The South African luxury estate with its own polo field and organic farm

Val de Vie, located in the Western Cape’s Winelands, offers residents exceptional safety and luxury. It has a polo field, Jack Nicklaus golf course, and an organic farm.
Val de Vie was founded by Martin Venter in 2003 when he purchased a run-down wine farm alongside the Berg River.
Construction started in 2004, with R450 million invested in infrastructure for the new security estate. The first properties were also sold this year.
In the next four years, Val de Vie developed into one of the world’s best and most luxurious lifestyle estates.
The Lifestyle Centre, completed in 2006, featured a gym, a 25-meter indoor pool, squash, and tennis courts. The first Val de Vie wines were produced in the same year.
The first residents moved in in 2007, and the Polo Pavilion and Hurlingham standard polo fields were completed the following year.
In 2008, Val de Vie acquired Pearl Valley Phase Two, 320 hectares of undeveloped land between Val de Vie Estate and Pearl Valley.
It also bought the Levendal Development on the western side of the Berg River and was awarded Best Development in Africa at the International Property Awards.
The estate continued to grow with the launch of the Polo Village Apartments, Gentleman’s Estate, The Vines, The Oaks, River Reserve, La Vue and Le Domaine.
In 2015, Val de Vie acquired Pearl Valley Phase One, which includes the Jack Nicklaus Signature golf course.
Over the next decade, growth continued with numerous new developments, the second phase of the Polo Village Apartments and the Evergreen Luxury Suites.
The estate also significantly improved its offering to residents, which included a deli, an online shop, a wellness farm, and a multi-purpose sports field.
In 2023, the estate opened the Sela Vie Restaurant at The Yard Wellness Center, complementing its existing leisure offerings to residents.
Val de Vie played host to the ABSA Cape Epic Grand Finale, and the Val de Vie Polo Club officially became the largest polo club in the country.
It won numerous awards, including the best multigenerational resort in the world and the best residential development in South Africa.
At the 2021 International Property Awards, it was also named the best leisure development in the world and the best residential development in South Africa.
Property in Val de Vie

Val de Vie is one of the most desired addresses in South Africa and a popular estate among South Africa’s ultra-rich.
Its country living, within close proximity to top schools, an international airport, and global tourist attractions, attracted residents from across the world.
Val de Vie has 300 hectares of parks, fynbos and wildlife reserves, farms and lakes, and the Berg River supplies it with irrigation.
The estate offers residents over 42 kilometres of walking, mountain bike, running and horse-riding trails.
It offers various food and beverage experiences, from the Polo Club Restaurant to the L’Huguenot Wine Cellar and Reuben’s & Co Café.
Unsurprisingly, buying a house in Val de Vie does not come cheap. An entry-level one-bedroom apartment costs R4.1 million, and houses start at R6.3 million.
On the high end, a 2,080-square-meter 12-bedroom house with a 2.6-hectare yard is on the market for R120 million.
For those who want to build their own house, a 700-square-meter plot costs R5.6 million, and a 3,750-square-meter plot next to the polo field costs R34 million.
Despite the high prices, Val de Vie is one of the most popular estates in the Western Cape, with property sales of over R3 billion in 2022.
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