St Francis Bay · Eastern Cape

Das Oyster Bed

Die Pearl ist die Hauptsuite des Oyster Bed und befindet sich in der nordwestlichen Ecke des Anwesens und bietet einen außergewöhnlichen Panoramablick über die St. Francis Bay.

75 m to the beachBreakfast included

Every suite at The Oyster Bed has its own en-suite bathroom and its own balcony or patio, and all but one have a private entrance. Breakfast is included in the rates. The beach and Bruce’s café are 75 metres down a tree-lined path, the infinity pool has a built-in water seat facing the ocean, and from the decks you can watch the surfers on Bruce’s Beauties, dolphins in the bay and, in the evening, the moon coming up over the water.

Welcome to The Oyster Bed

A guesthouse at the water’s edge

The Oyster Bed sits in the wind-protected western corner of St Francis Bay, in a house built to face the sea. Seven individually designed suites share an infinity pool, timber decks that look straight out over the water, and a tree-lined path to the beach. Come for a romantic weekend, a family holiday or a week of surfing and walking, and expect to spend more time on your balcony than you planned.

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The Oyster Bed at a glance

The suites

Balconies over the bay

Four suites for two, each with a private balcony facing the sea.

The Pearl

The flagship: the top northern corner, a glass daybed and a bath with a sea view.

Honeymoon Rise

The front of the top floor, where the moon rises over the sea in view of the bed.

A-Sea-See

180-degree views across the bay's beaches and ocean, reached through the main lounge.

Bruces Beauties

Glass-fronted, facing the surf break it is named after.

More ways to stay

A family suite, a wheelchair-friendly suite on the ground floor, and a quiet room that joins Bruces Beauties.

Bikini Bottom

The family suite: a king and two singles, a deck onto the lawn, parking at the door.

The Slipway

Ground floor and wheelchair-friendly, with a patio and the sea beyond the pool.

Endless Summer

The quiet garden-side room; an inner passage joins it to Bruces Beauties for a two-bedroom stay.

Dolphins in the bay, more often than not

Dolphins, whales, seals and otters are regularly seen close to the coast. Keep one eye on the water.

The pool

A water seat facing the ocean

The infinity pool runs along the edge of the deck with a built-in water seat that looks straight out to sea: the place to cool off with a cocktail in the African sun. Loungers line the timber deck, and covered tables sit in the shade of the house.

Breakfast

Breakfast is in the rate

Rates at The Oyster Bed include breakfast. The house’s dining room puts a long table between two walls of glass, with the deck and the bay beyond, and the lounge has deep sofas and the same view.

The beach

75 metres to the sand

A tree-lined path runs from The Oyster Bed down to the beach and Bruce’s, the café on the water, for coffee, breakfast or a long lunch. Swim, surf, look for shells, or walk the Two Harbours Trail to the Port and on to the Seal Point lighthouse.

Bruces Beauties and Endless Summer

Two rooms, three balconies

Endless Summer takes its name from Bruce Brown’s 1966 surf film, whose surfers found the perfect wave in St Francis Bay: the break now called Bruce’s Beauties. The suite sits on the quiet garden side of the villa, and a short internal passage joins it to Bruces Beauties, so families and friends can take the pair as a private two-bedroom retreat with three balconies.

See Endless Summer

St Francis Bay, close by

Places within a short walk or drive of The Oyster Bed. Photos courtesy of Google.

The Oyster Bed in motion

Short films made from The Oyster Bed’s own photographs.

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Ask Pieter

Pieter Praetorius hosts The Oyster Bed. Ask him which suite suits you, about the otter evenings, bicycle hire or surf lessons, or about the clubs that welcome visitors, from bridge on Tuesday afternoons and Friday mornings to social bowls.

Pieter Praetorius

Host, The Oyster Bed

Find us

On the western, wind-protected edge of St Francis Bay, 75 metres from the beach.

Explore St Francis Bay

Beaches and world-class waves, coastal trails, golf, boats and the Port’s chokka fleet: ideas for the days you leave the deck.

More than one stay’s worth

Beaches, world-class waves and quiet nature trails, golf, boating, good restaurants and a busy village calendar: there is more to do around St Francis Bay than most stays allow. Here are a few ideas from The Oyster Bed, starting at the gate.

The Two Harbours Trail

Walk the coastal trail to the Port or, for the more adventurous, all the way to the Seal Point lighthouse. It passes some of the area’s best coastal scenery and runs through the Port, so stop for coffee, breakfast or a meal on the way, or make Nevermind restaurant at the lighthouse your lunch.

For ocean addicts

The Oyster Bed is perfectly placed for Bruce’s Beauties, Hulett’s Reef and the beaches and breaks between the groynes. Depending on the swell and your nerve: ocean swims and bodysurfing, surfing and surf lessons, surf-skiing, snorkelling on clear days, fishing from the slipway, deep-sea charters, spearfishing, water skiing, kite surfing and foiling.

Otters at dusk

Cape clawless otters live alongside the village, and a few families have made their home on the Shark Point headland, where they can be seen up close slipping into the water in the evening. Knowing where to be, and when, is the trick: a three-night stay at The Oyster Bed includes an evening excursion to see them. Dolphins, whales and seals are regularly seen from the shore too, and a lucky few have seen killer whales.

Sunset Rocks

Warm rock ledges, smoothed by the sea, make natural seats for the evening show. Cloudy evenings turn the sky pink; on clear ones, watch for the rare green flash as the last edge of the sun meets the horizon. Pack a cooler box.

Boats, canals and the Port

Bring your own boat for the canals, the Kromme River and the open sea, or join a local charter for whale and dolphin watching, deep-sea fishing, or a river, canal or sunset cruise. At the Port, watch the chokka boats come and go, then eat the local calamari.

Golf

St Francis Links, one of the country’s acclaimed courses, and the more traditional St Francis Bay Golf Club are both close by, with tournaments through the year.

A guesthouse at the water’s edge

The Oyster Bed at a glance

75 metres to the beach

Seven suites

Breakfast included

An infinity pool

A wheelchair-friendly suite

Otters at dusk