At the flick of a switch Cape Town artist Helen Van Stolk filled the entire hotel with a group of top artists and sculptors with no agenda beyond just a shared time of inspiration and talent, fulfilling a long held dream that we'd become a home from home for people of this ilk.

When you read our Trip Advisor reviews there's still many a client wishing they'd made more of a stay of it. But it's less and less as case or a one night stand these days thanks to a bulging village To Do list

Two journalists had checked in the night before. It was a our Christmas party. We were closed for the day. But at breakfast they were so full of questions that Wayne never boarded the party bus to Warm Waterberg and committed the morning to showing them the dorp. Only later did we find out why they were in town. The things he showed them are why the town is changing from a...

If you've got his sell out cookbook or you follow him in the Daily Maverick you'll appreciate what a great experience too solid days with Tony Jackman as cook, raconteur and coach is going to be.

We're blessed by an ongoing parade of extraordinary cars but there's something about the passion of the Art of the Passes participants that sets them and their cars apart.

If the hotel is the hub what are the spokes that surround us ?

As it is more and more travelers are opting for a two night, or more, stay. The winter promotion (15% off for a one nighter, 20% off for two, 30% off for three opens you to the full possibility of the hotel's Barrydale To Do list.

Here the AGA maestro Bjorn Vai gives an overview of our AGA. A long term companion on Sue and Rick Melvill's journey: From the design department at the Blue Moon Company. To the Prynnsberg Estate on the founding of Melvill & Moon, to the Karoo Art Hotel.

Photographer Ian Fairley captured the sheer joy of driving the passes and distant horizons of Route 62 in a car that you're passionate about while on the Giulia Jaunt. The hotel with it's ideal midway position between Cape Town and the Garden Route has become a favourite stop over for the sportscar crowd.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words.. Yes, the pictures from Karoo Ink do tell a story. But it's the comments of the participants that paint their own picture of what a gifted teacher and spirit builder Tee Hardman is. It was the best of times . Standby. There's smudge on the distant horizon (Oct) called charcoal.

It was a month of celebration that included the SA Small Town of the Year award and ended with a street party where we could give a nod to a great year now past and the real promise of 2026.

A working AGA in the dining room = an A for authenticity Bartro’s Christmas pudding’s out of the AGA = an A+. A ++’s for story driven year ahead

It’s been a year of great reviews for the hotel and, bar none, the staff get a nod for their genuine pleasantness and goodwill.

HOW TO BUILD A HOUSE IN THE MOUNTAINS. Roger Lucey will be in song and story telling mode in the Belanti in wonderful opportunity to share in the journey of an extraordinary artist on Friday night the 28 November.

The poster is out ! Barrydales arty , hands on celebration of the art of analog photograpy runs from the 19th -20th December.

With this event going from strength to strength this is a brilliant weekend to be in Barrydale. The hotel is fully booked but this is just a heads up re the program

Prauge, Athens, Moscow...Barrydale. Who would have thought

We've chosen the Beatles 'When i'm 64 as the theme track for our 64+ incentive program. Unlike Paul McCartney who was just 16 when he wrote 64 we know a thing or two about being 64....

It's the one room name that befuddles people (unless they are out of the advertising industry). "What is GVW?" we are sometimes asked. "It's not a 'what' it is a 'whom'. GVW = Graham Victor Warsop, the celebrated creative director and South Advertising icon. He's a friend. When we bought the hotel he offered to do a bedroom room". Or was it the other way around ?). It's one of the 17...

If you look out from the hotel front verandah or one of the upstairs room balconies, across and beyond the lavender field right across the street you'll see a broad field of green (mainly olive trees), that's the home of Yamu Botanicals and the Karooljie property which is currently under a rapid transformation into a world class herbal resource.

We look forward to a late September return of the recipes from Cranemere farm near Pearston Graaff Reinet. It's all part of our ongoing celebration of the Art of Karoo cooking.