Your Time at Walden
The house sits on a steep, leafy shelf of the mountain between Sea Point and Bantry Bay: the sea below, Lion’s Head above, and most of Cape Town within a short drive. What follows is roughly how a day here tends to go, though nobody will mind if yours goes differently.
Lion’s Head, before the day starts.
The mountain stands directly above the house, and the path to the top is one of the best walks in Cape Town: about an hour up, with the Atlantic on one side and the whole city opening out on the other. Most people go for sunrise; a few wait for the full moon and come down by torchlight.
It is close enough that you can leave in the dark, be at the summit for first light, and still be back in time for breakfast, which is why we serve it until ten.
Ask at the desk before you go; we will tell you what the weather is doing, which route to take, and whether the wind makes it worth it that morning.
Breakfast
We are one of the few houses in the city still serving breakfast from 8am to 10am — a continental buffet with our specialty eggs, omelettes made to order, fresh breads, and croissants and danishes baked that morning.
It is served in the courtyard, under the arches, and there is no rush to finish. Guests tend to sit longer than they meant to, which is rather the idea.
- Continental buffet
- Omelette to order
- Fresh-baked pastries
- Specialty eggs & pancakes
Everything is closer than you expect.
Walk down the hill and the Sea Point Promenade is about ten minutes away: the Atlantic on one side, joggers and dog-walkers on the other. Look up and Lion’s Head stands over the garden wall. Most of what people come to Cape Town for is within twenty minutes' drive, and the rest of it within an easy morning’s.
Sea Point restaurants
8 min walkingRegent Road, just down the hill, is lined with cafés, delis and some of the city’s best casual eats.
Sea Point Promenade
10 min walkingA scenic Atlantic-front walkway for morning strolls, runs and sunset cycles. Downhill on the way there, a good deal steeper coming back.
Bantry Bay & Clifton
8 min drivingSheltered white-sand coves, some of the finest beaches on the seaboard.
Camps Bay
10 min drivingPalm-lined beach with buzzy restaurants beneath the Twelve Apostles.
Lion’s Head
12 min drivingCape Town’s most rewarding sunrise or full-moon hike, and about an hour to the summit.
Signal Hill
15 min drivingDrive up for the view over the bay, and the noon gun that startles the city daily.
V&A Waterfront
15 min drivingHarbourside dining, shopping and the ferry across to Robben Island.
City Centre & Bo-Kaap
15 min drivingMuseums, markets and the colourful streets of the Bo-Kaap.
Table Mountain
20 min drivingRide the rotating cableway to the top for panoramic views of the Cape.
Chapman’s Peak Drive
25 min drivingOne of the great coastal roads, cut into the cliff between Hout Bay and Noordhoek.
Hout Bay
25 min drivingA working harbour with a weekend market, seal trips and fish straight off the boat.
Kirstenbosch
25 min drivingThe botanical gardens on the mountain’s eastern slopes, and summer concerts on the lawn.
Constantia wine estates
30 min drivingThe oldest wine-growing valley in the country, and an easy afternoon of tasting.
Boulders Beach
55 min drivingThe African penguin colony at Simon’s Town, and warm water for once.
Stellenbosch & Franschhoek
1 hr drivingOak-lined towns and the country’s best-known estates: a full and happy day out.
Cape Point
1 hr 20 drivingThe nature reserve at the end of the peninsula, with baboons and a long view south.
Come back to a pool under trees.
The pool runs seventeen metres along the garden, shaded at one end by the trees and open to the sun at the other. Swim a few lengths or simply lie beside it; with only nine rooms in the house, it is seldom busy.
Behind the house, the back terrace is quieter still: comfortable sofas, deep shade, and the kind of privacy that makes an afternoon disappear into a book. The garden room off the hallway is the wet-weather version of the same idea.
The balcony, and then the city.
There are balconies looking west over the Atlantic, and that is where most guests end up as the light goes. Two chairs, a glass of something, and nobody waiting on the table.
When you want dinner, Regent Road in Sea Point is about eight minutes on foot and lined with cafés, delis and some of the best casual eating in the city. Camps Bay and the V&A Waterfront are both ten to fifteen minutes by car if the evening calls for something grander, and whoever is at the desk will happily book it for you.
The quiet practicalities
Extra-length beds
All beds are extra length with added comfort, dressed in crisp linen with a choice of pillows.
Wi-Fi throughout
Fast, free Wi-Fi in every room and across the house — work or stream with ease.
Smart TVs
Every room has a smart TV for Netflix, Showmax and more, plus a working desk for longer stays.
Daily housekeeping
Rooms made up each day, with fresh linen and bath and pool towels throughout your stay.
Arrivals and Departures
We know flights differ, and we are able to be flexible, just let us know your arrival and departure times. Check-in: 14:00, Checkout: 11:
Tea & coffee tray
In every room and replenished daily, for the hours when the kitchen is closed.
Solar power
The house runs on solar: the lights, the Wi-Fi and the hot water stay on when the grid does not.
Secure parking
Off-street parking behind the gate, and the house is watched around the clock.
The lights stay on.
South Africa’s grid is not always reliable, and the house makes its own way. Solar and batteries carry the lights, the Wi-Fi and the hot water, which means load-shedding tends to pass without anyone noticing: no generator noise, no cold shower, no evening spent looking for a candle.
It is a practical arrangement rather than a statement: better for the mountain we sit on, and it means your morning runs the way you expected it to.
