Editor Pick
Ballyna House
- December 20, 2005
- Rated 5 of 5 by
Overlander from Muscat, Oman
Call it chance, serendipity, or just plain dumb luck, but my wife and I stumbled onto the Ballyna House at the end of a long day's drive as we hurried back to Cape Town to catch a flight. For some reason we had neglected to reserve a room in another B&B where we had stayed earlier and were turned away when we finally got around to calling. What to do? Checking a South African tourist accommodation guide, we spent a good hour and a half at a motorway rest stop attempting to find something--anything--that either a) wasn't a huge distance from the airport or b) didn't cost an arm and a leg. We were just about to give up hope when we found the phone number of the Ballyna. What luck! They had had a cancellation and we could have the room! The next problem, of course, was to find the place, which can be a bit problematic near dusk in a strange town. Fortunately, the directions we had gotten from the host were pretty clear, so we made it with only one false turn.
What we found when we got there made the search well worth it. First, there was plenty of parking inside the walls surrounding the building. We had long since learned that parking on the street at night was just borrowing trouble. The next question was the room. It was a very pleasant twin with TV, ceiling fan, and direct access out onto the terrace behind the house. The views towards the bay and the mountain were splendid, though they would have been better had we been on the upper level. Even so, after unpacking a bit, we went outside, sat at a wrought iron table, and were soon invited to have a chilled glass of lovely fruity South African white wine. Last but not least, the owners, a young South African and his German-born wife, turned out to be charming and endearing hosts, whom we are exceedingly happy to have met.
The following morning breakfast proved to be a real feast: fruit, yoghurt, several kinds of pastries, croissants, bacon (back, not streaky), eggs (including omelettes)... just about anything, really. After tanking up, we left for the day and didn't have to eat again until dinner time.
As for the basics about the place, they have nine rooms, three standard doubles/twins, three deluxe doubles/singles, one executive room (plusher), one kitchenette (self-catering unit), and an executive suite. These range from 250 to 400 rands per person per night, according to their latest rates. They also mention on their website that they will take other offers, too, depending on the numbers of people and the season involved.
Bottom Line: Great value for the money.
From journal Cape Town, the Mother City