About Us
Oleander Guest House opened its doors in June 2013 with six rooms. In October 2014 we added four new luxury rooms by renovating the old garages. These rooms have a splendid view over the garden and the pool.
In September 2013 we received our 5-Star rating from the Tourism Council of South Africa and have continued receiving this rating annually.
Oleander Guest House has its own cosy restaurant, Laurier Blanc. The restaurant offers a French flair and elegance.
Oleander Guest House received the Provincial Winner: Northern Cape Lilizela Awards annually from 2014 to 2018.
We accomplished further excellence by winning the National Lilizela Award for the best 5-Star Guest House in 2015 and 2017.
Oleander Guest House and the Laurier Blanc Restaurant are no ordinary guest house and fine dining restaurant. They are a place with heart and soul. The heart lies in our staff’s caring, embracing, and personalised service and the soul lies in the heritage house and the Oleander tree. This guest house is a place where a hundred years of history matured into luxury and elegance. Here you will find peace and quiet and a home away from home.
At Oleander Guest House we are committed to go the extra mile to deliver 5-Star service at affordable prices.
History
Oleanders are distinctive and beautiful, large, flowering shrubs or small trees that thrive with little care. However, they are highly poisonous and should not be touched.
Most cultivars grow three to six metres tall and just as wide. Our white Oleander tree is approximately eleven metres tall. The late Professor Kristo Pienaar, a well-known botanical expert, on a visit to Kimberley many years ago said that this Oleander tree was the largest he had seen anywhere in South Africa. We believe that this tree, at a hundred years, is the same age as the house.
The peacefulness of the Oleander tree inspired the current owners of this Edwardian house to restore the house to its former glamour and to decorate it in an elegant and gracious style.
According to a local newspaper of the time, the original owners of 28 Carrington Road erected this lovely building in 1913. Kimberley was one of the first towns in South Africa to get electricity; this had its disadvantages as in July 1925 part of the house burnt down because someone left an iron on, which led to a fire starting in the kitchen. The destructed part of the house was rebuilt to its former glory with Oregon Pine floors and pressed ceilings.