The present-day Hermanus area was originally a summer grazing area for livestock in the early 19th century. It was frequented by shepherds, who could live off the fish caught at Walker Bay. By mid-century, a small fishing village named Hermanuspietersfontein existed, named after Hermanus PIETERS, who found the spring in Westcliff in the 1830s. By the late 1850s, there were five fisherman’s families in the area.
With the rapidly increasing influx of people, several hotels were opened. The popularity of hotel holidays in the first decades of the 20th century saw several hotels built in Hermanus, including the Royal in 1900, the Marine in 1902, the Riviera in 1904, Bay View in 1921, Windsor in 1930, Ocean View in the 1940s, and Birkenhead in 1952. These hotel holidays were usually at least two weeks at a time.
All meals and morning and afternoon tea were included in the tariff. The hotel offered daily programmes for adults and children, and it made all arrangements for activities outside its grounds. Dinners were usually formal black-tie affairs. The hotel offered party games, concerts, and other forms of entertainment in the evenings.
Hermanus hotels suffered from frequent fires. The two that did not experience a serious fire are the two hotels that survive today: the Marine and the Windsor. All the others suffered damage or destruction from fire: The Bay View (1940); Riviera (1944); Cliff Lodge (1944); Victoria (1953); Central (1953); Seahurst (1956); Birkenhead (1969); and Royal (1981).
Here's a brief overview of some of the hotels and their fates:
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| Hotel Name | Event | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Bay View | Fire | 1940 |
| Riviera | Fire | 1944 |
| Cliff Lodge | Fire | 1944 |
| Victoria | Fire | 1953 |
| Central | Fire | 1953 |
| Seahurst | Fire | 1956 |
| Birkenhead | Fire | 1969 |
| Royal | Fire | 1981 |
The Victoria Hotel was first the home of Walter McFarlane before he changed it into a double story to be used as a hotel in 1892. Thus this is the first Hotel in a small fisherman's Village known as Hermanus Pietersfontein.
Windsor Hotel In 1896, Dr Joshua Jacobus Hoffman and Willem Hendrik Hoffman acquired a seafront plot from a lawyer by the name of William Kleyn, and built the Sanatorium. The idea of a sanatorium was for “de bevordering van God’s Koninkryk” (the advancement of God’s Kingdom) where missionsaries and preachers could come and rest.
In 1896, a sanatorium was built by General Jan SMUTS’ brother-in-law, Dr Joshua HOFFMAN, and his brother Willem. Dr Hoffman had his consulting rooms in the sanatorium for local patients. He treated local and foreign tuberculosis patients who benefitted from the claim that Hermanus’ “champagne air” helped recovery.
David Allengensky, who also owned the Royal Hotel, bought it in 1931 and changed it to the Windsor Hotel after a trip on the Windsor Castle. Alex Luyt bought it in 1940, who in turn, sold it to Bill Record, after whose death it was sold to the brothers Humberto and Telentino Cordosa from Ceres. Basil Clarke-Brown bought it in 1981 and in 1996, Basil sold it to his son, Garth.
The Marine Hotel also known as the "Grand Old Lady" in Hermanus was built by Walter McFarlane and Valentine Beyers in 1902. However, the relationship came to an end, after which McFarlane became the sole owner of the Victoria Hotel and Beyers of the Marine.
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The Marine had 21 rooms and no running water or electricity in the bedrooms. There were two flush toilets on each floor. In 1913, 12 extra bedrooms were added to the Marine. There was still no running water or electricity in any of the rooms. Two bathrooms and two flush toilets were also added on each floor.
Valentine was a businessman and did not intend to manage the hotel himself. He appointed Pieter Johannes “PJ” LUYT as manager. Pieter was born in Cape Town in 1876. He married Margaret “Dollie” McVane Jenkins BEYERS, the daughter of Valentine BEYERS, in 1899. Although Pieter had briefly managed a hotel earlier in his career, in 1902 he was working as an insurance agent for the Southern Life Assurance Company in Potchefstroom.
Within five years, Pieter was able to lease the hotel from his father-in-law and later bought it outright for £5 000.00 and free lodging for Valentine for the rest of his life. He had four children with Margaret before she died in 1914. In 1915 he married Susanna “Joey” VAN RHYN (1896-1985), a teacher at Klipskool in Hermanus.
In 1918, a ballroom with a sprung floor was imported from Europe for the Marine, and more bedrooms were added, as well as a bathroom block and a larger kitchen. In 1920, the local electrician, Swannie SWANEPOEL, installed the hotel’s own electricity plant. A tidal pool at the foot of the cliffs in front of the Marine was opened in 1924.
In the 1920s and 1930s, the hotel hosted grand affairs in its ballroom for the wealthy and famous. Among them was Sir William HOY, who stayed at the hotel annually for many years. In 1923, Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone, stayed there. Other well-known guests included Sir Patrick and Lady Duncan; Edward, Prince of Wales; Sir de Villiers GRAAFF; and C Louis LEIPOLDT.
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Pieter built his family a home in 1922 and called it Schoongezicht. Joey opened a florist shop in the Fisherman’s Cottage on the grounds. Often, when important guests visited Hermanus, the family would move out of Schoongezicht and into the hotel so that the guests could stay in Schoongezicht. When Prince Arthur of Connaught, a grandson of Queen Victoria and at the time the Governor-General of South Africa, visited Hermanus in 1923 to open the newly revived golf club, he stayed at Schoongezicht. A formal dance was held at the Marine Hotel that evening.
The Earl of Athlone and Princess Alice first visited Hermanus in 1924 and again several times in the 1930s. After her husband’s death in 1957, Princess Alice visited South Africa six times between 1972 and 1981.
John later leased the hotel from his father-in-law and eventually bought from him for £5 000.00 in exchange for free lodging for the rest of his life. Him and his wife, Dollie, had a son and 3 daughters. After Dollie died in 1914, he married Joey van Rhyn a year later.
The Marine was further extended in 1918 and in 1920 electrician, Swannie Swanepoel install the hotel’s own electricity plant. John Luyt was also responsible for the Royal Highness Prince Arthur of Connaught’s visit to Hermanus in 1923 to open the new golf course. The following year the Earl of Athlone was also invited by the Luyts. Another wing was added to the hotel in 1930.
Pieter died in January 1940. On the day of his funeral, all businesses were closed in Hermanus, and all flags hung at half-mast. Three lorries, piled high with wreaths, followed the hearse. The funeral procession was so long that cars were still leaving the St Peter’s church when the hearse had already reached the cemetery.
Joey sold the Riviera Hotel in 1941. During World War II necessities were severely rationed or not available. The menus had to feature two meatless days a week. On another two days, only pork could be served. Sugar was rationed, and white flour was unobtainable.
Allied troops arrived in Hermanus while on leave from ships that transported them to and from battlefields. Some were South Africans or foreign troops permanently stationed in the country, such as the Royal Air Force personnel from the Catalina flying boat station on the Bot River Estuary. The hotel kept some rooms permanently vacant for soldiers who had no way of booking in advance.
They appointed Eric Constantine COLBECK as manager. His wife helped him in his duties. After his time at the Marine, he went to Wellington, New Zealand, in 1956 and played an important role in the hotel industry. He was the first general manager of the state-owned Tourist Hotel Corporation, where he imported skilled hotel managers and chefs. He started courses for doormen, housemaids and housekeepers, as well as barmen and waiters. He wrote several manuals for staff and management to understand guest requirements and etiquette, which were published in the book Wishes Anticipated. He retired in 1978.
In 1967, Swiss-born Werner HINDER of Cape Town’s Arthur’s Seat Hotel bought the Marine. Extensive alterations were undertaken, including the construction of a new wing, the San Marino. A modern block of rooms, a restaurant and an outdoor swimming pool were added. In 1968, the hotel became known as Hinder’s Marine.
By 1970, the Marine was run down. Two of Pieter’s daughters, Berdine and Paddy, returned and attempted to get the hotel back on track. A succession of incompetent managers was appointed by the absent owner. By 1980, the dilapidated hotel, being run as a boarding house, was bought by David RAWDON for the reported sum of R210 000. He closed it for renovations, reopening in 1985. In 1986, the average price per night of a sea-facing suite for two people was R80 (room only).
In 1997, David sold the Marine to Elizabeth (Liz) MCGRATH for about R15 million. The last Rawdon Sunday lunch was held on 22 February 1998. David died in 2010 at the age of 85. Liz spent eight months restoring the oldest hotel in Hermanus, and the second-oldest building in town, to her vision.
Johnny Stemmet, who owned a bakery in Harbour Road, built Stemmet’s Private Hotel in 1927. It was located where the Esplanade Holiday Apartments now are and the rocks in front of the hotel were regarded as the premier spot to catch galjoen. In 1933, he sold the hotel to Henry Luyt who changed the name to the Esplanade. The Luyts kept the hotel until 1949 when they planned to build the Birkenhead. Being on the seafront, the Esplanade had always been a very popular holiday venue.
A license for a new hotel above Voëlklip beach was granted to J R de Jongh Luyt in 1951. This property was bought by Mr. Henry Luyt from Mr. A van Blommestein. He formed a company consisting of his family only before his death. J R de Jongh Luyt represented the family. Mr Henry Luyt obtained the property with the express purpose of erecting a hotel there.
The hotel was run by Henry’s sons, John, Cedric, Henry (jnr) and their mother, Mrs Nettie Luyt. The hotel was officially opened 24 October 1952 - a fire occurred in one section only; it was rebuilt, but soon after totally demolished. It stood above the Voëlklip rock. Today the Birkenhead House, a boutique hotel, is on that premises.
Central Hotel - was next to the Royal Hotel and was owned by Manie Boltman. He sold it to Mrs Goodman, who renamed it Regent Palace. It was later bought by Mr Ivor Nillson. On 30 March 1953 it burnt down. According to Mr Nillson, the damage was estimated at £50 000. It was gutted by fire in 1953. Sea Breeze Motors was built there in later years.
The Royal Hotel was built and owned by David & Minnie Allengensky around1900. There were several owners over the years: the Silkes, Abrahams and others - it was gutted by fire in 1981.
Bay View Hotel - was originally the Roskeen Boarding School built in 1897 and run by the Morton family. After the death of Christina Morton, her husband, William, sold it to Thomas Vincent who in turn sold to Walter McFarlane in 1921. He enlarged Roskeen Boarding School and the Bayview Hotel began its distinguished career. Walter’s son, John, inherited it when Walter died in 1924. John only kept the Bay View for two years and sold to Bennet & Ashley in 1926. In 1936 it was destroyed by fire. It was rebuilt during WWII and reopened in 1941. Basil Musson’s son Peter Musson took over in 1950 and ran it for 35 years.
Riviera Hotel - built by the Pooles in 1904, it was added to in 1917. John Luyt bought it in 1908. It was destroyed by fire in 1949 and rebuilt in 1952. Henry Luyt managed the Riviera Hotel until 1934. Once it was run as one of the first timeshare establishments in South Africa. It was demolished recently for redevelopment.
Ocean View Hotel - It was originally a 7-bedroomed house built in 1919 for Mr and Mrs William McFarlane who had 10 children. At the time, it was one of the few houses on the seafront overlooking Castle Rock. Mr McFarlane who owned the whole block extending to the Main Street let the building to a Mr Sandiford, but took it back again after he left in 1928 and and turned it into a private residential hotel with 52 bedrooms. McFarlane’s son-in-law, Jack Esterhuizen, took the hotel over in 1942 and ran it for a year.
Cliff Lodge Hotel - burned down in 1942, soon after it was built in 1939. Voëlklip House - a private hotel and boarding house which was turned into holiday flats under sectional-title. It is situated in Tenth Street, Voëlklip.
History of Tourism | Travel and Tourism From The Ancient Years To Postmodern Times And Beyond
This gorgeous seaside town has a proud history dating back to the early 1800s when a man by the name of Hermanus Pieters followed a path etched into the ground by a herd of elephants. Hermanus Pieters was a traveling teacher and Sheppard who growing tired of his locality, made the decision to pack up and try somewhere new. He wandered south of Caledon along the elephant trail and ended up next to the sea where he discovered a fresh spring. Hermanus Pieters decided to set up camps here because of this spring and the fine grazing the land provided for his livestock.
The Old Harbour Open-Air Museum is a provincial heritage site. St. In 1868 a small building, a "palehuis", like many of the original houses, was built, to be both English church and school and it was called after the patron saint of fishermen, St.
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