Fancourt Estate, home to three championship golf courses, has been nominated as one of the world’s leading resorts in the World Travel Awards. 

Just 7 km from George Airport in the Garden Route, the estate has become a luxury tourist destination for international and local visitors, as well as an ultra-opulent residence for South Africa’s wealthiest.

The land and its central property have a long history spanning generations of families. The 613-hectare piece of land on which the estate was built originally belonged to its namesake, Henry Fancourt White.

White settled at the foot of the Outeniqua Mountains near George with his wife, son and daughter in 1860 and built an expansive family home: the Blanco House, designed in the style of a Cotswold Mansion. 

The original owner helped to develop the commercial infrastructure around the area’s Montagu Pass before his passing. 

The property was later auctioned and sold to his son, Ernest Montagu White, who named the house Fancourt after his father and made extensive renovations to adjust the mansion to his liking.

The property would soon fall into a forgotten state of disrepair when Erenst White died tragically due to wild mushroom poisoning. The property passed through several hands before it was abandoned in the 1930s.

In the 1960s, a South African brain surgeon, Dr Roland Anthony Krynauw, purchased the land and restored it to its former glory. The original, restored Manor House still stands today as a top-class hotel. 

The estate now belongs to a German couple, Hasso and Sabine Plattner, who have owned Fancourt for the last thirty years and turned it into a golf estate with the help of top golfer Gary Player.

R45 million mansions

The original owners in front of what is now the Manor House five-star Hotel at Fancourt estate. Photo: Fancourt.

The Plattners began developing the golf estate at the dawn of democracy in 1994. This was not easy, however, as many of South Africa’s well-to-do population fled the country at the time.

“Some thought we were crazy, but of course, this proved not to be the case. From the moment we arrived in George, we felt that this was a place to invest in,” Sabine Plattner said.

The estate quickly gained its reputation as a prime destination for golfing, leisure and luxury living. 

By 2005, the estate hosted the 46664 Nelson Mandela Concert and received a visit from the former president himself. 

The golf course, The Links, is now by some measure the most photographed in South African history. 

The land on which the golf course was built once served as an airstrip, but now boasts 36 championship holes.

The Plattners say that the golf course has always been and will continue to be a work in progress. 

The Manor House Boutique Hotel is now a five-star establishment, one of two in Fancourt. 

The estate offers a range of properties for interested buyers. Plots can be purchased from R2 million, and houses start at the R4.2 million mark. 

Some of the estate’s exclusive, five-bedroom mansions can exceed R45 million. 

Residents have access to every amenity Fancourt has to offer, from its five-star hotels and country club, to its spa, Roman baths, gym, cinema and golf courses. 

More photos from Fancourt Estate:

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