One of the oldest hotels in South Africa where prime ministers stayed

The Royal Hotel in Riebeek Kasteel is one of the oldest in South Africa, dating back to 1862.

It has been referred to as the oldest hotel in the Western Cape, frequented by many notable guests in its long life.

In 1661, Commander Jan van Riebeeck led an inland expedition. While on his travels with several companions, the Commander climbed a mountain and came upon the fertile land that is now the Riebeek Valley.

The group named it Riebeek Kasteel in his honour.

Farmers began to establish themselves, and by 1900, a town had emerged, structured around two buildings at its centre: the church and the Royal Hotel. 

Today, the town houses about 2,700 residents. Many South African artists are drawn to the town for its picturesque surroundings.

The hotel claims to be the oldest licensed hotel in the Western Cape, and has even said it may be the oldest continually operating hotel in South Africa. 

“Our hotel was licensed as such even before the architect of the famous Mount Nelson Hotel in Cape Town was born,” the hotel owners claim. 

Former Prime Ministers of South Africa, Jan Smuts and DF Malan, are documented to have both frequently stayed at the hotel. 

Smuts was born in the nearby Riebeeck Valley in 1870. Shortly after, Daniël François Malan was born in 1874 in Riebeek West. 

As the centre of the small town, Smuts and Malan would frequent the hotel with their families and guests. 

The hotel predates South Africa’s democracy, as well as apartheid. Malan succeeded Smuts as Prime Minister in 1948, the year of the implementation of apartheid.

The Royal Hotel

“Although The Royal was the meeting place in those days, it’s hard to imagine them having a drink together,” the hotel owners said. 

The owners say they like to think that Smuts was inspired to draft the preamble to the United Nations charter while sitting on the hotel’s patio. 

When the National Party came to power in 1948, under the leadership of Malan, the hotel had to be renovated to comply with racial laws. 

The hotel, a large, one-storey building, was renovated in 1929. This was the last time that the hotel underwent significant structural changes. 

It features Victorian-colonial architectural design elements. During the 1929 renovation, the hotel’s famous arched step was built in front of the hotel. 

The stoep has been called the “longest uninterrupted stoep south of Limpopo” by the South African Government. 

When apartheid laws came into effect, a small part of the hotel’s stoep was used to build “non-white” bathrooms. 

The bathrooms were removed in 2005, and the hotel has been meticulously restored to its original state. The building is now a South African Heritage site, and so no further major renovations can be made.

Following the restoration, the Royal offers “old-world luxury” in “true colonial style,” with a 150-year-old period bar and an a la carte dining experience at its restaurant. 

Daily Maverick Journalist Tony Jackman travelled to the Royal in 2023 and said it stands as an example of a historic hotel that “got everything just right.”

“It is ‘done’ but has managed to retain all of its old charm while building on top of that,” he said. “I was not expecting that at all; all I knew was that the Royal in Kasteel was a pleasant place to go. It’s way more than that.”

The hotel has been previously mentioned in lists of the “50 best places to visit in South Africa” as well as one of the “top wedding destinations in the Western Cape.”

This was owing to its scenic garden view of a shimmering dam and the Riebeek valley vineyards, which have been called “truly special” by Cape Town Magazine. 

---

More photos of the Royal Hotel in Riebeek Kasteel:

---