Knysna, one of the most popular tourist towns situated on one of the most scenic drives in the world, the Garden Route, is home to one of South Africa’s most unusual hotels.

Situated on Knysna’s Thesen Islands, a multi-award-winning marina development in the scenic Knysna estuary, this fabulously quirky hotel – that emerged from an old power station – offers stunning panoramas, exceptional cuisine and luxurious accommodation.

There’s quite a story behind the transformation of what was a working power station to what is now a modern-day masterpiece of architectural ingenuity — the 5-star Turbine Boutique Hotel and Spa.

Bring Back The Past

Knysna is a small town with a huge history.

Originally the area was inhabited by the Khoisan. Then the Dutch settlers arrived in the 17th century. In 1804, George Rex (rumoured to be the illegitimate son of King George III) arrived and established a port and a timber business. In the late 1800s, the Thesen family moved from Norway to Knysna and founded various businesses. Many years later in 1904, the Norwegian Charles Wilhelm Thesen (son of Arndt Thesen, one of the founding fathers of Knysna) bought Paarden Island (now Thesen), and in 1922 he established a timber processing plant on the island.

In 1939 a power station, fuelled by the enormous amount of wood waste generated by the sawmills, was built to provide power to the towns of Knysna and Plettenberg Bay, and also to the ESKOM national grid until it was decommissioned in 2001.

By 2007 the island and many of the old buildings had been declared a Heritage site, and the derelict power station building was purchased by the visionary hoteliers Geoff Engel and Dandre Lerm-Engel. They spent the next three years fulfilling their dream to restore the original equipment and buildings.

In 2010 the result of their hard work and outstanding creative vision was unveiled to the world — the Turbine Boutique Hotel and Spa was born.

Today, all the old industrial machinery and artefacts from the old power station have been kept and are found throughout the building — cleverly distributed, restored, re-imagined, revamped, and given a colourful coat of paint to blend in with the hotel’s décor themes. All the parts that have been left in place give rise to the many nooks and crannies; there’s a rich history behind every corner.

Rooms With A View

With Standard and Luxury Rooms, a Honeymoon Suite with a balcony overlooking the rim-flow pool and some of the hotel’s best views, plus two gorgeous, self-contained home-away-from-home suites adjacent to the hotel, guests are spoiled for choice. To reflect the rich cultural, historical and geographic diversity of Knysna, the 24 bedrooms and suites are individually decorated, themed and named, spread out over six wings — The Garden Wing, The Lagoon, The Regatta, The Forest, The Thesen and The Lookout Suites.

Facilities at the Turbine Hotel include the Turbine Spa, where guests can rejuvenate with tailor-made and natural treatments, or relax on the deck beside the rim-flow pool.

And There’s Art Too

Adding something quite extraordinary to the already extraordinary is the Turbine’s “moving” art gallery. All the original artworks on the walls throughout the hotel — vibrant, large and striking — are by local South African artists and are for sale. The hotel takes great pride in featuring local talent and supporting its heritage.

All Things Green

Since its inception, the Turbine has successfully merged its historical and contemporary values with green practices and sustainability.

In December 2022, it made a history-making, full-circle move when it began a new phase of generating electricity. Ninety solar panels were installed to feed into the hotel’s electricity supply, reducing Eskom usage and lowering the hotel’s carbon footprint.

Over the years the hotel has maintained a relatively light footprint through a range of energy and water-saving measures — from recycling and reimagining all the old power station effects and materials, to a rainwater harvesting system (Knysna is a water-scarce region, so consumption savings are essential), plus the more recent installation of batteries and inverters, a solar system, and a backup generator to ensure that load-shedding outages are a thing of the past.

Food, Glorious Food

Rivalling other Knysna restaurants, the 90-seater Island Café — with a spacious terrace overlooking the canal — is perfect for al fresco dining. It’s open daily and offers breakfast, lunch and dinner, as well as monthly food and wine pairings. The vibey Gastro Pub offers classic pub meals with a delicious Turbine twist, on-tap draught beer, a comprehensively stocked cellar and views across the canals — perfect for the Happy Hour every Friday evening with a live music line-up of local musicians.

The Turbine’s commitment to sustainability extends to the culinary experience, with Head Chef Greg Coleman ensuring the hotel’s cuisine follows a farm-to-table and ocean-to-table philosophy. All fish is sourced locally and the organic herbs and salads are supplied by local farmers. Food waste goes to a local pig farmer, and as Chef Greg’s hobby is beekeeping, his honey features prominently on the menu.

Today, quite rightly, the Turbine Boutique Hotel and Spa is heralded as an icon of Knysna’s heritage, social, economic and environmental sustainability.

W: Turbine Hotel
T: 044 050 3500
E: Reservations

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