Maison Cabrière is a seven-suite boutique hotel at 49–51 Cabriere Street in Franschhoek, a short walk from the village’s main street and its restaurants, with the mountains standing over the garden. It is small, quiet and deliberately unshowy, and almost everything is included in the rate.
Best for
Couples who want a very small hotel in the middle of a village they can walk around; travellers who would rather have breakfast brought to a private terrace than eat in a dining room; anyone who values an all-inclusive rate over a long bill at checkout.
It is not a wine estate and it is not a family property. Seven suites means a house rather than a hotel.
Location
Cabriere Street runs parallel to Franschhoek’s main road, close enough that the village restaurants, galleries and tasting rooms are a stroll away, and far enough that the property is quiet. The Franschhoek mountains close the valley at the top of the road.
The wine estates of the valley begin within a few minutes’ drive, and Stellenbosch is about forty minutes over the Helshoogte Pass. Our Franschhoek destination guide covers the village and the valley.
Suites and style at Maison Cabrière
There are seven named suites, each with a private terrace or balcony looking towards the mountains. They range from le Mignon at about 27 square metres through several 35 square metre suites — la Sorbonne, la Vivienne, le Marais and la Madeleine — to le Penseur at 45 and le Godin at 60, split between garden and balcony aspects.
The interiors are classic rather than fashionable: bespoke furniture, natural textures, framed prints, soft lamplight and a restrained palette. The name and the French detailing are deliberate; Franschhoek was settled by Huguenots, and the hotel plays to that without overdoing it.
Facilities at Maison Cabrière
The rate is close to all-inclusive, which is unusual at this size: daily breakfast served to the suite, all beverages including alcohol and regional wines, and afternoon cake. There is a bar and lounge, a garden, and a concierge service that arranges tastings and restaurant tables in the village.
There is no restaurant for dinner, no spa building and no gym. In Franschhoek, where some of the country’s best restaurants are within walking distance, that is a reasonable omission.
Who should consider Maison Cabrière
Consider it if you want to leave the car parked for two or three days and eat your way through Franschhoek on foot. The included drinks change the arithmetic of a Winelands stay more than people expect, particularly if you would otherwise be buying wine by the glass all evening.
Travellers who want to stay on a working wine farm should look at the estates outside the village. Our Cape Winelands guide compares the districts and the styles of property.
Trade-offs, honestly
Four things to weigh:
- Seven suites means it sells out early, particularly over harvest, Christmas and long weekends.
- There is no dinner on site, so every evening is a booking somewhere in the village.
- Suite sizes range from 27 to 60 square metres, and the smallest is genuinely small.
- The all-inclusive rate is good value for people who drink and poor value for people who do not.
Franschhoek is also a village that fills entirely in high season; the quiet you are paying for is easier to find in May than in December.
Explore the area
Franschhoek sits in a closed valley at the head of the Berg River, settled by French Huguenot refugees from 1688, and it has become the country’s densest concentration of good restaurants. The Franschhoek Wine Tram loops the valley’s estates, which is the sensible way to taste without driving.
The Huguenot Memorial Museum is at the top of the main street, and the Franschhoek Pass over to Villiersdorp and Theewaterskloof is one of the great Cape drives. The industry body Wines of South Africa is useful background on the appellations.
Getting there and getting around
Cape Town International Airport is about fifty minutes away and central Cape Town roughly an hour and a quarter. Franschhoek is reached from the N1 through Paarl or over the Helshoogte Pass from Stellenbosch, which takes forty minutes and is the more scenic route.
From this address you can walk to most of what you need in the village, which is unusual in the Winelands. A car or a tour is needed for the estates further up the valley; our Cape Winelands tours guide sets out the options.
How Maison Cabrière compares
Against the large hotels and estates in the valley you lose the vineyards and the spa, and gain a village position and an inclusive rate. Against the other small guesthouses in Franschhoek, Maison Cabrière is more designed and more expensive, with drinks included. Against a self-catering cottage, you gain breakfast in bed and a concierge.
Practical notes for a stay at Maison Cabrière
Harvest runs from roughly February to April, when the valley is at its busiest and most interesting, and autumn colour follows in April and May. Winter, from June to August, is wet, green and very quiet, and it is when the restaurants are easiest to book.
Franschhoek’s best-known restaurants need reserving weeks ahead in summer and days ahead in winter. Ask the hotel to book them when you confirm the room rather than after you arrive.
Before you book Maison Cabrière
Choose the suite by size and aspect, because 27 square metres with a balcony and 60 square metres with a garden are very different stays. Confirm exactly what the inclusive rate covers, whether breakfast is served in the suite or in the lounge, and what the current cancellation window is at checkout. Ask about the hotel’s policy on children before booking if that applies. More options across the province are in our Western Cape accommodation guide.
Current rates and availability
We do not publish rates for Maison Cabrière, because they move constantly with season and demand. Use the availability button on this page to see what the property currently costs on your dates, what is included and what the cancellation terms are. The booking provider is the merchant of record; Cape Town Travel Guide does not set prices, hold inventory or take payment.