South African Magic

The main house is an old Victorian country house built in the 1800s, beautifully restored, and it houses the restaurant and some lovely sitting rooms. We stayed in one of 12 guest rooms arranged around a garden with a fountain in the center.

Our room was huge, with beautiful antique furnishings. The en-suite bathroom had both a bath tub and separate shower. We had our own little veranda on the garden. It was peaceful and beautiful.

The grounds were manicured perfectly. We used the gym equipment in the tiny but lovely little spa, and while we did not sit by the main pool, there were several guests who were there.

In the morning, breakfast was served either under a garden gazebo or on a patio beside a small breakfast room. Breakfast included champagne.

We loved this place and wished we had booked at least another night. And all this luxury was for a relatively moderate price. Big thanks to Frommer's Guide for this one--and we will return!

We included this one because it was so fantastic, but, alas, we were among the last guests to stay here, because it was sold for private ownership. There were only six guest rooms in this ultra-modern boutique hotel-like place. We had reserved the Zen Room, the most luxurious, complete with its own private swim area and plunge pool. The enormous room was peaceful and serene, with truly Zen furnishings. We climbed to the roof-top deck for a fabulous view of Plettenberg Bay and the beautiful homes along the beach area. The Zen Room was on the bottom floor, and there was a pool on the second floor, with other rooms opening onto the deck.

This was another recommendation of Frommer's gone wildly perfect, and we would hope to find an equivalent place in the very beautiful and relaxing Plettenberg Bay area. In the evening, we dined in the restaurant on the premises and were treated to an awesome meal of ostrich kabobs. We will never forget this very special retreat and our one romantic night there.

This is an old-fashioned beach hotel that has maintained its warmth and elegance despite the fact that an enormous, new mall has risen right beside it. The rooms have clearly been refurbished a time or two, but they continue to carry the sense of times gone by. The clientele appears to be the regulars who come here again and again.

We were lucky to get a room overlooking Hobie Beach, where a weekend carnival was underway. That night we dined in one of the two well-known restaurants on the premises, The Crest. Another mouth-watering rendition of karoo lamb shank and wild pig hit the spot as an early dinner before retiring to get some sleep before our early morning flight to Johannesburg.

There are only six private, thatched hut suites. The main room of the suite has an enormous four-poster bed topped by mosquito netting. A living area with a sofa, desk, fireplace, and tables spreads out at the foot of the bed. From the bedroom, you enter a big bathroom with an old-fashioned tub beside a huge glass window, double sinks, a shower head in the corner, and even a towel-warming rack. There is another outdoor shower on the deck beside the bathroom.

The deck itself wraps around the suite, with a plunge pool with a view to the bush. For shade lovers, there is a canopy with big, comfy chaise lounges next to the plunge pool. Nothing separates the suites from the animals in the wild. We were treated to monkeys gambling in the trees above and some beautiful ngala. We missed it, but our neighbors saw a giraffe walk by one afternoon.

The main lodge is made up of levels of luxury, with areas for sitting and relaxing, the dining deck, and a closed living room for watching TV or indoor reading. There is a wonderful little shop with fine treasures for gifts. The spa is at the far end and has exercise equipment and a staff that will provide massages in the spa or in your room. We understand that when we return next year, there will also be a full-size pool with a spa. The food is all fabulous, the Rangers and Trackers provide great game rides, and the casual elegance just washes over you all the while that you are there. There are more staff members than guests, making every wish come true. This is a MUST-stay.

Best Things Nearby:
The very long, wide beach and the beach town of Strand

Best Things About the Resort:
Beautiful view of Table Mountain in the distance, nightly sunset views, and the fact that it is built over the beach and even over the water

Resort Experience:
Strand Pavilion is a very well-maintained resort built on pillars over the water.

The staff is friendly, warm, and helpful in every way. When we arrived at bout 7 a.m. after a long overnight flight from London, the Manager offered to open up the pool bar and let us relax there while we waited for our unit to be free and cleaned. She also provided the use of the pool dressing area to get refreshed. As soon as the occupants of our unit checked out, the maids were in cleaning so that we could get checked in early.

The restaurant in the same building has a beautiful ocean-view setting, and the food is not only delicious, but plentiful! The speciality is seafood and we enjoyed local Kingklip as well as local lobster.

The units are accessed from an indoor courtyard/walk with a skylight above it. We had a two-bedroom unit facing west on the first floor which allowed us to have a sliding glass door from our living area onto the huge patio area. There are only five units that have direct patio access. All other units, including the upper floor units have large sliding windows but no outdoor access.

The kitchen and living area is one very large area with a large dining table. The kitchen is equipped with full stove, microwave, lots of counter space, and full sets of dishes, pots and pans and utensils. This is a great family place for folks who do a lot of meal preparation. There was a tv on cable but no vcr and no music equipment.

The master bedroom had a king bed and was located on the west side with a large window to the ocean. The ensuite bathroom was large but had only a bathtub with no shower. The second bathroom located in the hallway from the entry had a very large stand alone shower. The second bedroom was located with high windows opening to the enclosed courtyard by the unit entrance and had twin beds.

These units had daily maid service including doing laundry if you chose. The patio and the windows and skylights were cleaned regularly so that all in all the resort was impeccable.

There were bar-be-cue grills on the large patio and this is one resort where people really did use them.

Besides the pool and a game room, this is not a resort that offers a lot of activities. It is, as stated before, located right on the enormously long and wide Strand Beach which is a main attraction.

This resort is very popular and even at this off season time, it appeared to be completely full and turned over and remained full.

This resort earns its Gold Crown status!

• Unit Type: 2 Bedroom
• Activities: Good
• Amenities: Excellent
• Unit Satisfaction: Excellent
• Family Friendliness: Excellent
• Service: Excellent

This is a seafood store as well as a fast-food seafood place. Fish-and-chips is made with the fresh line fish of the day, like kingklip. There is also calamari, crab cakes, and other great stuff. When you order fish-and-chips, it is cooked fresh for you. There a couple of picnic tables out in front, or you can take it with you. The portions of fish are huge, and it is some of the best fried fish you could want.

The dining room has glass on three sides and is built over the water, providing great ocean and beach views while dining. It is perfectly placed for a sunset view during dinner. The seafood is all very well prepared and very fresh. The prices of the food, and even the wine, are very moderate, and you will not leave hungry.

We had lunch on the patio, with a beautiful view of the grounds and the mountains soaring behind the estate. It was peaceful and tranquil. We chose a springbok steak with a bottle of Blaauwklippen Cabernet Sauvignon. The springbok came well presented on a bed of quinoa and broccoli, cauliflower, and zucchini topped with spinach. A wonderful plum sauce complemented the meat and was not too sweet. We chatted with our young waiter, who was in the process of finishing school and preparing to go off to England to get some work experience. On this day, they were not serving inside for lunch because they were setting up for a wedding dinner in the evening. Other tables on the patio and the lawn filled as we enjoyed a very leisurely lunch.

We were the only customers at this noon hour on a Sunday, even though we were down near the crowded Victoria and Alfred Waterfront. This very African restaurant was in the Clocktower a little off the beaten track on the second floor. Our table had a view of Robinson Graving Docks and the ferries heading out to Robben's Island. We ordered a meal called Go Wild Steak, which consisted of springbok, kudu, and ostrich. Our waitress, Ziyanda, was dressed in South African tribal garb and had an accent tinged with tribal tongue. She brought us traditional African cornbread, which has whole kernels of corn in it. We selected a Nederberg Chardonnay for our wine, and it was very good (only about $12). At the end of the meal, Ziyanda enticed us to have some traditional African "beers." We tasted each small thimble full and that was ENOUGH! It was not our taste! All in all, it was a wonderfully satisfying meal.

Located on the Zandberg Farm, there is elegant indoor and outdoor dining. The view is very nice and soothing. We chose alfresco dining. Our appetizer was a wonderful calamari dish that we shared. Then we ordered the 750-gram prime rib for two. This restaurant is known for fabulous corn-fed beef. The beef was grand and came with a Madagascar sauce that was fabulous. We chose a bottle of Somerbosch Pinotage, a wine that is only found in South Africa. Our funny story is that there is a pig farm down the road, and after the sun set, the interesting odor of the pig farm started to infiltrate the air... but we had finished by then and were ready to go.