Travel reviews by Mr & Mrs M from Farnham

"Judi does her utmost to make her guests fell welcome and to ensure that they have a great holiday. It was our first trip to SA so she sat us down and helped us to plan our time to make the best of the trip. She then went on to book our tickets for the tour buses and Table Mountain cable car.

Her guest house is very well situated for getting into Cape Town - a simple walk downhill that leads you to the Governor's Gardens and then into the main area. Breakfast is excellent and there is a simple but delicious deli on the corner for lunch, picnic or early supper. The rooms are spacious - Ours had a large terrace from which we could see Table Mountain, Lion's rump, Signal Hill and Cape Town. After lots of walking and sightseeing - there is a pool to sit and relax next to."

"We loved Ocean Eleven - it was well placed to walk into the town where there are loads of lovely restaurants and some boutique shops. The area feels very safe so able to walk about at night and the coast walk is lovely.

The room was lovely - very spacious and a separate dressing room and bathroom. The wooden floorboards are quaint but a little squeaky at night. Not really an issue.

I have never seen such an amazing array of fruits for breakfast - truly superb and lots of other foods to choose from. The eggs were a bit of a disappointment - I asked for medium poached eggs [expected the yolks to be creamy] but they were rock hard; the next day I asked for scrambled and they were like an omelette."

"We really loved Hog Hollow - it was one of the highlights of our holiday. The staff are excellent and do all they can to ensure you have a great time. They booked visits for us - walking with Cheetahs and they also gave advice about local places of interest. If you walk to a local place of interest from Hog Hollow, then all you need to do is call and they will collect you!

One of the things we really loved was the evening dinner - all the guests meet for cocktails sat around the open fire and then are sat around a huge table for dinner- a great opportunity to meet other travellers and swap stories, experience and advice. Can't believe that a member of staff went round the table and introduced us all with no notes about names! Food was excellent too!

It was the only accommodation that didn't provide bath robes - perhaps a thought for the team at Hog Hollow?

There is lots to see at The Crags so worth at least a couple of days - preferably 3."

"We just loved Kwandwe - from the moment we arrived the team were making sure we had everything we wanted to have a good time. We arrived at 3pm with a drive starting at 4pm - they were keen to ensure we'd had lunch so plated a veritable feast! The game drives are just brilliant the enthusiasm of the Rangers and Spotters is contagious. A call comes across the radio that lions, cheetahs or leopards [or other animals have been spotted] and the chase is on to see them. On our first night we saw Cheetahs eating their kill, this was followed by the most amazing storm!

Getting up at the crack of dawn is no hardship - the excitement is almost tangible. The Rangers and Spotters are extremely knowledgeable and can tell visitors lots of information about the animals and their habits. 3 hours can just disappear. Its not until you drive just a few hundred yards away from the lodge and spot a HUGE buffalo grazing that you realise just how close you are to wild animals and that's when you realise why the team are so cautious about guests safety.

The sights we saw will stay with us for ever. We were just a short distance from a male lion who had walked miles during the night to get close to his female and cubs, we watched and heard him contact calling and could feel the resonance of his call.

The food is plentiful and delicious, a chance to try local dishes. In fact you get fed up to seven times a day! Fortunately some are just small snacks! We never saw housekeeping, but our room was always being tidied! Having our own plunge pool was lovely.

At the end of our stay, we wished it was the beginning so we could do it all again."

"We loved this guest house - the team were just brilliant! The food was superb and being so close to the sea was lovely. If we had woken up earlier we could have seen dolphins playing in the bay. That'll teach us!

St Francis is very quiet - there are very few people about as many of the local homes are holiday homes. If you want a quiet time then this is a great place. St Francis Point is not far away and an opportunity for a short coastal walk.

The team could not have been more helpful. When a local dog followed us back [albeit uninvited] to the guesthouse and then didn't want to leave, they telephoned the owner so she could come and collect him! They were so relaxed about it we didn't feel guilty about bringing an intruder."

"The guest house is perched on the cliffs and from the rooms there is the most spectacular view of the beach and sea. The team recommended a restaurant for us which was just along the beach and made a reservation for us. We felt really safe walking to and from the restaurant.

Breakfast was delicious - a real feast!"

"Our cottage was delightful and felt almost like plush a French gite. The grounds are beautifully kept and the view from our room was excellent. We had vines, olive trees and in the background mountains. Next to our cottage we had avocado trees and fig trees - both laden with fruit!

The hotel is well situated for getting into Franschhoek and there is mush to see there - lots of vin yards with wines to sample and restaurants.

We ate in the restaurant and the food was delicious - as was the wine and also very reasonably priced.

The only things we were not so keen on was 1) the mattress protector - it felt like sleeping on a rubber sheet so very uncomfortable, hot and also noisy 2) the team are so keen to produce excellence that they can lose the "human" touch; there really didn't seem to be any humour about the place. We just wanted them to "lighten up" a bit...They could also take a lesson from Ocean Eleven when it comes to the fruit platter!"