LA CLE

What LA CLE does

La Clé Lodge & Villas is a luxury hospitality operator based in Franschhoek, South Africa, within the Cape Winelands. The company runs a small, high-end accommodation portfolio consisting of 5 lodge suites and 4 exclusive-use villas distributed across two working wine farms. Its physical assets include Cape Dutch buildings more than 300 years old, which form the experiential anchor of the product rather than a commoditized hotel offering.

The business sells overnight stays directly through its own website, powered by the Benson Software booking engine, with pricing quoted in South African rand. Distribution is supplemented by a TripAdvisor listing and membership in the Classic Portfolio luxury collection, which targets high-net-worth travelers via curated travel advisors. The company also packages its accommodation into multi-property itineraries such as "Whales, Wine & Wilderness," combining its wine country stays with marine experiences at Coot Club and safari experiences at Kwandwe Private Game Reserve.

Revenue is generated primarily from room nights at luxury ADR levels, with a secondary, recently introduced direct-to-consumer wine retail channel via shop.lacle.co.za that monetizes the underlying working wine farms. The customer base is luxury leisure travelers — predominantly international and South African high-net-worth visitors — with no visible enterprise or corporate anchor accounts. Operations are supported by a small team in the 11–50 employee range, consistent with a boutique, owner-operated hospitality model rather than a scaled chain.

Name

LA CLE

Legal name

La Clé Lodge & Villas

Website

https://lacle.co.za

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

La Clé Lodge & Villas operates a boutique luxury hospitality portfolio in Franschhoek, South Africa, offering 5 lodge suites and 4 exclusive-use villas across two working wine farms for affluent leisure travelers, with direct booking, packaged itineraries, and a wine retail channel.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Luxury Hospitality / Boutique Lodge and Villa Accommodation

NAICS

Hotels (except Casino Hotels) and Motels (72111), Accommodation (721), All Other Traveler Accommodation (721199)

SIC

Hotels, Rooming Houses, Camps & Other Lodging Places (7000)

akta.pro primary industry

Luxury Farmhouses, Country Houses & Vineyard Estates (THAMAEAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Resort-Area Full-Service Hotels (Non–All-Inclusive) (THAGAAAD), Lifestyle & Social Hotels (THAGADAB), Hotel & Resort Restaurants (THAFACAH)

Keywords

• Luxury accommodation
• Wine farm hospitality
• Exclusive-use villas
• Boutique lodge stays
• Franschhoek lodging

Headquarters

HQ city

Billings

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Accommodation - Lodge Rooms: Nightly rental of five individually styled Cape-style suites at La Clé Lodge. Includes continental and hot breakfast, housekeeping, daily turndown, welcome drinks, and snack basket. Seasonal pricing with four rate periods (Warm, Jazz, Cool, Warm).
2. Accommodation - Exclusive Use Lodge: Full exclusive-use booking of all five lodge rooms, sleeping up to 10 guests. Includes all meals, dedicated host, and full property access.
3. Accommodation - Villas: Exclusive-use villa rentals (Galerie, Manoir, Grange, Domain) offering private pool, garden, and full villa amenities. Booked per villa or per room. Includes continental and hot breakfasts, housekeeping, laundry, daily turndown, dedicated villa host, and snack basket.
4. Special Packages and Partnerships: Multi-property travel packages such as 'Whales, Wine & Wilderness' combining La Clé with Coot Club and Kwandwe Private Game Reserve.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

La Clé operates luxury lodging on two active wine farms in the historic village of Franschhoek, South Africa, offering nightly stays in five individually styled Cape Dutch lodge suites (Petite, Courtyard, Garden) and full-property bookings of four exclusive-use villas (Galerie, Manoir, Domain, Grange), supplemented by a wine shop, in-room spa, shared table dining, and curated wine-country activities.

Product overview

La Clé Lodge & Villas is a luxury accommodation portfolio spanning two active wine farms in Franschhoek, South Africa, comprising two distinct offerings: the La Clé Lodge, a Cape Dutch manor with five individually styled suites (Petite, Courtyard, Garden rooms, and exclusive-use option), and La Clé Villas, featuring four exclusive-use freestanding villas (Galerie, Manoir, Domain, and Grange) each with unique architectural styles ranging from contemporary African art house to traditional Cape Dutch. Additional offerings include an on-site wine shop, private spa treatments, shared table dining experiences, and curated adventure activities including tennis, hiking, cycling, and helicopter scenic flights.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• La Clé Lodge

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Coot ClubcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership in the 'Whales, Wine & Wilderness' curated 10-day South African adventure package. Coot Club, located in Stanford, is featured as a 3-night stay in the multi-property itinerary combining whale watching on the coast with wine tasting in Franschhoek.
• Kwandwe Private Game ReservecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership in the 'Whales, Wine & Wilderness' curated 10-day South African adventure package. Kwandwe Private Game Reserve in the Eastern Cape is featured as a 4-night safari experience in the multi-property itinerary.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Mont Rochelle, A Virgin Limited Edition Hotel: Luxury hotel and vineyard estate in Franschhoek owned by Virgin Limited Edition. Comparable on Franschhoek luxury lodging, premium nightly rates, and affluent leisure traveler target segment.
• Grande Provence Heritage Wine Estate: Heritage wine estate in Franschhoek with luxury Owner’s Cottage and tasting-room restaurant. Comparable historic estate setting, Franschhoek luxury traveler base, and wine-centric experience model.
• Leeu Estates: Luxury wine-estate hotel located in Franschhoek with suites and villas on a working property. Closest direct competitor to La Clé given shared Franschhoek wine-estate positioning, similar luxury ADR, and shared affluent leisure traveler base.
• Babylonstoren: Cape Dutch working farm in the Franschhoek valley offering boutique hotel cottages, fine-dining, and curated estate experiences. Directly comparable to La Clé on heritage-farm lodging, wine-country positioning, and experience-led luxury offer.
• Boschendal Estate: Historic Cape Winelands wine and farm estate offering luxury cottages, villas, and curated farm-to-table experiences near Stellenbosch/Franschhoek. Comparable heritage estate accommodation and lifestyle-led luxury positioning to La Clé.

Regional players

• Lanzerac Wine Estate: Historic Stellenbosch wine estate with luxury hotel rooms, spa, and F&B. Comparable Cape Winelands heritage-estate luxury lodging, though anchored in Stellenbosch rather than Franschhoek.
• Delaire Graff Estate: Stellenbosch luxury wine estate with boutique lodge rooms, fine dining, and art collection. Highly comparable wine-estate luxury lodging model, though geographically centered on Stellenbosch rather than Franschhoek.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/stay.lacle
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/liftt

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about LA CLE