That South Africa\u2019s spellbinding Western Cape might inspire budding hoteliers isn\u2019t surprising \u2013 but the couple behind 7 Koppies never set out to open a B&B when they first came across their Franschhoek farm. And that might just be what makes their hilltop hideaway so special.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Place your finger anywhere between Paarl, Stellenbosch and Franschhoek on a map of South Africa\u2019s Western Cape and it won\u2019t be far off a place to stay that\u2019s either owned by a billionaire or occasionally dropped into dinner conversations at Manhattan\u2019s latest ritzy hotel restaurant (and in more than one case both). It\u2019s not necessarily a bad thing: an influx of money has made this triangle of towns in the historic Cape Winelands a luxury travel destination, with world-class hospitality standards and a social scene to match that of nearby Cape Town in internationalism, if not quite in scale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But those who dig deeper will still find the occasional \u2018insider hotel\u2019, the kind that doesn\u2019t seek to be something for everyone, but rather everything for someone. One of these is located just off the southern end of the R301 regional route, near its intersection with the R45, and it takes me a while to find it. Prior to my arrival, its owners had informed me not to trust Google Maps, and instead to follow their directions. It doesn\u2019t help that there are hardly any signs along the way, although as I learn later this is intentional, and the reasons behind it come into full effect as my rental scrambles up the last few metres, finally coming to a halt outside a refurbished farm that seems to appear out of nowhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe deliberately kept all the signs as they were, so you\u2019re always wondering whether this is the right place,\u201d explains James Jayasundera, who with his partner Marc-Ludolf von Schmarsow owns what is perhaps the most under-the-radar hideaway in the Cape Winelands: 7 Koppies. \u201cThen your partner might say something like \u2018I told you this wasn\u2019t it. We should\u2019ve booked the other hotel\u2019. So you arrive feeling a bit uncertain. But when you finally enter through the gates, you say, \u2018this is incredible\u2019. We want people to be thrilled when they arrive.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n This story first appeared in The Paris is Turning Issue<\/strong><\/a>, available in print and digital. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It truly is thrilling to find this place up here, not least because the farm\u2019s many charms unfold in layers, each more evocative than the last. At first, guests lay eyes on a beautifully restored building fronted by a large natal fig overhung with air plants. Then, it\u2019s on to a warm greeting from hosts Marc and James, followed by a first glimpse of 7 Koppies\u2019s eclectic-cool interiors. If those don\u2019t have you snapping away just yet, what comes next surely will: just beyond a communal kitchen and dining area, a large door with glass inserts beckons you into an adjoining outdoor area, which culminates in a 25-metre pool. Beyond that, the terrain slowly descends into Franschhoek Valley, allowing for showstopping views of the dramatic Simonsberg mountain straight ahead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As I catch myself mumbling a hushed \u2018wow\u2019 under my breath, Marc calls me back into the kitchen. \u201cAre you hungry? I just made pesto from herbs that were growing in the garden 20 minutes ago. Pasta and wine sound good?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Strictly speaking, 7 Koppies is what you\u2019d call a stylish B&B. There\u2019s no reception desk here, and neither is there a \u2018proper\u2019 spa or restaurant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe house was never built as a hotel,\u201d says James, \u201cand the kitchen being open plan, we can\u2019t be cooking breakfast, lunch and dinner for 30 people \u2013 the whole place would smell like a canteen. But the gardens have lots of fruit and veg, and we can offer simple pies and pastas. Most guests are actually very happy with that, because they\u2019ve been eating at all the fancy restaurants in the Winelands, so they appreciate a simple meal for a change.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Intrigued to stroll through said gardens, I explore 7 Koppies\u2019s grounds post-lunch, only to find a fellow guest, clad in linen chinos, white T-shirt and a straw hat, standing between huge prickly pear cacti and pomegranate trees, a chalk stick in his hand and his eyes fixed upon a sky-blue canvas in front of him. A small radio by his side sets a scene of bees, accompanied by feel-good music, buzzing from apricot to almond trees while herbs from rosemary to tarragon scent the warm breeze.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSometimes, the garden falls victim to baboons and dassies,\u201d laughs James, \u201cwhich leave it in a decimated state that we wake up to. It\u2019s part of the fun of being out here and it makes the place feel a lot more wild. Plus, the dassies have really surprised us with their penchant for spicy chillies.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n But there are other \u2013 bigger \u2013 animals in these hills, too. You\u2019ll never encounter one, but caracals, eagle owls and even leopards call these mountains home. So, too, does William, 7 Koppies\u2019s frisky house cat, who I can\u2019t help but notice has a habit of falling over sideways while licking his paws in the African sun. Against his somewhat resigned protests, William is kept indoors at night, though nocturnal confinement is in his own best interest. \u201cHe\u2019s three now, which is twice the life expectancy of cats around here. There are too many animals in these hills to whom he\u2019s essentially an amuse-bouche,\u201d James tells me, bursting into a rampant and contagious laughter I soon come to think of as a trademark experience of any stay here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That\u2019s not to say, however, that James and Marc are always around. The pair live in London and Munich respectively, with James being the founder of Ampersand Travel, which specialises in bespoke luxury journeys to Asia and Africa, and interior designer extraordinaire Marc running his Lumisol studio in the Bavarian capital. Still, they manage to be here about once a month and not rarely spend their own holidays at 7 Koppies. As a matter of fact, it was on their last day of a vacation to Cape Town that they first came across the property. With a few hours to kill before their return flights, the two arranged to be shown the then-out-of-service farmstead \u2018just for fun\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou could call us hoteliers by accident,\u201d says James, \u201cbut when we saw this place \u2013 and the view \u2013 we were amazed. I just remember thinking that if we didn\u2019t buy the farm, we\u2019d regret it for ever, and we didn\u2019t want to be the kind of people who say \u2018we saw this beautiful place in South Africa<\/strong><\/a> and really wanted to buy it, but we didn\u2019t\u2019. That would be the poorest opening to a conversation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Arguably, the pair was in a good place to take a leap, with a solid career each, and at a point in their lives (then in their 40s and early 50s) that meant they\u2019d have plenty of time to recover from a potential mistake and learn from it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIf you\u2019re going to do something a little daring, this is the age to do it,\u201d explains James as we stroll around the 50 hectares of fynbos<\/em> shrubland that hold 7 Koppies in a lush embrace. \u201cAll our friends said we were crazy, but we didn\u2019t listen to anyone. And I\u2019m glad we didn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n William, meanwhile, is always on our tail, putting an end to the lives of any insects along the winding path. Southern Africa has always been kind to James, who ran Wolwedans Lodge in neighbouring Namibia in the 1990s (\u201cWhen I lived there, I used to subscribe to The Economist<\/em> and Hello!<\/em>. Gossip is a wonderful thing. You\u2019ve got to be able to have a laugh, and when something\u2019s a talking point, you need to know who\u2019s who and what they\u2019ve done\u201d).<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was during this time, and on regular trips to Cape Town whenever he had two weeks off, that James came of age in the city. \u201cI find it so inclusive here,\u201d he says. \u201cWe were welcomed with open arms when we started working on the farm. Everyone has been extraordinarily kind and professional \u2013 our lawyers, accountants, builders and architects. We\u2019ve done a lot here and had to learn fast, but there were no real challenges in terms of adjusting culturally. The basic traits people have here are very positive.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s immediately apparent that a lot of work has gone into renovating the farm, which was previously called Koppies (meaning \u2018hills\u2019) and was in its new B&B configuration christened 7 Koppies in a nod to Rome, where both Marc and James spent parts of their childhood. Across its six rooms and suites and the separate Rockwood Cottage (which comes with a private five-metre pool, outdoor dining areas, an open-air bathtub and a South African braai<\/em> barbecue), guests will find an inspired array of artworks, collectibles and natural touches that create a haptically impactful space I just want to wrap myself up in. Everything here stimulates the senses: textured carpets, rattan ceilings, sand dollars and mushroom shells, floor-to-ceiling linen curtains, shiny brace fittings against rustic bricks, crackling fireplaces in the chilly night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe 21st century is all about eclecticism,\u201d Marc tells me over a verbena infusion that comes in a different-sized mug each day of my stay, piping-hot proof that 7 Koppies favours homely spontaneity over corporate hospitality. \u201cI love mixing old and new, antique and modern. It\u2019s the mix that makes an interior interesting and I don\u2019t care whether something is old or new. It just has to fit.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cEverything has to be replaceable,\u201d adds James. \u201cWe don\u2019t ever want to be too precious about something if it breaks.\u201d Restraint, he says, is his favourite character trait in anyone, and it\u2019s something the pair practised when refurbishing the farm. \u201cWhen you leave the house knowing you\u2019re wearing just enough to make an impression, but no more, that\u2019s elegant to us. 7 Koppies is a bit like that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n That said, some additions to the property have truly elevated it. Two pavilions on each side of the pool are reminiscent of Sri Lankan temple architecture (and the work of architect Geoffrey Bawa) and are a homage to James\u2019s background. A solar farm is also in the works, and so is a small kitchen below the pool, which will enable the team to do some more \u2018serious\u2019 cooking, as Marc and James put it. What\u2019s not going to change, however, is the farmstead\u2019s small, intimate scale, and for good reason.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMany people lead such transient lives,\u201d says James, \u201ctravelling frequently and never even having a chance to create a home. They have a big house with some of their possessions in it, but it\u2019s never really cosy. This is a home in a sense that a lot of people no longer have, with antiques and old books and personal things that go back multiple generations.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The concept clearly works, with 7 Koppies seeing regular buy-outs some 10 weeks a year. When Marc and James are around, visitors initially tend to be on stellar behaviour, putting their best foot forward. But eventually \u2013 and partly because of the limited communal spaces that bring everyone together \u2013 guests (who come mostly from Britain and Germany, but increasingly from South Africa, China and the UAE) always click. Evenings on the farm are long, bottles often emptied, and nights can get wild. \u201cIt\u2019s a good party house,\u201d admits James, as a fellow guest, Lucy, tells of a nearby nudist wedding she\u2019d attended the day before, sending roars of laughter around the dinner table. \u201cHas anyone else noticed,\u201d begins James, \u201cthat the music has changed since yesterday? First Madonna, now George Michael. I think Alexa overheard us and realised we had a lot of gays in the house today.\u201d More laughter ensues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It shouldn\u2019t be surprising that a place dripping in style and with a genuine under-the-radar appeal would attract a rather fabulous, in-the-know smart set, too. Despite 7 Koppies being a comparatively humble place to stay by Winelands standards, I\u2019m treated to many a juicy tidbit that might have you thinking you\u2019re among society\u2019s upper echelons. From \u2018the King of Jordan once invited me on to his plane\u2019, to \u2018I went to the maharajah\u2019s wedding\u2026 well, all 10 of them, in 10 different palaces…\u2019 and, my personal favourite, \u2018not to be rude\u2026 I went to her new place in Paris. It\u2019s tasteful, but\u2026 safe<\/em>\u2019 (a shockwave of startled horror sweeps across the table before a fellow guest from LA finally breaks the silence, shaking her head in disbelief. \u2018Gosh.\u2019).<\/p>\n\n\n\n What\u2019s so wonderful about this is that these types of visitor \u2013 some of whom are without a doubt personal friends of Marc\u2019s and James\u2019s \u2013 somehow fit in perfectly with the more subdued elderly couple who have come to ride Franschhoek\u2019s famous Wine Tram, and the adventurous youngsters planning to climb the surrounding mountains. But the pair insist that no one ever feels obliged to socialise if they don\u2019t want to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAt the end of the day,\u201d remarks James, \u201cit\u2019s your holiday and you do what you feel like doing. But people tend to spend time and have a laugh with others here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n There\u2019s even talk of staging a hiking holiday at 7 Koppies, to bring people together for what its owners loosely refer to as a wellness retreat. Massages can be easily arranged at the property, and a sauna was recently installed near the pool, but don\u2019t expect a cryo-chamber or a medical spa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe\u2019re thinking of doing walks with a proper hiking guide and in the evenings guests will return to the farm for massages and calorie-controlled meals with non-alcoholic drinks,\u201d explains James. \u201cI\u2019m not a fan of overly formalised retreats. There\u2019s nothing more health-inducing than walking and talking, being outdoors and in the company of others. You become too focused on yourself otherwise, especially seeing that the person you\u2019re trying to escape from is often yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n This type of vacation might not be for everyone, of course. And, moreover, 7 Koppies isn\u2019t, either. Many a traveller will make a beeline for the Winelands\u2019 multitude of five-starred establishments, where the luxuries of private concierges and fine dining await (not to mention less idiosyncratic signposting). But then, they\u2019ll miss out on the build-up of suspense upon arrival, on the library of lived memories in the shape of Marc\u2019s collection of antiques and objets trouv\u00e9s, and on James\u2019s bottomless repertoire of perfectly delicious and not rarely improper one-liners. I, for one, find that 7 Koppies pulls off the rather impressive feat of doing an excellent and intuitive job of providing hospitality without ever asking to be taken too seriously.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe\u2019re not a big-brand resort,\u201d says James. \u201cWe don\u2019t do a different type of juice for each guest. It\u2019s freshly squeezed orange juice and that\u2019s it. At the end of the day, this place is all about us. There\u2019s an element of humour in everything we do. It\u2019s not for everyone and it\u2019s not about making it for everyone. But then, this kind of destination attracts a certain type of traveller, who\u2019s happy to step into our world to try something new. And our gates are always open. You just have to make it up the hill.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.outthere.travel\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Facebook-shop_Paris-1024x1024.jpg\")
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Subscribe today<\/a><\/strong> or purchase a back copy via our online shop<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n![\"Sunset](\"https:\/\/www.outthere.travel\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/7-Koppies-Franschhoek-South-Africa_41-1024x683.jpg\")
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