Golden Gate Hotel

The Golden Gate Hotel is the main hotel inside Golden Gate Highlands National Park in the eastern Free State, set right below the Brandwag buttress, the sandstone cliff that is the park’s best-known landmark. It opened in March 1972 as the Brandwag Hotel and took its current name in 2010 after a major renovation. Stay here if you want to wake up in the park with the hiking trails on the doorstep and a restaurant rather than a braai.

What to expect

The main building holds more than fifty hotel rooms, and there are chalets in the grounds as well. Facilities include a restaurant, a coffee shop, a sports bar, a curio shop, conference rooms, tennis courts and bowling greens. The setting is high country: the park ranges from about 1,800 m to 2,850 m above sea level, with layered sandstone cliffs, grassland and herds of black wildebeest, blesbok and plains zebra. Vultures and bald ibis are among the birds to look for.

Practical details

• The park borders Lesotho and is about four hours by road from Johannesburg or Durban, and about three from Bloemfontein.
• For self-catering, the nearby Glen Reenen Rest Camp has thatched houses and campsites.

Good to know

The hotel is a sensible base for exploring beyond the trails too: the park offers night walks, game drives, horse riding and mountain biking, so ask at reception what is running during your stay.

Last updated 6 October 2026. Sources: De Wets Wild, De Wets Wild, Fifty Years of Golden Gate, Discover Africa National Parks.