Dennis Finch Hatton, a country hotel infused with the spirit of Laudator Temporis Acti (‘The Romance of an Age gone by’ our Melvill and Moon motto (and positioning statement), it all sounds very British Colonial, but just as Karen Blixen wasn’t English, nor is our Aga.

As our growing list of European road trippers all know the Aga is the invention of Swiss Nobel laureate Gustave Dalen. Invented as a gift to his wife while recovering from an accident that left him blind. The year? 1922.Our AGA is still fed in the original way. With Anthracite: Clean burning but dusty all the same and separated from all that white linen and elegant dining by a steadfast Falkirk No 1 that’s been transformed into a coal scuttle.

The Falkirk 1 boiler is biggest pot ever produced by the historic Scottish Falkirk iron company. They were also the creators of the iconic three legged South African cooking pot known as a Potjie. Originally created for cloths washing, the journey of our No 1 included time as soup pot on a Boer War troupe train in 1900.

The AGA’S journey with us charts some of the best years of our lives . We first bought it to be the central feature of our production office at The Blue Moon Company (1995). An otherwise high-tech space populated by young designers, producers, film and art directors. That’s where Sue pioneered the South African communications medium of Industrial Theatre and where we rolled it out everywhere from mining to banking to brewing. Those were the heydays of Blue Moon for us, before selling out to a Johannesburg stock exchange listed group in 2000. And that’s when we left to start Melvill and Moon. The Moon as a link to Blue Moon. We took our AGA with us, to our farm, The Prynnsberg Estate.

There it became the alter of slow cooked lamb and free range farm beef in a storied Eastern Free State Sandstone mansion created by the Kimberly diamond magnate Charles Newberry in 1885. It took Sue and I twenty years to renovate the Manor House and the many other heritage buildings at Prynnsberg. We took it all from a near ruin to the cover of Conde Nast International Travel in 2021. The year in which we turned our back on that dictum in the of a chapel window at my old school St Andrews College in the Eastern Cape; “Stop doubting and believe”. With the project on a rocket ship of a launchpad we sold.

It was to the slow cooking magic of the AGA that Batro our pudding genius turned for Christmas pudding production.

As the flyer says on the reception desk, one a day is the AGA way for these legendary puddings. It’s not a day, it’s an all nighter. Batro does the mix in the afternoon and into the slow oven it goes: top left. And off home he goes at the end of the evening shift. Out it comes at breakfast. It’s been going on like that this since August. Up to a point these puddings only get better thanks to a healthy weekly Spritz of Joseph Barry brandy. Up to
what point? Perhaps explosion ! There’s a lot of brandy in the vintage series.

Batro’s pudding will be the final feature on the Christmas day menu. Hopeful of providing something we regularly get asked for, a kitchen recipe, I asked Batro for something hand written for printing and attachment onto the Christmas lunch menu’s. Back came 3 pages of foolscap. Welcome to the world of authenticity and originality.

On that score News 62 Journalist Mickey Menz popped around and made a great alternative
to all that A4.

WATCH: A step by step guide to Batro's AGA Christmas Pudding

We’re so much looking forward to the arrival of another story driven year. The program gets populated as we go and not up yet are all the Dale events; Ferrari-Dale, Morgan-Dale, Shadow-Dale, Vintage-Dale, Cape1000-Dale, Harley-Dale ? KTM-Dale ? Duel-Dale ? Joining the Karoo Art’s ‘Art of’ themes will be Art of the Passes (Craig Harper’s red hot sports car group weekend).

Just yesterday we had an interaction with the poet Archie Swanson about a poetry event currently percolating and a response to a fun brief: “If you are to pop bye and do a reading in the bar one night, what about something about fish for us to promote a Gansbaai fish special to go along with your poetry?”

Fish special for a poetry evening in the making. Archie Swanson

This, for us, is the joy of the Karoo Art Hotel. It’s a rolling exercise in creative development. Underpinned by that increasingly rare thing to find as we all plummet headlong into the new world of AI; Authenticity.

FINALLY, AFTER A YEAR OF OUTSTANDING SERVICE THE STAFF GOT TO LET THEIR HAIR DOWN.

2025-12-09T00:00:00+02:00

"their staff are an absolute delight to interact with: friendly, helpful, welcoming and cheerful. In the Karoo Arts kitchen you will find Katriena who bakes the most delicious rusks, scones, bread and cakes in a genuine wood-burning oven. Thank you to all who made my stay so happy. I would name you each personally, but there would not be enough space in this review. I look forward to visiting again." -Simonstown July 2025

https://www.tripadvisor.co.za/Hotel_Review-g472518-d1400495-Reviews-Karoo_Art_Hotel-Barrydale_Overberg_District_Western_Cape.html

Trip Advisor is the place to go for guests detailed reviews. But the one above from Simonstown in July 2025 is typical.

Regular hotel guests and party animals will surely enjoy these images of our team at play and on the customer side of the bar – appropriately at Ronnies Sex Shop. Ronnie & PJ are regular visitors to the hotel so it was great to be customers in their establishment for this years Karoo Art Hotel staff Christmas party.

Christmas lunch 2025

2025-11-21T00:00:00+02:00

The cost of the lunch is R550pp

Batro made the Chistmas pudding. Each one of them takes an all nighter in the slow oven in the Aga. Here Batro stands with the man who taught him such a lot, our iconic Chef now retired, Derek Louw. Uhm, that's not a christmas pudding lesson, that's a christmas omelete 🎄

We have another icon headed our way - Roger Lucey. 28 November

2025-10-07T00:00:00+02:00

He survived a covert dirty tricks campaign against him from the security police that destroyed his music career. He survived the drug addiction and disaffection that followed. He survived a decade and a half as a TV cameraman in the wars of Africa and Eastern Europe. Roger Lucey then knew that he needed to go further to find peace of mind. With no previous experience he set out to build a house in the mountains of the Breede River Valley with a vague idea that this might lead to healing. This is the story of that house in the changing South Africa and the path that led Lucey from the darkness of his past into the light and back to his music.

Roger will be performing his solo show featuring stories from the book and songs inspired by the journey in the Belanti

Graham Abbott's Analogue festival - an immersion in retro tech and romance..12 -20 Dec

2025-10-01T00:00:00+02:00

Stand by for more information..

Barrydale in Bloom 14-16 Nov

2025-09-30T00:00:00+02:00

PROGRAMME

TUESDAY
Michelle Berry Cooking Demo 10:00 - 12:00 14 pax Kamala Karoo Sanctuary Chickpea Triple Magic
Magpie Creative Art Workshop 14:00 - 17:00 10 pax Magpie Making flowers out of recycled plastic

WEDNESDAY
Magpie Creative Art Workshop 14:00 - 17:00 10 pax Magpie

THURSDAY
Magpie Creative Art Workshop 14:00 - 17:00 10 pax Magpie
Sculpting This Earth Matinee 15:00 - 16:35 Belanti

FRIDAY
Nicky Michell Fabulous Fynbos Workshop 12:00 - 15:00 20 pax Karoolkie Learn how to use fynbos in flower arrangements
Sculpting This Earth Matinee 15:00 - 16:35 Belanti
Janet Botes Land Art Workshop 15:30 - 17:30 20 pax Karoolkie

Gala Dinner 18:30 - 23:30 100 pax Karoolkie Shane Peltzer & Barbara Bridge prizes
(Sanbona, Braai Boikie, Peta-Dawn) Judge Water Cans & AUCTION

SATURDAY
Barkrun 07:30 - 8:30 Karoo Art Hotel
Open Gardens 9:00 - 17:00
Market and Tea Garden 9:00 - 15:00 Karoolkie
Kids Play Pod: 9:00 - 15:00
A Wildlings Wiggle Den 9:00 - 10:00 Karoolkie Garden
B The Forest's Seekers Hideout 10:00 - 11:00 Karoolkie Garden
C Play with Nature 11:00 - 15:00 Karoolkie Garden
D Little Apothecaries 11:00 - 15:00 Karoolkie Garden
Speakers:
1.     Johan van Niekerk 9:30 - 9:50 Karoolkie Guest House Municipal Environmental Management
2.     Strijdom van der Merwe 9:55 - 10:55 Karoolkie Guest House Sculpting The Earth
3.     Dale Imerman 11:00 - 11:30 Karoolkie Guest House The Nature of AI
4.     Annette Müller 11:35 - 11:55 Karoolkie Guest House Why Weeds are Vital for These Times
5.     Sanbona 12:00 - 12:30 Karoolkie Guest House Technology in Wildlife Conservation
6. Robert Damstra 13:30 - 13:50 Karoolkie Guest House Grey Water Recycling

Nicole Huke Cyanotype Workshop 13:00 - 14:30 6 pax Karoolkie Botanical Art with Sunlight
Sculpting This Earth Matinee 15:00 - 16:35 Belanti
Denise Bierman: Scent & Self 15:30 - 16:30 Karoolkie Guest House A Creative Ritual in a Bottle

Champagne & Canapés 17:00 - 19:00 30 pax Die Langhuis

SUNDAY
Veld Walk with Flora 7:30 - 9:30 Somewhere in the Veld Location still to be announced
Dogs Hike to Disa Pools 7:30 - 9:30 Karoo Art Hotel Drive to starting point
Open Gardens 9:00 - 13:00
Market and Tea Garden 9:00 - 13:00 Karoolkie
Brunch at Kamala Karoo Sanctuary 11:00 - 13:00 30 pax Kamala Karoo Sanctuary
Talks in Gardens:
i. Marie-Noëlle Favard 10:00 - 10:45 Kamala Karoo Sanctuary Practical Tips for Rose Gardens
ii. Robert Damstra Garden Walk 10:00 - 10:45 11 Van Riebeeck Street Showcasing Waterwise Landscaping
iii. Gordon Aeschliman 11:00 - 11:45 Cr Upington & Tinley Streets Community Food Gardens
iv. Grootvadersbosch Corné Brink 12:00 - 12:45 Caravan Park River Restoration

WOMAD 4 OCT

2025-09-30T00:00:00+02:00

Here's the program everyone.

Congratulations and thanks to Jonathan Reese for doing such sterling work in getting such a celebrated event to Barrydale.

The Karoo Art is super proud to be a key host.

"Will you still need me, will you still feed me when I'm 64 ?" You bet we will. 20% off, Monday -Thursday if you were born before 1961

2025-09-01T00:00:00+02:00

On of the things we know (about being 64+) is that ....we don't want to talk about it ..

Maybe sing about it When I'm 64. THE bEATLESbut not talk about it

My mind goes back to the first time I was offered a 'pensioners discount'. It was while buying tickets to a movie at the Hydepark cinema complex in Sandton. Having indeed just qualified as a so called pensioner (I was 60), I was so incensed about being recognised as such that I refused the discount with a "what the *&^% are you thinking?" look. . I'm english speaking, it's good manners for white afrikaans speakers who are much ones junior to address one as 'Oom'. The trouble with it is that it carries with it the badge of age. As such I cant stand it. Try Sue on 'Tannie'. Pieter van Tonder is secretary of the Barrydale farmers union, an immensely important part of broader Barrydale society, I'm just the hotel guy and here he along with all the other young farmers are calling me Oom..

What are we talking ?

We are talking about a discount of 20% off on midweek accommodation for anyone who doesn't care a &%$# what day of the week it is. Maybe you retired early or something. You just need to have stepped onto this mortal coil in the year of 1961 or before.

. Bad example 🙃.

How do you ask for this thingamabob discount thing without saying why ?

Reception are good for a live long and prosper sign 🖖

Or 'when I'm 64' off the playlist on your phone

Or middle finger that was obviously born before 61 with a stonkin diamond ring on it protruding from a Harley glove.

Where is the proof that born before 61 isn't old ?

Try calling Mick Jagger 'Oom' even though he's 82.

20% discount on accommodation Mon-Thurs for anyone born before 1961

And what if you don't qualify ? Were born after 1961? Relax, time flies when you're having fun. Hum this song..

When I'm 64

As a matter of interest below are 8 of us at 64.

Confirming less 20% for all of them Monday-Thursday and the usual deal for performers in the bar. Dinner and booze on us and welcome to pass a hat 😂

Tim Plewman at last . Saturday 13th September

2025-08-31T00:00:00+02:00

'You'll laugh, you'll cry. But best of all you'll think. And possibly rethink. About everything' .

Who writes this stuff ? What do they know about what we know about owning and running an Art Hotel ?

Herewith Tim Plewman and John Smeddle's resumes. Here's the value of a performance in an intimate venue like the Belanti. When there is greatness in the room you can almost touch it.

TIM PLEWMAN BIO

It was at art college, where 19- year-old Tim was studying to be a graphic artist in the advertising industry, that a friend suggested they go to dance classes, “Just think,” said friend, “we’ll be the only
two straight men in a room full of gorgeous women with amazing bodies, wearing very little.”

And so began Tim’s career in show biz that has now spanned some 50 years.

In that time Tim has danced and sung his way through dozens of musicals (most notably, staring as Don Lockwood in SINGING IN THE RAIN - and most importantly, meeting his wife Cathy in the 1977 production of CHICAGO! - which has now been running for a record 40+ years... (the marriage, not the show).

He has starred in, directed and produced some of the greatest comedies, farces and plays the world has to offer (see list below of some of his favourites) and some the world wished it could forget (no list available), but all in all, his on-going love affair with treading the boards is proof that going to dance classes was the right decision... even if it horrified his father who was Prof. of Mining Engineering at Wits who said, “It’s not a proper job, damn it... you might as well go and live in a cave! It’s a profession filled with layabouts and drunks.”
Let it be said that a more enticing statement Was never uttered by an outraged parent.

And DEFENDING THE CAVEMAN went on to Run for over 20 years!

As far as writing goes - half a dozen plays, two musicals, a couple of TV series and two books, all of which have been produced and or published are proof that Tim has had far more time on his hands than anyone with a proper job would ever have (See writing list below list of favourite shows).

Finding a writing partner is never easy, it requires simpatico, understanding, give and take...

John Smeddle has found none of the above in Tim, but nevertheless has ventured where few men dare to tread, and together they have penned this new play “EPILOGUE”.

FAVOURITE SHOWS

Chicago
Singing in the Rain
Tom Foolery
Doubles (Best Comedy Award)
Two Into One (Best Actor Award)
Pale Natives
Heel Against the Head (Best Director Award) Defending the Caveman (Best Comedian Award)

SHOWS, BOOKS TIM WROTE

Fitness for Old Farts
Grin and Bare It
Breakfast with Dad (Rex Garner Biog) Carruthers Brothers TV Series with B Flynn Fangs, the Musical – rewrites
The Insatiables with Jonathan Rands
Gym & Tonic
Designer Genes XXL
Defending the Caveman, The Book Epilogue with John Smeddle

JOHN SMEDDLE BIO

John had to forego his career in helicopter maintenance before more people died. So he decided that music would be his next target.

He became an advertising copywriter which would, he was assured, get him close to people in the music biz. Quite how, he never found out. But in the meantime, he’s kept himself busy with penning a hit song, writing a book that outsold “Long Walk to Freedom” and winning some advertising awards (from an industry which adores patting itself on the back, admittedly).

Tim Plewman believes that he must have been a rotten person in his last life to now be saddled with John as his co- writer.

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS

Receiving a letter of thanks from Nelson Mandela for a Telkom TV commercial celebrating ten years of democracy.

Creating the first airline advertisement in the world acknowledging 9/11.

And winning over 50 international awards for a project which measurably changed online behavior by 44% of those who

Collaborating as the lyricist on a number one hit song. (Life is Beautiful) Co-writing a trade bestseller about the rise of the first black ad agency.

(Black Jerusalem)
Receiving a UN citation for a rape counselling radio commercial (Lifeline)

Writing EPILOGUE with an ex-dancer called Tim something.

AWARDS

du Postwisely: 1 Cannes Lion Award, 3 Dubai Lynx Grand Prix Awards (Innovation, Integration, Film), 1 Gold (Script), 6 Silver (Various Craft), Cannes Lion, 22 Cristal Mena Awards

du Digital Fasting: 17 Cristal Mena Awards Smokenders: Gold Clio, Gold Loerie*, 4 Silver Loeries, SA Ad of the Year
Talk Radio 702: 2 New York Festival Gold Medals, Silver Loerie

MNET (SA cable TV): 2 Silver Loeries
HTH (Pool Chlorine): Silver Loerie, 2 London International Gold Statues
Eskom (SA electricity utility): Golden Eagle, Sunday Times People’s Award (for best-liked commercial)
Clios, 1 New York Festival Gold Medal, 2 Gold Loeries, 4 London International Gold Statues Isuzu: London International Gold Statue
South African Airways: Singapore People’s Award, 2 Gold Loeries
Opel Corsa: Epica, Silver Loerie
Nurofen: Silver Loerie, London International Award
Lifeline Telephone Counselling: United Nations Humanitarian Award, 2 Gold
St. John Ambulance: 3 Gold Loeries MasterCard: Millward Brown Award for Best Global ‘Priceless’ Commercial

The Hub & Spokes of the Karoo Art Hotel

2025-08-30T00:00:00+02:00

Living the dream

Along with our GM Wayne plus other co conspirators Sue and I are setting about detailing all of the glorious spokes that make the Karoo Art such a great hub for cyclists, motor bikers and the drivers of the wonderful array of cars both modern and classic that grace our parking lot.

Reveling in the passes

One only has to view the list of extraordinary mountain passes that surround us to realise why Route 62 was nominated in a CNN survey as one of the worlds best road trip routes.

Rides of note

The motorbike and in particular the dual purpose bike aspect of Hub & Spokes is close to my heart because it was due to an overnight stay on a return from a Tankwa Karoo bike trip that we discovered the hotel in the first place. That gang sitting on the rocks over looking Katbakkies pass is the one I rode with on that journey.

Rick Melvill

Karoo Art. 17 June 2025

GVW of the room drops by

2025-08-21T00:00:00+02:00

GVW has been a part of our lives for the best parts of it.

As an aspirant London barrister fresh out of Cambridge GVW, Graham Victor Warsop , was in South Africa to visit his brother John . John was in marketing and facilitated Graham obtaining a position with an agency as a junior copywriter. A few months later when Graham's creative director moved to the country's largest agency, Lindsay Smithers FCB, he took Graham with him and put him to work as a senior writer on the South African Airways (SAA) account. Eighteen months later Graham left to start his own agency, The Jupiter Drawing Room, named after a private salon of doubtful repute in a Guy de Maupassant short story.

It all began with a work link

Just as Graham was starting with the Jupiter Drawing Room I was busy opening the event and internal comms company The Blue Moon Company. Coincidentally also propelled by work for South African Airways; we shared the same client, Mari Helene McGuire, marketing director of SAA. And both of us had been engaged on the same brief; South Africa's re emergence as a destination post the release of Nelson Mandela.

As with The Jupiter Drawing Room The Blue Moon Company also had a backstory to its name

My vision for Blue Moon was for a freelance driven production house that would only employ the most celebrated names in film and other mediums. These teams would be pulled together to work on the highest of high end briefs with propper budgets. Because those sort of projects only come around once in a Blue Moon we named it The Blue Moon Company. Freelance it was but I wanted a more than proper home for it so took the chance of renting an imposing colonial house with a colonnaded verandah and sweeping lawns at 49 Oxford Road, Saxonwold Johannesburg. Up front was full time office administrator and head of 'herding cats' Lady Margot Stockill and it was there that Graham and I first met as he popped in to introduce himself and no doubt check us out on account of the joint SAA project.

A shared passion for the Proper Way

Everything he saw, from the elegant colonial mansion with the rolling lawns , to a titled assistant to a dog named Zach on an antique leather club chair must have struck a chord with GVW that day. He'd go on to present Jupiter's in a similar way but even more flamboyantly - right down to having the wonderful Lady Margot Stockill as his PA too

The Blue Moon Company did ok but the Jupiter Drawing Room shot the lights out.

Although we competed in different sectors, Jupiter's in so called above the line and us in below the line we shared a common commitment to award winning creative work. Jupiter's under GVW were extraordinary in this area. They grew through a series of creative leaps and spectacular account wins to become South Africa's most awarded agency and then very quickly to global recognition with Graham himself being inducted into the international advertising hall of fame recognition and becoming the most awarded creative director in the 20 years of the London International Awards.

There's a trophy cupboard (more like a wall) in GVW's library at his home in Franschhoek that stands as a record of those days.

The GVW room has some memorable Jupiter Drawing Room history to it

including the gifted typewriter and memorable departure letter written by the copywriter Ahmed Tilly. Then the GVW room has references on other loves of GVW's life. An oil of Polly the bull-terrier who arrived unannounced at Jupiters and who would be chauffeured to and from work in GVW'S Silver Cloud 111 Rolls Royce and who would spend her days at the agency as head of security on a Chesterfield that once belonged to a hero of GVW's, Winston Churchill. Graham once wrote a beautiful ad about that Chesterfield

the copy is well worth a read for anyone interested in the power of branding

There are references to Pynnsberg in the GVW room.

Prynnsberg was the lost Eastern Free State estate that Sue and I had restored, owned and loved, and which Graham also had a huge affinity for, right down to choosing it as the venue for his farewell conference at the Jupiter Drawing Room having sold a stake in the agency to the WPP group in a global deal. We have a shade of a parallel there too having sold The Blue Moon Company to a listed group.

In the corner of the GVW room along with a red fire bucket is a rare bottle of Bollinger along with an 'incase of emergency break glass' notice. There's some neat thinking there. One is instructed to then take the fire bucket down to the bar in order to retrieve a full bucket of ice. A bottle of champagne at room temperature inserted into a bucket of ice right up to its neck for 30 minutes will achieve the ideal consumption temperature of 8 degrees. But with the cost of a vintage Bollinger champagne these days guests are cautioned that it would need to be either a very proper or valid emergency.

GVW's link to Melvill & Moon and our logo

Not reflected in the room is a very significant role that GVW played in the working lives of Rick and Sue Melvill. When we were busy working on the conception of our brand Melvill & Moon Safari Equippers & Suppliers in the late 1990's we approached GVW to look at our CI. We had with us a tearout of a page of headgear for the tropics from a vintage Army & Navy catelogue. At the centre of it was something labeled 'The Shikar' , a helmet which the Woke and the politically correct of the day refer to as a 'pith helmet'. "Ah, a polo helmet, Melvill" exclaimed GVW. He was absolutely correct, the Shikar was the original polo helmet used during the discovery by the calvary of the ancient sport of polo (it's the world's oldest team game) in colonial India. Above is his original concept proposal and the reveal of his 'laudator temporis acti' motto suggestion. The romance of an age gone by. The latin came easily to a Cambridge law graduate. Our Melvill & Moon polo helmet currently carries a players no 3 on it in recognition of our 3rd decade in production. It's a good number as typically the best and most valuable player in a polo side is the 3 as that is the pivot player. But we look forward to being a 4 as well.

Welcome home Cathy Milner 28th-31st August.

2025-08-19T00:00:00+02:00

Cathy is an extraordinary art teacher and coach. A particular magic she brings to her workshops is an ability to have artists across a broad gambit of experience feel at absolute ease in the same studio setting , from already successful professional artists to talented novices. The studio setting in question ? The historic Bialanti Ball Room. We see it in many guises from Rock music venue to Lang Arm ball to farm association meetings. But nothing quite beats the look of the the ballroom in the guise of a renaissance style studio with pupils under the instruction and facilitation of a master teacher.

Right on our doorstep. Yamu Botanicals and a fabulous new Barrydale experience

2025-08-19T00:00:00+02:00

Yamu, under the leadership of owner and mentor Yvette Anderson uses the vast herb resource that Karooltjie has become to produce essential oils, incense, tinctures and loose herbs under their own brand.

Yvette Anderson and Thornton leading a group through the herb fields

Visit the Yamu website

Yamu herb field visits and 'tea parties' by appointment

But excitingly one of Yvettes team Thornton Reid-daly has started running conducted tours and tea and tincture tasting experiences in the Yamu herb fields. They're just a short walk up Van Riebeek and right just after the OK and there you'll find the entrance to Karooljie and an inspirational new world.

In Thorntons own words

Yamù Botanicals’ Medicinal Garden Walks offer a serene and enriching experience, inviting you to reconnect with nature and the healing energy of the elements—earth, fire, water, air, and ether. Explore the medicinal properties of plants through guided discovery, savor the soothing embrace of herbal teas and tinctures, and enjoy peaceful moments of mindfulness and reflection in a nurturing garden setting. Slow down, breathe deeply, and rediscover the natural world as a source of healing, wisdom, and balance.

Thornton and Yvette during a tincture tasting

Beautiful Karooltjie with the herb fields now merging with the olive orchards

Cost R15O per head

By appointment only. Speak to the hotel reception re assisting you to set it up

Iconic Karoo farm cookbook to make its return to our kitchen.

2025-08-10T00:00:00+02:00

The recipes in question are contained in a highly collectable cookbook (out of print) titled Prickly Pears and Pomegranates authored by current Cranemere custodian Marianne Palmer and her daughter Bernadette Le Roux.

The idea is simple, instead of being presented with a hotel menu folder you now get given an entire cookbook. In the cookbook are a bunch of markers indicating the starter, main course and desert menu selections of the day. There's also a chefs board to broaden the story where necessary. Eg there are obviously weren't a lot of fish on on this famous Groot Karoo farm where as we have Gansbaai just down the road.

The story of Cranemere farm at Pearston Graaff Reinet is a spectacular one. Given by George Palmer to his wife Fanny as a wedding gift in the late 1800's Cranemere built a huge reputation for the quality of its table thanks to seven generations of Palmer women - all of whom were foodies. One them the author Eve Palmer who wrote the beautiful study of Karoo farm life called The Plains of the Camdeboo.Pictured here are Marianne Palmer and her daughter Bernadette Le Roux. Bernadette has the distinction of having being food editor of Conde Nast Garden and Home and also creator of one of Cape Town's best loved restaurants Cafe Roux in Noordhoek. In spite of this Bernadette describes her mum Marianne as being 'the real cook.

We've gone to a lot of detail in the brining the concept to life right through to a close alignment with Quiver Tree Press's gorgeous food styling in the book. Ie the delicious phyllo parcels that arrive at your table come on virtually the same crockery with that same quirky touch of the Quince jelly on a silver soup spoon. s

Interview with co aurthor Bernadette Le Roux

Albert Frost to play the Belanti . Sun 17 Aug 12.00 -13.00 PM

2025-08-10T00:00:00+02:00

It's the obvious thing to do but a review of what a performer is up to via their social media platforms gives a good indication of who you're dealing with.

ALBERT FROST FACEBOOK

Instagram

No question about it, South Africa's leading blues rock guitarist and singer songwriter Albert Frost is on the move. Including a great recent colab with Arno Carstens. But we all know where social media comes from ..

At the end of the day it's not what he or they, his social media team, says, it's how he sings, plays and performs. You be the judge.

Storms are Breaking

Money money

Everlasting

See you in the Belanti on Sun 17 August. Lunch orders will be taken before the start of the show and will be ready for you at the break in the show.

R150.00

Call the hotel reception to reserve a ticket

0661897457

5 Arts Weekend 18-20 July review

2025-06-28T00:00:00+02:00

Dobbo as conductor of a weekend of note

Once in a while we put the hotel in the hands of a conductor. It becomes their venue, their project, their program for x no of days.

Dobbo did all that and more from the 18 - 20 July.

Founder of Fokofpolisiekar Francois Van Coke friday night.
Steven Kitshoff in the bar pouring is own new beer label Bomb Squad brewed by Saggy Stone (clever move).
A high level pre game rugby workshop of note withKitshoff, Deon Fourie and Scarra Ntubeni before the SA Georgia Test.
Mark Keohane the SA Rugby fire cracker commentator and partner in the unmissable Keo & Zels show .
Peter G - Commedian and Magician. A name no one knew but which no one will forget.
An after party of note with our fabulous Harley Dale DJ Jaco Meissenhammer.
Great cooking all the way by the kitchen all the way including a Karoo Lamb Lunch.

That's what Dobbo did for the hotel and a sell out weekend for out of town guests, but what of where his real heart lies ? Grass routes Rugby.

Dobbo as an inspirational supporter of grass routs Rugby.

An inspirational meeting with the two Barrydale Rugby sides The Eagels and the Struiders
A complete set of official practice kit (Rugby, Shorts and Socks) as worn by the Stormers
Branded hoodies for both sides (Eagles now, Struiders next month)

Oliver Keohane of Getaway Magazine did an awesome review.

Getaway Magazine weekend review

Mickey Mentz of NewS 62 showed his razor sharp instagram skills in the bar

Instagram by Mickey Mentz of News 62

Mark Keohane , SA Rugby Mag supremo, Rugby expert of note and partner in the must watch Keo & Zels show shot our social media profile through the roof over the buildup and then comment afterwards about the event

Keo & Zels show

Winter Warmer Special

2025-04-21T00:00:00+02:00

Experience an Art Hotel, The Art of Welcome, The Art of the Bar, The delectable dining and the beautiful Public Spaces with secluded Getaway spots.

Special room rates apply for the Klein Karoo room types, from 1 May to 31 July 2025

Or enjoy our full monti offering in a Groot Karoo room with the full monti thrown in. Two dinners, two breakfasts and a whole lot of other surprises thrown in .

24 hour hotel name change

2025-02-08T00:00:00+02:00

The 1966 SA visit of US presidential hopeful Bobby Kennedy to South Africa and the way it was ignored by the Nationalist government at the time almost reached a tipping point with the invitation of the house committee of Stellenbosch University's Simonsberg residence for him to address the res. Threatened with expulsion by the university authorities if 'anything went wrong' the res committee under the leadership of Willem van Drimmelin

The story is well told via the link below. Well worth a view.

Click here for the doccie on Bobby Kennedy's visit Simonsberg

For our part Barrydale's very own Dominee Ollie is a product of Simonsberg residence and it's thanks to him that three years ago he organised the first Withuis Barrydale reunion with the Karoo Art Hotel as party central.

It's become a much looked forward event for the hotel and is a great example of one of favourite forms of booking - a hotel take over.