Villa Chad Luxury Guesthouse

15/09/2026

Not every day on the Whale Coast comes with blue skies 🌦️

Today was a proper Western Cape windy day, so we took Gaia and Zazou out to Rooisand Nature Reserve, close to Villa Chad.

The wind was ridiculous, but the dogs were having the time of their lives. There are wild horses roaming freely in this nature reserve, and zebras and other game live right next door.

Even bad weather days are an adventure here 🦄

Would you have taken your dog for a walk in this weather?

11/09/2026

07/09/2026

Today we went whale watching in Hermanus, checking out one of the experiences we recommend to guests at Villa Chad.

And 2026 is turning into quite a whale season. In the first official count between Hermanus and Witsand, 601 southern right whales were recorded, including 296 mothers with calves. Here in the Hermanus area alone, they counted 46.

But today we saw something particularly special: this beautiful brindle southern right whale calf.

Only around 3% of southern right whale calves are born brindle, and about 94% of them are male. This little one was incredibly pale and very strongly brindled, so he really stood out beside his mother.

Southern rights come to our coast each year to give birth and raise their calves, and seeing one like this from the water was pretty extraordinary.

📸: Jean Tresfon (Marine Conservation Photographer)
📽️ : yours truly

19/08/2026

Proud to share that Villa Chad | Luxury Guesthouse | Kleinmond | South Africa 🇿🇦 won the Kayak Travel Award 2026. Thanks to the whole team, and of course - most importantly - tp our guests! It helps is keeping the banner high and moving forward!

10/06/2026

My roots are in Sweden. I never thought I'd end up running a guesthouse in South Africa.

Meet the man behind the w**e list, the cheese board, and most of the calm around here 😄

Hi, I am Ludvig.
I grew up in Uppsala and wandered — Stockholm, Southern Spain, Madrid, China, Chile.
That's just how my life happened.

I fell into w**e by accident in Chile during an internship in something completely different, and never looked back.

When I came home to Sweden, I worked with my mother for years spreading Swedish healthcare knowledge globally, until she passed away and the company was eventually sold.

So I went back to what I loved: w**e. Italian and South African mostly, working for Philipson Söderberg, which meant regular trips to South Africa.

That's when I bought a small countryside cottage here, years ago.

When Suzanne and I became a couple, South Africa felt like a possible next adventure for both of us.
And luckily she said yes, to both proposals 😊

And somewhere between the fynbos, the w**e...
Villa Chad came along.

Have you ever invited your loved one to join you living in another country?

What was most challenging for you?
Leave a comment below 👇

📍 Kleinmond, Western Cape

**eandtravel

04/06/2026

Winter in Kleinmond is something else entirely 🌸

One week you're battening down the hatches. Code Orange.

Wind gusts of 140km/h, thunder rolling over the Kogelberg, rain coming sideways and the power going out. (We know this one well by now 😄)

The following week? Twenty degrees, blue skies, t-shirt weather. Basically Dutch summer. :-)
That's just the Western Cape. Let´s say keeps you on your toes.

While the weather does whatever it likes, nature is quietly doing something extraordinary.

The fynbos comes alive, proteas bloom in the hills, the Cape Sugarbird breeds specifically in winter with its long sweeping tail timed to the flowering proteas it depends on, and the Orange-breasted Sunbird flits between the ericas.

And did you know that from Villa Chad you can access the most fantastic hiking trails into the Kogelberg Biosphere at just 100 metres? One of the most biodiverse places on earth, right on the doorstep 🌿

And let´s not forget about our very special winter visitors... more about that in a next post 🐋

You see?

Winter in Kleinmond is the perfect season for some awesome outdoor activities and slow romantic evenings next to the fireplace with a good glass of w**e ♥️

👉 Check our winterpromo in the pinned post.
Get 2 free 30 min massages using code WINTER26 with a 2 night booking.

📍 Kleinmond, Western Cape

28/05/2026

Who would you bring for a romantic winter escape? ❤️‍🔥❄️

Our Villa Chad winter promotion is made for slow evenings, a glass of w**e, a cozy fire and time to reconnect.

Book 2 nights and enjoy:
- 2 x 30 minute free massages
- R2500 per night
- Use promo code: WINTER26

And now for the romantic little twist:

👉 Share this post on your Instagram or Facebook,
👉 Tag the person you would love to escape with
...and tell us why you would bring them.
One lucky couple will win a third night for free!

🌿 Winner announced 30 June
🌿 Valid from 1 June to 31 August
🌿 Direct bookings only

-----

Wie sal jy saambring vir ’n romantiese winterwegbreek? ❤️‍🔥❄️

Ons Villa Chad winterpromosie is gemaak vir rustige aande, ’n glas wyn, ’n knus kaggelvuur en tyd om weer met mekaar te verbind.

Bespreek 2 nagte en geniet:
- 2 x 30 minute gratis masserings
- R2500 per nag
- Gebruik promosiekode: WINTER26

En nou vir die romantiese klein kinkel:

👉 Deel hierdie plasing op jou Instagram of Facebook
👉 Tag die persoon saam met wie jy graag wil wegbreek
..en vertel ons hoekom jy hulle sou saambring.
Een gelukkige paartjie wen ’n derde nag gratis!

🌿 Wenner word aangekondig op 30 Junie
🌿 Geldig vanaf 1 Junie tot 31 Augustus
🌿 Slegs vir direkte besprekings

26/05/2026

Autumn in Kleinmond seems deeply confused 🌿

The frogs sound like spring. Flowers are still showing off and the zebras couldn’t care less.

This morning on our dog walk, zebras were grazing at the Rooisand Nature Reserve with the Kogelberg mountains behind them.

The first winter fynbos blooms are beginning to appear, and Gaia and Zazou are happily running between them.

Anyway. Just another normal Tuesday in Kleinmond 🦓 🌸

Ps: how's your office day coming along today?

20/05/2026

What nobody tells you about running a business in South Africa... episode 2 😄

Today we had an unexpected visit from Home Affairs. Three officers, full document check, papers please.

All our staff are legally employed South African locals, and we had every file ready.

They checked, shared a few jokes, left, and we got back to work.

As foreign owners, we're glad Home Affairs is doing their job.

And we're proud of how we run this place.

Anyway, back to the winter promotions now. Gaia is waiting 🌿

📍 Kleinmond, South Africa

Ps. If anyone else wants to pop in for a surprise visit, our new fireplace is on!

🎬

12/05/2026

What nobody tells you about running a luxury guesthouse in South Africa...

It's not the mess the guests leave... kidding 😄
It's the storms.

We've just survived a Code Orange, wind gusts up to 140km/h, power outages for days, floods, and chaos.

What the previous owners also forgot to mention at handover:

When it rains this hard, the pool floods into the building.

The septic tank overflows.

And someone has to manually empty the pool... In a storm 😅 So that was us this week.

Meanwhile outside:

roofs blown off, trucks overturned, bridges down, the Palmiet River breaching into the ocean, and the Whale Coast Mall shopping centre losing its roof entirely.

Never a dull moment. Anyways, we are well equipped and always chose adventure over a boring life 😁

🌿 Villa Chad, Kleinmond

Ps: The guesthouse is standing, the guests are warm. And the pool is FULL :)