Elgin Valley
HOW TripAdvisor lists accommodation rated by guests, but as much as we love peer reviews, they don’t offer a comparative voice – so how do we know No. 1 is really the best? Pippa de Bruyn, who has reviewed accommodation for 20 years for the likes of Frommer’s and The Telegraph, scours TripAdvisor and other online sites when researching a destination. For the Elgin Valley, she created a longlist of 21 to inspect. The following made the cut.
WHAT I FOUND ABOUT ACCOMMODATION HERE
• There is loads of great stock, particularly south of the N2. ‘Valley of a 1000 Views’ is the new slogan, and it’s true – located on a plateau yet surrounded by peaks, its valleys and slopes are braided with orchards and vineyards, every window frames a picture.
• Do look at the address – some Bot River accommodations are listed under Elgin, but Bot River is quite different in character (and deserving of its own Final Cut). I did, however, look at Grabouw and researched as far east as Houw Hoek.
• For a one-stop list, representing most available stock, the best site is winesofelgin.co.za. It has no reviews, though, so I cross-checked the best-looking options against TripAdvisor and Booking.com.
• Most stock comprises quaint self-catering cottages sleeping two to four, but I also found a few great options for bigger groups.
