Akademie Street Guesthouses is a collection of separate and individual houses in the heart of the Cape Winelands village of Franschhoek. Each house is adjacent to the next, and each has a private pool and garden. They are linked through beautiful, fragrant gardens to the main house, Twyfeling, where breakfast is served on the patio. It is perfectly quiet, apart from the birdsong, yet only a two-minute walk to the restaurants and shops in the Franschhoek High Street. Gelatenheid (meaning equanamity) is a spacious two-storey house with a wide balcony and wide views over the mountains of the Winelands.
The extra large loft room serves as the bedroom with a king-size bed, and sitting room. Downstairs is a kitchenette and spacious lounge with French doors opening onto the verandah and gardens. Oortuiging (conviction) was built in the 1860's, and has two bedrooms, both with en-suite bathrooms, a lounge, a kitchen and a dining room. It can accommodate two or three people – the second bedroom is small. The house enjoys the shade of a giant white stinkwood tree. Vreugde (joy) is a garden suite that sleeps two in twin three-quarter beds, which can be made into a king-size bed with prior notice. It has a small kitchenette and French doors open onto a wide verandah.
Akademie Street Guesthouses is an exceptional place to stay, carefully looked after by the charming proprietors, Arthur and Kathy McWilliam Smith, who live in Twyfeling. It has atmosphere, luxury, tranquillity and privacy.
Akademie Street won the coveted AA Accommodation Award for best small guesthouse in South Africa in 2006. It was the runner up in 2004 and 2005.