Melissa5

I've begun to book our first trip to South Africa for next spring! We will fly from California to London; overnight 2 nights in London; then fly into Cape Town and rent a car.

WHERE to sleep in the beautiful winelands near Cape Town, to recover from jet lag? Considering Stellenbosch. We love places which are owner-run, with friendly welcoming owners, and a great breakfast would be an amazing start to our trip. A quiet night's rest and a lovely hot shower would be wonderful.

It would be great to sleep in a memorable accommodation, where we would feel welcome, and we would feel like, YES, we are in South Arrica!

Many thanks for advice.

Gardyloo

I'm actually responding to both your current threads, this one and the one about the west coast option.

A few years ago we stayed at the Oystercatcher Lodge on St. Helena Bay, on the west coast a little distance from Paternoster - maybe 90 min. from CPT airport. http://www.oystercatcherlodge.co.za/home.html

Lodgings - immaculate and incredibly comfortable.

View - Well, you're right on the ocean. View from our room: http://gardyloo.us/aug2223b%20050s.jpg

Dining - More limited options, a couple of places in the Shelley Point area where the lodge is located. But you can also drive to Paternoster easily, for some excellent options.

Relaxation - utter. I can't think of a better place to un-jetlag yourselves.

As to the Garden Route v. west coast option, I'd vote the west coast in a minute, but it really <i>is</i> an embarrassment of riches. But with your interests and the time of year, I think the combination of the wildflowers, West Coast National Park, the seafood, the lack of touristy stuff... the west coast is fantastic. But even so you're not all that far from the winelands or other destinations - perfect for day trips - in the Western Cape. But we love the west coast and I'm betting you would too.

Wildflowers: http://gardyloo.us/aug24b%20044s.jpg
With antelope: http://gardyloo.us/aug24b%20066s.jpg
Paternoster: http://gardyloo.us/aug24b%20016s.jpg

Gardyloo

Meant to add, we've also stayed once or twice at the Eendracht Hotel in Stellenbosch and liked it very much. Many restaurants and shops surrounding it, secure parking lot, friendly people, good breakfast. Not the fanciest, but not the most expensive either.

http://www.eendracht-hotel.com/

Melissa5

Gardyloo: Thanks for taking the time to share. Love the photos of the antelope amongst flowers, the gorgeous field of flowers, and Paternoster. The Oystercatcher looks relaxing and right on the ocean! It's a little further than I thought we would drive with jet lag...90 minutes...but I'm still considering it. I'm going to look into it. Does the Oystercatcher have breakfast? I guess I can look that up. Didn't see it mentioned on their website.

I'm getting frustrated with myself, because I need to make a decision and stick with it! I'm happy with a friendly guesthouse I booked for Cape Town...looks like that will be the middle of our stay, as I'm trying to work things out so that we do the west coast first, then Cape Town, in order to "catch" the wildflowers.

Of course I'm only guessing when the wildflowers will appear based upon info available!

We don't like to hop around so much and change accommodations every night. So basically I HAVE to leave something out of our itinerary. Otherwise we won't be able to relax. So I appreciate hearing people's opinions about whether they would favor the west coast or garden route for a spring trip.

Gardyloo

Yes they serve a wonderful breakfast, and also did an evening meal one night we stayed there - excellent.

I understand not wanting to drive too far on arrival. You might consider staying in the city for the first night or two, maybe at an official hotel, just to get your feet under you, get a feel for the city (so much to see) and maybe refrain from driving for 24 or 48 hours. (Are you comfortable with RHD?) Our choice for a very comfortable if "mainstream" hotel in Cape Town is the Southern Sun Waterfront - http://www.tsogosunhotels.com/hotels.../overview.aspx - with a shuttle to the V & A waterfront, excellent on-site restaurant, etc.

braaiseason

I don't think you will be suffering with jet lag, I think that will occur in London, Cape Town has a 1 hour time difference between UK in spring.

braaiseason

I would say in view of your interests & desire to stay put for more than 1 night forget the Garden Route this time.

Melissa5

braaiseason: Thanks for the itinerary advice.

PRLCH

Try Soverby Guesthouse outside Stellenbosch http://www.soverby.co.za/aboutus.html . We stayed there a few years back and loved it.

Patty

We used Akademie Street Guesthouses in Franschhoek as a lovely based to get over jetlag. Wonderful hosts, great breakfasts and walking distance to many restaurants. We stayed in Gelatenheid http://www.aka.co.za/rooms/class/gelatenheid.htm It was so nice that we cut short our wine tasting day just so we could go back and enjoy the garden and pool.

HannelieB

It all depends on how much you want to spend. Stellenbosch is well worth a visit with great eateries and shope - lots of places to stay in and around the town - I use www.wheretostay.co.za regularly. Lanzerac is on the outskirts of town - great, as it has a beautiful hotel in a vineyard and very good spa. Zorgvliet is also a favorite about 20 mins out of Stellenbosch. A stunning hotel in town is De Ouwe Werf (www.oudewerfhotel.co.za) - it used to be a manor house. It also depends on whether you want to be at the seaside or wine lands - a lot of wine farms have accommodation, but it could be a drive to the nearest town and restaurants. Our favorite seaside town is Paternoster, about 2 hours' drive, but so worth it. Good luck choosing, but you can't really go very wrong - everything is within 2 hours' drive and it's easy to get to Franschoek (beautiful town, great restaurants), Cape Town (we like the Fire and Ice Hotel), Riebeek-Kasteel (the Royal Hotel is in a class of it's own), Darling - it all depends on what you want to do when you are awake!

canadian_robin

Have a look at the Greenwood Guide for South Africa - we have always found the guide to be very reliable. We have stayed at several B&Bs that were recommended in the guide and have not yet been disappointed. CR

http://www.greenwoodguides.com/south...C+Western+Cape