On the 1st of November last year, we received an out of the blue enquiry for a 6 (SIX!) night stay from a lovely German couple who went on to ask if they could get married whilst staying with us.  Schoone Oordt and Swellendam are usually used as a stopover for guests travelling the Garden Route and although we are trying to change this perception and encourage longer stays, a 6-night enquiry came as quite a surprise!

Judith and Christof found us whilst trawling the internet for a place that spoke to their heart in Heidelberg, GERMANY.  They came across our little Schoone Oordt Country Hotel very near Heidelberg, SOUTH AFRICA, on a German website and fell in love.  We helped them to organise a 12th day of the 12th month of the 12th year ceremony at exactly 12:00, at our friends at GodsWindow with a picnic on our lawns and next to our pool for just the two of them.  We spent a lot of time with this precious couple and feel as though we’ve cemented a beautiful relationship with them for life.

Christof had these extraordinary things to say about us on TripAdvisor:

‘Perfect! Wonderful!
When planning our trip to South Africa (3 weeks along the Garden Route), we saw the amazing pictures of Schoone Oordt by chance. The history of the house, the breathtaking surroundings, the story of Alison and Richard and their hard work over years to create such a place full of love, harmony and indescribable hospitality touched our hearts immediately. We both decided to get married at this wonderful place!
We stayed 6 nights (on our trip back to Cape Town we had to stop for another night and it felt like coming home) and experienced a wonderful time! The rooms are very comfortable, the dinners, the breakfasts absolutely flavorful and the services excellent and done hearty.
When thinking back we always have a smile on our faces and warm feelings in our hearts! We will always remember our stay at Schoone Oordt, we hope that we can come back as often as we can to celebrate our anniversary and we want to thank Alison, Sonette, Wander and Emma for making our stay so special!’

Thank you Judith & Christof for sharing such a significant experience with us and for choosing Schoone Oordt as your destination.

More captivating pictures can be found at Jacques Lloyd of Real Simple Photography.