GORGEOUS PLACE | 7 Jun 2008 | Edinburgh, Scotland

Arrived at this place from the dire Die Oeol Mill up the road - don't stay there unless you have a penchant for inbred boers and ghastly formica rooms. Not only was De Opstal cheaper, but the room was like something out of a boutique hotel, huge, gorgeously furnished, with corner bath, real fire and fantastic verandah from which to admire the starry karoo sky. Staff were incredibly friendly, and most pleasingly, they had black people in positions above just gardener or domestic - something I found quite rare in South Africa. They also offered to do all laundry by the next day at no cost - which was a great bonus. I thought this was a real find in the area and was sad to leave.
WONDERFULLY RELAXING | 30 March 2008 | Edinburgh, Scotland
Have just returned from 2 wonderful weeks in South Africa - our first visit but not our last! We stayed 2 nights at De Opstal, arriving late in the afternoon after a long drive. Staff were most welcoming and our excellent room and the beautiful gardens ensured a restful and relaxing stay. Being located outside Outshoorn we opted to eat at the hotel restaurant on our first night, and following an excellent experience ate there on our second night too. The gardens are beautiful and provide a fabulous backdrop to first class accomodation. Our room was huge, with a fabulous luxury bathroom and verandah to enjoy the evenings. I would not hesitate in recommending De Opstal to others.
A HAVEN OF TRANQUILITY | 3 July 2007 | Peterborough, England
We first discovered De Opstal some years ago when we were driving to the Cango caves - beautiful green gardens among the parched countryside – their water bill must be enormous! On our recent visit, the accommodation on this working ostrich farm had been completely refurbished. The converted stables were still full of antique furniture but had spotless new bathroom facilities. We lived in South Africa some 30 years ago and particularly enjoyed the traditional South African cuisine together with the excellent local wines. We visited De Opstal this time whilst touring in the Eastern Cape, making a detour from the Knysna to Cape Town road. We fancied a few days break from the driving to relax and chill out. Although we went there to relax there are some wonderful drives in the area with spectacular scenery. The owner, Matilda De Bod, was very friendly and efficient and made us most welcome.
AN OASIS, BEAUTIFUL GARDENS, WELCOMING GUESTS | 27 April 2006 | Burton upon Trent, Staffs, Uk
De Opstal is like an oasis on the R328 from Oudtshoorn towards the Cango Caves. It is a delightful place to stay and is just like the images on their website. The rooms are all in small cottage like buildings, dotted around the spectacular gardens, all with their own outdoor seating area, fridge, tea and coffee making facilities and are well equipped with decent hairdryers, TV’s etc.. Our room was generously proportioned with a large leather settee, coffee table and plenty of wardrobe / cupboard space. Bathrooms are large and the showers powerful. There was air-conditioning in each room and fireplaces for the winter too. Paths were lit buy candles at night and there was a spring of lavender put on your pillow too. The owners were friendly and staff seemed happy too, even washing your car every morning. The breakfast buffet was good, but evening buffet was slightly limited – 6 of the 7 main courses were ostrich! Well there are ostriches on site which is part of the charm. Having said that we mentioned that I am vegetarian and they were more than happy to make me a special meal. Children were also very welcome. This is the sort of place where sitting by the pool, looking at the beautiful gardens you can truly relax, but if you like being on the go there’s plenty to choose from in close proximity. We would return if we ever have the chance.
VERY RELAXING, BEAUTIFUL OASIS | 9 Jan 2008 | Cumbria

We stayed for 2 nights here 19/20 December 2007. The weather was very hot and it was lovely to arrive early one afternoon and be greeted by a very efficient Monique who looked after us and showed us to our rooms. We are a family of four with 2 sons aged 17 & 14 and so we had two double rooms alongside one another. The rooms were very spacious and clean with fridges on the very large terraces. The furniture in the bedrooms was rustic which we had expected from previous reviews with fresh flowers in the rooms. The grounds and pool were lovely, with ostriches in the adjoining field. The birds flying around were lovely, as they were in many places that we stayed. The location is about 15/20 minutes from the Cango Caves and about 10 minutes from the town. We did not eat dinner at De Opstal as we did not fancy the ostrich orientated menu. Breakfast was very good though. We ate at Jemimas in town which was excellent, though services was not brilliant as they were very busy in the run up to Christmas. We would certainly recommend De Opstal and would happily stay here again.
LOVED THE QUAINTNESS | 8 Jan 2008 | Ireland
Upon arriving from Capetown to Oudtshoorn where it was much hotter, we were delighted to arrive at De Opstal where a warm welcome from Monique made us right at home. Our 2 rooms were out of this world with fresh flowers and ice drinks in our own personal fridge on our private porch. Bar drinks were served direct to your porch if you wish and the jacuzzi bath with robes was a luxurious touch. Service here is second to none and unknown to us they arranged for the security guard to call us for our early morning start 0430 hrs (to go hot air ballooning) and to have the gates opened for us. We were too tired to travel back to the town and opted to have dinner in hotel. It was beautiful, all home made except one thing. The only dessert they had available that night was strawberries and ice cream but when it arrived it was tinned strawberries (which we all hate). This was the only let down in what was overall the nicest place we stayed in South Africa over 2 weeks. I highly recommend a visit here to have some R & R.