Simola Hotel, Country Club & Spa sits on the ridge above the Knysna River, a five-star hotel wrapped around a Jack Nicklaus signature golf course with the estuary, the Heads and the Outeniqua mountains laid out below it. It is the only property in Knysna that combines a championship course, a spa and hotel suites on one estate.
Best for
Golfers, obviously; but also couples and small groups who want space, a view and quiet, and who do not mind being ten minutes above the town rather than in it.
It is not a beach hotel and it is not a walk-to-dinner address. Everything outside the estate needs a car, and that is the central trade of staying here.
Location
The estate is on Simola Hill, north-west of Knysna, reached by a climb off the N2 and the old Phantom Pass road. From the top the view runs down the Knysna River valley, across the lagoon to the Heads and out to the Indian Ocean, which is the reason the site was developed in the first place.
Knysna town, the Waterfront and Thesen Islands are about ten minutes down the hill. The forests behind Knysna and the lagoon itself are both close. Our Knysna destination guide sets out how the town, the lagoon and the Heads fit together.
Rooms and style at Simola Hotel
There are around forty suites arranged in low blocks set apart from the public areas, taking up to roughly 160 guests in total. Executive suites can be divided into a luxury suite and a standard room, which is how the hotel handles families and golf groups without building a separate wing.
The style is contemporary and comfortable rather than dramatic: neutral interiors, generous bathrooms and a balcony or terrace facing either the valley or the fairways. Because the blocks are separated from the main building, the property feels quieter than its size suggests.
Facilities at Simola Hotel
The golf course is a Jack Nicklaus signature design and is the estate’s reason for existing; it is regularly named among the better courses in the country, and the setting above the river does a great deal of the work. Alongside it are a spa and gym, a padel venue, a swimming pool on the terrace above the valley, a restaurant and bar, and conference and wedding facilities.
Practical services include an airport shuttle to George, laundry, daily servicing and generator backup during power interruptions, which on the Garden Route is worth knowing about.
Who should consider Simola Hotel
Consider it if golf is part of the trip, or if you want a view and a pool rather than a town-centre position. It also works well for a group taking several suites, and for weddings, which the estate handles regularly.
Travellers who want to walk to restaurants, or who are only stopping one night on a longer drive, will get more from a property at the Waterfront or on Thesen Islands. Our Garden Route accommodation guide compares the options.
Trade-offs, honestly
Four things to weigh:
- You are ten minutes up a hill from Knysna, so every dinner, every shop and every boat trip involves driving.
- The estate takes weddings and conferences, and a busy function weekend is a different stay from a quiet Tuesday.
- It is a golf estate first. Non-golfers pay part of the rate for an asset they will not use.
- The hill catches weather. When the coast is clear the ridge can be in cloud, and the view you paid for disappears for a morning.
Ask about function bookings for your dates before you commit, particularly in summer.
Explore the area
Knysna is built around a lagoon that reaches the sea between two sandstone cliffs called the Heads, and the standard outing is a boat trip across the water to the Featherbed Nature Reserve on the western Head, which can only be reached by ferry. The eastern Head has a viewpoint and a coastal walk, and Thesen Islands and the Waterfront have most of the town’s restaurants.
Inland, the Knysna forests hold the Garden Route’s indigenous woodland: the Diepwalle and Goudveld sections of the Garden Route National Park have marked walks, and the drive over Phantom Pass and out along the Rheenendal road is a good half day. Brenton-on-Sea, Buffalo Bay and Noetzie, with its beach castles, are all within twenty minutes.
Getting there and getting around
George Airport is about an hour away by road and the hotel runs a shuttle. Knysna is roughly 490 kilometres from Cape Town on the N2, or about six hours before stops, and Port Elizabeth is around 260 kilometres east.
A car is close to essential on this estate. Plettenberg Bay is thirty minutes east, Wilderness forty-five minutes west, and Oudtshoorn about an hour and a half north over the passes. Our seven-day Garden Route itinerary shows where Knysna nights sit.
How Simola Hotel compares
Against the hotels at the Knysna Waterfront and on Thesen Islands, you lose the walk to dinner and gain the view, the space and the course. Against the guesthouses on Leisure Isle, Simola Hotel gains full hotel service and a spa and loses the lagoon at the bottom of the garden. Against Fancourt in George, the golf is comparable and the setting is more dramatic, but the estate is smaller.
Practical notes for a stay at Simola Hotel
Tee times and spa treatments are booked separately from the room and go quickly over holidays and during events. The estate also hosts the Simola Hillclimb, a motorsport event that fills local accommodation for a weekend each year, so check the calendar if you want quiet.
Knysna is busiest from mid-December to mid-January and again over Easter and the winter oyster festival. March, April, October and November are the best combination of weather, price and space, and southern right whales are on this coast from roughly June to November.
Before you book Simola Hotel
Confirm which suite configuration you are being quoted, because executive suites can be sold whole or divided. Ask whether the balcony faces the valley or the fairways, whether breakfast and golf are included in any package rate, and what the cancellation window is at checkout. If a wedding or conference is booked over your dates, it is better to know beforehand. More options across the province are in our Western Cape accommodation guide.
Current rates and availability
We do not publish rates for Simola Hotel, 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.