The Clarens Country House

The Clarens Country House is nestled in a wooded corner of the secure Clarens Golf and Estate, where it started out as a sheepshed on the original farm – long before the Golf estate came into being. This century-old stone sheepshed, with wrap-around mountain views, has been completely remodeled as a luxury self-catering guest house.The sheep and their shearers gave way to a cherry liqueur distillery a decade ago, before this historic building was reclaimed to become the place to stay in one of South Africa’s top tourist destinations. With half-metre thick sandstone walls, The Clarens Country House is a cool retreat in summer and a cosy refuge from Clarens’s invigorating winters. The Clarens Country House is themed around the work of Herman Charles Bosman (the artist-in-residence created the Illustrated Bosman) and much of the art work from that book features around the rooms and the Stoep, which is named in honour of Oom Schalk Lourens, the greatest story teller in the Marico, if not the world… (The complete collection of illustrations is on view in The Gallery On The Square in town.) The Clarens Country House offers four en suite, self-catering apartments (The Ouhout Suite, The Wildeals Suite, The Bosman Suite with two en suite double bedrooms – and the Shepherd’s Loft). The Bosman, Ouhout and Wildeals suites open onto a 20 metre fully-glazed verandah, commanding rolling lawns and 360-degree views, whilst The Shepherd’s Loft is a separate, private suite – ideal for a romantic getaway. The Clarens Country House is a 5-minute walk from the village square, which offers some of the best shopping, restaurants and art galleries in the country.