My experience at In the Vineyard……….16-01-2012

We had some family down from Belgium and took them to Stellenbosch to experience one of our many and wonderful wine regions. Seeing as there is just so much to do in Stellenbosch we decided to rather stay the night so that we could explore it further the following day. We started our day off at Le Bonheur Crocodile farm with a tour, which was truly great! After which we visited a few wine farms and made our way to our accommodation namely, In the Vineyards. Usually when I look for accommodation I make use of www.safarinow.co.za. Occasionally I use www.wheretostay.co.za. Well this time I am grateful I had a look at where to stay’s website because that is how I came across this little gem of a spot!!

After dealing with an extremely helpful Marlene (owner) via email, I booked the accommodation for us. We wanted self-catering and unfortunately majority of the accommodation in Stellenbosch is B&B or Guesthouses. We were a group of 9 and it was also difficult to get a big enough house to sleep so many people. In the Vineyard consists of two semi-detached cottages namely The Vineyard Cottage and The Olive Cottage. It is situated on an olive producing farm namely Uitkyk which is situated at the foot of the Simonsberg mountains.

Each cottage consists of two bedrooms, one with a king size bed and the other with two single beds. Then in the lounge there is also a sleeper couch should you need to accommodate an extra person. Each cottage also has an open plan kitchen and large bathroom with a massive shower and a bath in it. Outside there is a braai on the patio and for those colder nights a fireplace inside each cottage. The views from here are stunning!

If it gets too hot, there is also a concrete reservoir style dam for you to go and cool off in! This is exactly what we did as it was cooking in Stellenbosch that day. Although it is a reservoir the water is clear and the bottom of the reservoir is clean. Right next to the reservoir are a few vineyards in which you can go and take a walk should you wish to.

These little cottages truly have everything you need! They even went a bit further and left water and milk in the fridge along with rusks for you morning cup of joe. They made sure there was blitz and braai wood for us and provided us with a jar of tasty olives from their farm to taste.  If you liked it you could purchase some more. There was also Neil Joubert wines for sale should your supply run out! J It might sound like I am making a fuss over something so small but to me it has always been the small things that count. I have been to accommodation before that offered much less then this and cost more. So to me these small gestures really show that the hosts, Joubert and Marlene, will go out of their way to make you as comfortable as possible!

The location of these cottages is perfect. It is not too far out of Stellenbosch for in case you need to shoot to the shops and also not too close so that you can take in the peace and quiet of your surroundings.

You can check out their website as well for a list of the many activities in the area as well.

At R900 per night per cottage it is an absolute steal for what you get!! If I ever need self-catering accommodation again in the Stellenbosch wine lands this place would be at the top of my list!!

Yours in fun & wine lands,

Elly D

R44 between Klapmuts & Stellenbosch

Paarl

021-875 5433

stay@inthevineyard.co.za

www.inthevineyard.co.za

My Experience at Tides End Manor..........08-07-2011

This year I finally decided to participate in the Knysna Half Marathon. The first time we went to the Oyster Festival was in 2009 and at the time the only thing I was interested in getting from the Oyster festival was lotsa wine and lotsa oysters. I wasn’t really that much into my fitness at the time. On the morning of the race I was so grateful that I wasn’t one of the poor sods running as the weather was absolutely horrible! Some of my friends were running though so naturally we went to go welcome them at the finish line. When my chic friend crossed the finish line I thought to myself, “If she can do it surely I can do it as well?!” So that was the year the running bug bit me HARD! So fast forward two years, there I found myself in Knysna for the Half Marathon.

After our accommodation for a house on Thesen Island fell thru we had to quickly look for accommodation with less than a month to go. I found this Bed and Breakfast accommodation spot which was conveniently located close to the start pick up point and finish point of the race.

They have six en-suite rooms (Standard and Premium) within the main house and then they have the Honeymoon Suite which is completely separate from the house. Seeing as we had left the accommodation so late the only room that was still available was the Honeymoon Suite. Even though the weather was lovely that weekend it was still not 100% summer weather so unfortunately we could not use the pool facility.

 The accommodation is in a secure complex called Tides End Manor and there are other self-catering houses for hire in this complex as well. The complex is right on the lagoon. With your accommodation you get a key for a gate which leads you straight onto the little walkway alongside the lagoon. It is also walking distance to the Spar in Knysna and if you really wanted to you would be able to walk to the waterfront as well. It is probably between 2-3 km from the waterfront.

The room has a large queen size bed, a TV with limited DSTV channels, a little bar fridge, safe and tea/coffee making facilities. I also loved the long mirror in the bathroom as all girls like to view their ass in their outfit from 360 degrees before they step foot outside. The room is of course en-suite but there is no door enclosing the bathroom from the rest of the room. There is only a wall half way down the room to hide the shower and the toilet from the view of the person on the bed.

There is a wall heater and electric blankets, but be sure not to leave them on as you go to bed or you will wake up in a hot sweat later in the middle of the night.

We didn’t opt for the breakfast option as that would have just been wasted on me on race day. Overall we had a very nice stay. Something that we didn’t expect but which was a pleasant surprise is that they clean you room everyday while you are gone. They were like little cleaning ninja’s because we never saw them!

Yours in fun & accommodation,

Elly D

39 Tides End, 12 Holiday Park Crescent

Knysna, Garden Route

Cape Town

044-382 6107

info@tidesendmanor.co.za

http://www.tidesendmanor.co.za/

My Experience at Rykie’s Retreat..........06-03-2011

We were looking for a little romantic place to go away to for the weekend. We had only decided by the Wednesday that we wanted to go away that weekend so we weren’t too hopeful on finding much that was still available. We didn’t feel like driving too far as that would just be time wasted that could’ve been spend relaxing. Luckily the weather was still quite nice as it was in the beginning of March.

Therefore we decided on the West Coast. We contacted the tourism info of Yzerfontein and explained to them exactly what it was that we were looking for. They suggested Rykie’s Retreat.

It was amazing! I think for the first 30 minutes after arriving there I just couldn’t stop staring at the view! No matter where in the flat you are (expect for maybe on the toilet) you can see the ocean! You can’t escape it! The flat is at the bottom of the owner’s (Maureen & Judith) house and that always puts me off, but you didn’t even know she was there. Beforehand she “warned” us that the only time we would see her is at 18:00 when she has to come down to put the sprinklers on. The property in front of the house is also owned by them. Or so I think. The erf that the house is built on is much higher than the open property (which is basically just a massive garden with a little path leading down to the beach road) so there is absolutely nothing that can interfere with your view. Because the flat is so high up no one from the road can see up into the flat either. So you can keep the curtains open all the time to enjoy the spectacular view from the massive windows. Well so we hope because we hardly ever closed the curtains! J 

Even while you are in the shower you look out over the ocean. The best thing is falling asleep at night to the sound of the breaking waves and having the seagulls wake you up in the morning. Everything is extremely tidy and new. You have your own TV and DSTV as well as well as a little braai area would you want to have a little afternoon or evening braai. Although the fridge in the flat itself is only a small bar fridge there is a separate room that you can lock with a massive fridge in to keep your supplies.

For those of you that have been to Yzerfontein before knows there is not much to do. That is why this is the perfect place to go relax and spent lazy afternoons lying on the beach. We also discovered this awesome little restaurant called Die Rooi Granaat which had the most amazing meals. It is literally across the road so you can just walk home to the flat after having an amazing meal. You can read more about this great little place under Restaurant Reviews.

They really do go the extra mile here. Maureen leaves a bottle of really good Darling Sauvignon Blanc, milk and mineral water in the fridge for you. Lekker rusks, muesli, fruit and of course the usual coffee and tea. They also have free WI-FI internet, but I suggest you switch off completely when you come here. The pier is just around the corner from Rykie’s as well. You can take the little path thru the extended garden to the beach road and walk to the pier. We went there both nights with a bottle of wine to watch the magnificent sunset while sitting on the rocks watching the waves break in front of you. There are really little words to describe this. You will just simply have to experience it for yourself!

Yours in fun & accommodation,

Elly D

Yzerfontein, West Coast

Cape Town

022-451 2221

rykiesplace@mweb.co.za

http://www.rykiesretreat.com/

My Experience at Penelope’s Guesthouse..........30-04-2011

My boyfriend and I decided to go to Stellenbosch for the weekend and needed a place to stay. One of the places that we came across was Penelope’s Guesthouse. It didn’t have too many comments from previous guests, but from what we could tell from the pictures it looked good. Later, we realized that the lack of comments was because it had only opened its doors in December 2010. Seeing as it was cheaper than all the other quotes we had gotten and because it looked really nice we decided to go.

As we arrived we got welcomed by Penny, the owner of the guesthouse, and her vicious beast Cindy! (Just kidding Penny J) We were the only guests there that weekend so we got to choose which room we wanted to stay in. All the rooms are basically the same except for the slight difference in view. The rooms are spacious enough to fit an extremely comfortable king size bed in. The room also has an aircon which can be used as a heater during those colder nights, new television with your own limited package DSTV channels and, the part I liked the most, your own PRIVATE balcony. There is nothing worse than wanting to share a glass of wine or a cup of coffee with your partner while enjoying the magnificent view, when you have to share it with some stranger. The view we had from our bed was amazing! Perfect Mountain View. Seeing as we went in autumn all the leaves had already turned red and orange so the view was truly amazing!

The location is quite central and close to most of the attractions. The five bedrooms share a common open kitchenette area with a mini fridge, coffee and tea facilities and the most amazing rusks (home-made) you will ever eat! The five rooms have their own separate entrance to the main house. The guest rooms are upstairs while the host family lives downstairs so your room is private enough. In the morning you have breakfast downstairs which is made to your order, while sitting peacefully and reading the paper. We felt so at home that we actually wanted to go and eat breakfast in our pajamas! Seeing as it was cold we didn’t get to have breakfast outside on the stoep and we didn’t get to use the pool either. The downstairs area also has an indoor braai facility which is also separate to the main house, so if a larger group hired out the whole guesthouse they could make use of these facilities as well.

We really had a lovely stay and would definitely recommend it to friends looking for accommodation in Stellenbosch and would stay there again next time we visit Stellies. Penny is extremely welcoming and lets you get on with your own business. I was forgetful enough to leave my pillow behind and before I had even realized that I forgot it, she had already send me an email letting me know. She even offered to bring it to me seeing as she visits Cape Town regularly.

Yours in fun & accommodation,

Elly D

21 Speciosa Street

Stellenbosch

Cape Town

Hosts: Dries & Penny Malan

021-880 2148

082-412 1445

info@penelopesguesthouse.com
http://www.penelopesguesthouse.com/