Step into Birkenhead House and you know immediately you’re in Liz Biden territory: that whimsical, glamorous sensibility of vintage pieces spruced up with bright colour, gilded frames, and art in abundance.
The hotel is a sprawling villa perched on the edge of a cliff above Voelklip in Hermanus, overlooking Walker Bay, and the dramatic flair continues inside, tempered by warmth: rugs are strewn across marble-like tiles, plump sofas in bull denim are set against antiques, and crystal chandeliers hang overhead.
It began as the Bidens’ own coastal holiday home and became the second property in what is now The Royal Portfolio Collection. With just 11 suites, it still feels like a house where the staff know your name, your favourite drink, and the table you prefer. Staying here is less like checking into a hotel and more like being handed the keys to a well-off friend’s very good holiday home.
The hotel takes its name from HMS Birkenhead, the troopship that ran aground on this coastline in 1852, a name borrowed by other properties in town too, so don’t assume every “Birkenhead” is this one.
Biden steered well clear of nautical clichés. Instead, the rooms are eclectic: hand-painted four-poster beds, antique Chinese vases, ostrich-feather lampshades, and Victorian baths. No two rooms match. Near the entrance of the hotel sits an eye-catching, shell-encrusted cabinet, one of many objects clearly chosen for character rather than convention.
Bathrooms come in travertine marble, double pedestal basins, and oversized mirrors with toiletries displayed in old wine bottles. The rooms are light and airy, dressed in monogrammed linen, with heated floors for winter and, in the best of them, uninterrupted ocean views. Several fireplaces are dotted through the property, which was a real comfort on the cold, windy days of our stay.
An open-plan lounge and dining area flows seamlessly onto an infinity pool, which looks straight down to the beach and ocean. Guests staying in the upstairs suites descend a short flight of stairs into this shared living space each morning, while below, the beach walkway offers a scene of walkers and runners passing by, perfect for effortless people-watching.
Birkenhead House arguably holds the best location of any hotel in Hermanus. It’s a few minutes’ drive from the town centre, or about an hour on foot. Lifts into town are included and arranged over WhatsApp whenever you’re ready to head back. Alternatively, you can walk into town or head the other way for a shorter stroll toward Grotto Beach.
The veranda’s infinity pool and loungers face a view worth lingering over: surfers on one side and whales on the other during the season. Binoculars are provided for sightings, and a tempting spread of spirits, from port to grappa, is displayed nearby. The property also has two pools: the ocean-facing infinity edge and a plunge pool through the centre of the house, as well as a spa tucked away for treatments.
It was too cold and windy during our visit to swim, and even a short trip into town lasted only about 15 minutes before I was longing to get back to the hotel’s warmth.
Meals and drinks are included in the rate, bar the very top-end wines, and you can choose to eat wherever you like: the glass-fronted dining room, the cliffside terrace, by the pool, or in the privacy of your suite. We ate breakfast and lunch inside, out of the wind, and had one memorable dinner by the fireplace, which was set up without us asking, as they had picked up on our appreciation of fireplaces.
Birkenhead House has traditionally been known more for its design than its kitchen, but that’s shifting under a new chef who previously ran a well-regarded tapas-style restaurant in Betty’s Bay. The new sharing-style menu set to come on board will keep the philosophy simple: fresh, ocean-based ingredients, while still accommodating a guest who, after a day of safari and rich food elsewhere, just wants a burger, salad, pizza or flatbread.
Our meals were fabulous: uncomplicated, fresh and tasty, with fish and fillet on various days. Mocktails such as watermelon and cucumber are a deliberate touch for guests who want the ritual of a cocktail without the alcohol. A nice touch is that the chef comes round at some point to ask what you’d prefer for dinner, based on what’s available.
The stay covers breakfast, lunch, dinner, laundry and most beverages, while activities such as whale-watching excursions are charged separately.
General manager Shane Brummer has a down-to-earth ease about him, unsurprising given that he’s been a surfer for years and has worked alongside Biden for more than two decades. He describes the property’s character as fresh, natural, clean living: “a deliberate contrast to the polish of a big-city hotel.”
If a single idea defines the guest experience, he says, it’s permission to unwind completely: “We want you to feel relaxed. We want you to walk around in your dressing gown. We want you to go down to the beach in your costume, come back, lie by the pool with a cocktail.”
Some guests take him at his word and apparently head to breakfast in dressing gowns, go barefoot from pool to lunch table, stop at the spa before wandering down for tea. Dinner sharpens things up, but the overall tone sits deliberately between sophistication and ease.
Part of Leading Hotels of the World, service is personalised, built around learning each guest’s preferences: arranging a mussel-picking outing, a cooking class or a fishing trip followed by a glass of wine in the kitchen while the catch is prepared. The staff themselves are attentive but not obtrusive and certainly elevate the experience.
Where the hotel once kept a certain distance from the town, the spa and restaurant now welcome outside guests for lunch and dinner, and the property has partnered with the local golf club. But no children are permitted.
About 95% of Birkenhead House’s guests come from overseas, led by the US, followed by the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Spain and Italy, with a growing number of Russian travellers more recently. Local guests, particularly from Johannesburg, became a bigger part of the mix during the pandemic, and some have stayed on as annual regulars.
Hermanus runs on a seasonal rhythm. High season stretches from October through April, driven by whale watching, mountain hiking, wine tasting, surfing, kitesurfing on the lagoon, sea kayaking and diving. Winter, from May through July, is quiet, with September marking the start of the build-up to summer. Whale season proper runs from July to December, when southern right whales pass close enough to the cliffs to watch from bed.
Getting locals to visit in the off-season remains one of Hermanus’s challenges, but our cold, windy, two-day stay in low season had its own appeal: quiet, uncrowded, almost cocooned.
The town has changed since Birkenhead House first opened. It’s busier and more discovered. But the house itself has stayed small, offering restraint supported by top-tier service.
theroyalportfolio.com/birkenhead-house/
