EMBERLINERetreat
A giraffe looking into a pool suite bedroom at sunrise at Emberline Retreat near Cape Town (artist's impression)

When was the last timea giraffewoke you up?

Opening September 2027 · 35 minutes from Cape Town
Artist's impression
01
The place

Giraffes and a mountain

About 35 minutes north of Cape Town, a private walled estate is set around a single watering hole. Two giraffes live here with zebra, nyala, impala, waterbuck and eland, and your days fall into their rhythm.

Two giraffes at the watering hole at Emberline Retreat, Table Mountain on the horizon (artist's impression)
The watering hole · Emberline Retreat, Cape TownArtist's impression
Founding Guest stays

Looking for a Christmas present? Here we go...

  1. A numbered certificate
  2. A giraffe print
  3. A letter sealed in wax

Every stay from September 2027 comes with this box. We post it to you, or straight to the person receiving the gift.

For delivery before Christmas, order by 8 December for addresses outside South Africa or by 15 December in South Africa. After that, up to 24 December, we email a digital certificate and the box follows.

See Founding Guest stays
02
The way you stay

One host, one suite

Every pool suite has its own terrace, its own pool and its own host. The same person meets you on arrival and soon learns whether you prefer a late breakfast or an early morning on the deck. There is one person to ask for anything, and you will seldom need to.

See the pool suites
Guests on their pool-suite terrace at Emberline, a host nearby, giraffes and zebra grazing beside it (artist's impression)
A pool suite and its terraceArtist's impression
Guests in a sunken fire lounge on the water at Emberline, giraffes beyond (artist's impression)

At the water

The viewing deck looks over the watering hole, and the animals come down to drink when they choose. Whatever you see from the deck happens on their terms.

A guest in their private pool with a glass of white wine, a giraffe walking past (artist's impression)

The pool suite

Your terrace and its pool are a few steps from the bed. By midday the light has moved onto the water, and you read in the shade while the estate goes quiet around you.

A spa treatment room with a giraffe outside the window (artist's impression)

The spa

A massage after the afternoon heat, then the sauna, the hot tub and the cold plunge. Your host books it for you.

Dinner at the fire counter at Emberline, giraffes crossing the water at sunset (artist's impression)
03
The evening

Dinner over the watering hole

As evening comes, the fires on the water are lit and dinner is served overlooking the watering hole, with Table Mountain darkening on the horizon. Some evenings the giraffes walk down to drink while you eat, and on others they keep to the far side of the estate.

Artist's impression

A warning: our sunsets are so beautiful, you might forget to look at the giraffes for a minute.

A long pool at sunset with giraffes beyond at Emberline Retreat near Cape Town (artist's impression)Artist's impression
The Emberline box handed over by candlelight (artist's impression)
You're invited

A stay, given before we open

A Founding Guest stay is two, three or five nights for two in a pool suite, from USD 1,999. You buy it now and use it any time in the three years after Emberline opens.

See Founding Guest stays
A giraffe at sunset near Emberline (artist's impression)

See you at the watering hole.

Founding Guest stays are on sale now, for visits from September 2027.

Become a Founding Guest

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