A Thousand Stars was born in 1998 when Elsi O'Connell bought a property that offered accommodation in Nieu-Bethesda. It was to become her home, studio and pottery. Elsi created beautiful art, and enjoyed her time behind the pottery wheel or making glass art portraits. She loved to work with children and to teach them about pottery and art. Even though she was a very private person, she always welcomed visitors and offered them accommodation in Nieu-Bethesda with a cosy bed for the night. She named the place A Thousand Stars because of the astounding views of the night sky.
Elsi was a traveller at heart. During her travels, she met people from all walks of life and lived her life to the fullest. She walked the Camino de Santiago in Spain, visited India and Peru, and travelled all over South Africa. Wherever she travelled, she loved to walk. But nowhere was more beautiful to her than her home and the mountains of Nieu-Bethesda.
After Elsi’s passing in June 2022, she left her home to her three grandchildren, with a request that they welcome travellers and long-term visitors. In December 2022, a natural disaster struck and the whole town of Nieu-Bethesda was flooded. A Thousand Stars had water running knee-high through the house and garage, and the clean-up and renovation took a lot of hard work, sweat and tears. The small town of Nieu-Bethesda showed how it could stand together, and we had a great deal of support from the people of the town. After the waters subsided and the dust settled, we opened our doors again in August 2023, ready to give visitors a warm welcome!
Accommodation Options
Stay for as long as you like because we have short and long term accommodation available, especially during the winter months when it is comparitively quite and because, after all, it is at this time that remote workers are certainly looking for a getaway from the busy city life.
Our friendly staff will help you with everything from your first request for accommodation in Nieu-Bethesda, to a warm, friendly welcome at your self-catering accommodation, to the check-out goodbyes. They do whatever they can to accommodate requests from guests.
Elsi's Art is also on display in the units for purchase. We are working to open her Art Studio again soon.
We really want you to enjoy your stay, and we hope that once you have visited us, you will return soon.