The house above its mosaic pool

The Collection · Constantia

Villa Kilimani

Constantia · Cape Town · South Africa

A SAOTA-designed glass house on two hectares in Constantia, a court in the garden, a resident butler, and a trail from the gate to Kirstenbosch.

Hideaway Included
Concierge Included
Driver On request
Chef On request
Coach On request
from R455,000 / week · about R45,500 per person, house full
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01 Hideaway Included

The full reading is still to come. Until then: the listing’s evidence, read under the same seven categories.

The Villa for a Group

Sleeping & en-suite quality
Five bedrooms, all en suite: four upstairs over the garden, and a ground-floor cottage with its own terrace for grandparents, au pairs or the couple who like their own front door.
Kitchen & the long table
An open-plan Bulthaup kitchen running onto the covered terrace. Evenings usually end at the braai with the resident owl coming home.
Flow & shared living
Courtyards link the gym, wine cellar, TV lounge and study. A pajama lounge with a projector holds the upstairs, and a fire pit seats all sixteen of your extended table outside.
Design calibre
A SAOTA glass-lined house angled at the mountain, the architecture doing exactly one thing: letting Constantia in.
The driveway under its entrance canopy
The fire pit and its seating beside the pool
Sun loungers along the pool deck
The covered terrace, the mountain in front
The family lounge and its media wall
The living room, the mountain through the glass
A bedroom suite with its own fireplace
The bathroom doorway, the mountain garden beyond
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The Setting

Seclusion & neighbour distance
Two hectares of indigenous garden with no other houses in the view, the mountain standing in as the back fence.
Nature, light & views
Rolling lawns, fynbos, sugarbirds and butterflies, and a nature trail that runs from the villa to Kirstenbosch by a route most of Cape Town does not know.
Quiet
Constantia's green belt: horse paths, dog walkers, and the city twenty minutes away pretending not to exist.
The balcony over the fynbos garden
A path through the fynbos garden
The double volume windows and the garden from above
1 / 3

The Padel Court

Verification & privacy
A private court in the garden. The group plays while the kids disappear into the zip line.
Surface & build
Surface, glass and floodlights to confirm with the house.
Floodlights & play
Cape mornings are still, and summer evenings play long.
Aesthetic integration
On the lawns, inside the trees, the mountain behind every point.

The Kitchen

Chef access & provisioning
Chefs are booked in for the nights that matter, and the butler handles the provisioning. A Miele bean machine and a walk-through scullery keep the mornings quiet.
Local food, a short drive
Chardonnay Deli at High Constantia is the locals' secret for the daily run. La Colombe, Foxcroft and Bistro Sixteen82 hold the serious nights, all inside ten minutes.
Wine & produce culture
The Constantia valley's estates start at the gate: Buitenverwachting, Beau Constantia, Steenberg. Private tastings come to the house.
The open plan kitchen, the mountain beyond
The island with breakfast stools drawn up to it
The dining room under its glass chandelier
1 / 3

The Relaxation

Pool & water
A pool banked by deep loungers on the lawn, beach towels and umbrellas provided, and a water feature running through the courtyards.
Sauna, ice, spa
A steam room off the main suite, spa treatments arranged at the house, and an outdoor yoga courtyard for sunrise.
Sleep & unprogrammed space
Heated blankets in every room, underfloor-heated bathrooms, and a garden that swallows children whole: treehouse, zip line through the canopy, trampoline, climbing wall.
Loungers at the infinity pool, the garden around it
The gym pavilion through the trees
The ensuite bath among indoor plants
1 / 3

The Service on site

On-site staff & housekeeping
A resident butler, two housekeeping staff daily, and two gardeners keeping the hectares.
Upkeep & grounds
House serviced daily, weekends included, and the laundry done in-house.
Runs-itself factor
Full solar and inverter power, so load shedding never reaches you. A lock-up garage and a BMW charging station wait for the cars.
The dining terrace and its braai
The lounge atrium, planted through
1 / 2

The Feeling

Arrival & sense of place
The gate opens onto lawns and the mountain, and the house stands at exactly the angle its architect intended.
The week that arranges itself
Padel and the pool by day, wine at the fire pit as the peaks light up, the trail to Kirstenbosch before breakfast.
A sitting area in the courtyard greenery

The features

Everything in the villaroom by room

The villa

  • 5 bedrooms, all en suite
  • Sleeps 10 · garden cottage as the fifth suite
  • Two hectares of indigenous garden
  • SAOTA glass-lined architecture
  • Study, wine cellar, pajama lounge with projector
  • Formal lounge fireplace · pellet fire in the family room
  • Full solar and inverter power

Sleeping

  • Kings throughout, one room of two doubles
  • Master with open-plan bath, double shower and dressing room
  • Steam room off the main suite
  • Balconies with garden and mountain views
  • Heated blankets in every room
  • Cottage with coffee station and private terrace

Kitchen & table

  • Open-plan Bulthaup kitchen onto the terrace
  • Gas stove, two combination ovens, warming drawers
  • Miele bean-to-cup machine
  • Walk-in scullery, ice machine
  • Built-in gas braai and freestanding braai
  • Outdoor fire pit seating 16

Court & outdoors

  • Private padel court in the garden
  • Zip line, treehouse, trampoline, climbing wall
  • Boules with sundowners
  • Pool with loungers, umbrellas and beach towels
  • Outdoor yoga courtyard
  • Nature trail from the villa to Kirstenbosch

Wellness & tech

  • Fully equipped gym: treadmill, two bikes, rower, cable multi-gym
  • Steam room
  • Smart TVs with DSTV, Netflix, Apple TV
  • Bluetooth surround sound
  • Fast wifi
  • BMW e-charging station

Service & stay

  • Resident butler
  • Two housekeeping staff daily, laundry done
  • Two gardeners, Monday to Saturday
  • Alarm, beams and armed response
  • Check-in 2 pm · check-out 10 am
  • Airport 30 minutes · city 20 · beaches 20

Anything in outline is not here, and it is stated rather than hidden.

02 Concierge Included

A resident butler runs the week on the ground, and I plan it with you before you arrive.

Pre-arrival
Tastings, chefs, transfers and the week's shape, set before you land.
During
The butler in the house, me on call for the rest.

03 Driver On request

We sort how you get there, and how you get around.

The route in
Met at Cape Town International, about thirty minutes to Constantia. The city is twenty.
The week
A driver for the winelands, the False Bay tidal pools and the Atlantic beaches, all about twenty minutes out.
The Range Rover waiting in the garden

04 Chef On request

Chefs come to the house for the nights you want cooked for.

The nights in
Menus agreed beforehand, dietaries handled, the terrace table under the stars.
Out
The Constantia valley's dining rooms, booked ahead by the butler or by me.
The chef cooking over an open fire

05 Coach On request

You came to play, so we only use coaches we have played with.

The bench
Cape professionals with competition experience, English taught.
The format
Your court, your hours, drills, matchplay, a family americano before sundowners.
The levels
Mixed groups read in one warm-up.

Trip Plan

The house and its butler are included. Add the chef nights, the driver and the coach, and I reply within a day with one price.

Your trip plan

Pick a week to start

Weeks run Friday to Friday, with the option to adjust the days and the period in shoulder season once I check availability with the villa. Temperature and sunlight are averages, not a forecast. Priced in rand. The full ladder runs winter R55,000, shoulder R65,000, high R75,000 and peak R110,000 a night, and I quote the euro figure at the rate on the day rather than storing one here.

    Villa Kilimani, a private villa in Constantia, South Africa with its own court. The whole place, sleeps 10. The week planned end to end.

    Select your preferences
    • Hideaway IncludedTwo hectares of indigenous garden under the mountain
    • Concierge IncludedA resident butler runs the week
    What it costs
    Hideaway, the week
    R455,000
    Concierge
    Included

    From R455,000 · about R45,500 per person, house full

    Anything I should know

    Optional. Whatever you tell me here I answer in my first reply, rather than writing back to ask.

    Where to reach you

    Either one is enough. I reply to whichever you leave.

    Referred by

    Optional. Introductions carry weight here.

    The practical questions about Villa Kilimani

    Why book through you?

    The villas are looked after by people who are particular about who they work with, and they work with me. That takes time to earn and it is why this collection grows slowly, a villa at a time.

    You pay the villa's own rate, and the week costs no more for my being in it: my commission comes out of what the villa already charges. The Concierge, Driver, Chef and Coach are quoted alongside it as one price, and I am on call for them all week. Every enquiry comes to me, so the person who answers is the person who arranges it.

    How this began →

    Is there a security deposit at Villa Kilimani?

    The villa sets its deposit and it is written into your agreement before you book. Ask me and I will tell you the figure for your dates.

    More on how deposits and damage are handled →

    When do we arrive, and can we book a shorter stay?

    Any day, minimum 4 nights. Two nights through the Cape winter, four in the shoulder, five in the high season, seven at peak and fourteen across Christmas and New Year. Public holiday weekends ask three whatever the season. Tell me your dates and I will confirm with the villa.

    Which airport do we fly into for Villa Kilimani?

    Cape Town International (CPT), about thirty minutes away by road. Add the Driver and you are met at arrivals and driven in.

    What comes with the villa, and what can I add at Villa Kilimani?

    The whole villa, yours alone, 5 suites for 10. A concierge comes with the villa. Add a driver, a chef and a coach and I plan the week and come back with one price.

    What is added to the rate at Villa Kilimani?

    It differs by villa. Some quote the week with the cleaning and the taxes inside it; others charge cleaning separately, or tax on the booking fee. I confirm this villa's lines before I quote, so the figure I come back with is the figure you pay.

    How you are billed →

    Villa Kilimani is priced in rand. What will it actually cost me?

    The house is let in rand and that is the number you are held to, so a euro figure printed here would be out of date by the time you read it. Tell me your dates and I will convert at the rate on the day and put both currencies in the quote. Broadly: the Cape winter runs from R55,000 a night, the shoulder R65,000, the high season R75,000, and the festive fortnight R110,000.

    Enquire