Fodor's Travel Talk Forums - Beacon Island Hotel

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Beacon Island Hotel

Hi all "Beacon Island Hotel" I have done a search on this site, but no one has netioned this hotel. has anyone been there or know of it - Selwyn have you any advice. We want a nice hotel overlooking the sea along the garden route. thanks clare

Beacon Island used to be HOT property 20 - 30 years ago. It was my dream to stay there so about 5 years ago we did. It didn't live up to my dreams. This may have been only because we were there over December when it is peak season and it is taken over by timeshare owners. If you are looking to go over any of the school vacations, I would give it a miss. There are way too many spoilt kids running around yelling and being wild while their spoilt parents smile indulgently on and the overworked maid that they have brought with them picks up after Precious Jason and Bianca. It is possible that it has been refurbished since then, (it was starting to show its age). If so, and you are going in a quiet period, then you may really enjoy it. It is in a beautiful location and the beach and pool area are lovely. Restaurants were good. It is or used to be a Sun International Hotel which are always good. (Except in Dec.)

Thank you Clare

Hi Bacadi, I think that Lisa (Waverley) is spot on in her answer to you about the Beacon Island. I say this with specific regard to the fact that you have to choose your times cleverly when you visit the venue as the place can be overrun by children and starts looking like a high school at certain stages of the year. I must HOWEVER add that there are so many other better places to stay at other than the Beacon Island Hotel when you visit Plettenberg Bay to stay at. Obviously all depends on how deep your pocket is and many other factors. If you want me to help you as to alternatives let me know your parameters with regard to accommodation standards, high and low cost points as well as when you will be visiting Plett. Use the Fodors board or write to me per the below email and I am virtually 100% sure that I can help you do a lot better than the Beacon Island. Btw heres a couple of snippets about the Beacon Island Hotel. My parents celebrated their honeymoon at the Beacon Isle as it was known in 1949. I still have the account of their stay which was 37 and 6 (Thirty seven shilling and sixpence) for 3 nights total accommodation. Unfairly put (-;) that represents R3.75 in todays terms or US$ 0.30 (-ƒº As a kid we used to travel to the Beacon Isle and had great fun staying at the hotel ¡§where you had to cross the sea by bridge to get to the hotel¡¨ and where they had a wonderfully, innocent games room for kids to enjoy themselves playing simple fames like snooker, draughts and chess. In the late seventies my wife and I used to visit Plett annually. I can recall spending New Years eve in Plett in 1980. I kid you not when I tell you that in those days there was a fish shop in town and that was it when it came to buying food anywhere and on the celebratory night there were 4 of us on the main road in Plett. . Yup those were the days when Plettenberg Bay was known as Plett while today I give it the widest of berths as Plettenberg Bay. The town now has a money town and has a different name as far as I am concerned and that is T Squared standing for Tourist Trap or TT as per the phrase initials. In a nutshell think of Knysna as a pivot to view the Garden Route above Plettenberg Bay and if you want to stay in Plettenberg Bay I once again suggest you think of other accommodation other than the Beacon Island hotel Hope the above helps. Selwyn Davidowitz [email protected]

Hi Selwyn Thank you for your reply, have just been on your website, great pictures on your visitors album, we are really looking forward to coming over. We are flying to Port Elizbeth in August and staying there for 1 night. Then driving along to Plett and on to Knynsa hotels I have looked at Knynsa Overmeer Guest house and Knynsa Quays hotel. Do you have any advice on the knynsa quays hotel. I think we will give the Beacon hotel a miss and spend 2 nights in Knynsa, from your and waverleys advice. Then we are of Cape town to stay at the Hoilday inn on the waterfront for 6 nights (we are traveling to Gansbaai to go Great white cage diving for a couple of days during this). We have booked the blue train to Pretoria so we can drive over to Krugger and Sun city for the last part of the holiday. I have read a great deal of you advice on these pages and found them extremly useful. thanks clare

Hi Clare, I think that you are in for the journey of a lifetime and your planning seems to be quite sound to ensure this. As far as staying in Knysna is concerned look no further than Overmeer. It is MUCH BETTER than the Knysna Quays. Make no error there is nothing wrong with the Quays, (I stayed there on a recce trip about 6 months ago) it is just that Overmeer is so much better. The owners, Ludwig and Riette Fechter, are wonderful people and the views from Overmeer are definitely the best in the town as they face directly over the wonderful Knysna lagoon. Accommodation is excellent and an excellent breakfast is included in the daily tariff. I say again look no further than this venue. As far as the Waterfront Holiday Inn concerned it certainly is a good venue to stay at. My preferences however I lean towards guesthouses over hotels as they are much more personal. Furthermore I believe that one finds out a lot more about a city when one stays in a guesthouse in that the owners of these establishments generally help their visitors a lot and then over breakfast one generally shares info with other visitors to Cape Town and this all helps to make for a better trip. With that all said I say once more the Waterfront Holiday Inn is still a good choice as hotels go in Cape Town. May I also suggest that when you return from Knysna that you stop in at Cathbert Country Inn and rather spend two night at this venue in the Cape Winelands and 4 nights in Cape Town. Trust me this change will only enhance your journey as Cathbert is a well placed venue to explore the Winelands and it is as close to Nirvna as possible. http://www.cathbert.co.za Hope you have a wonderful journey through our great country. Selwyn Davidowitz [email protected]