Dune Ridge Country House provides warm and cosy coastal getaways

Whether you are on holiday, enjoying a romantic getaway or on a conference or business trip, St Francis Bay always provides among the best holiday experiences on the coast.

One of my favourite places to stay at in this charming town is at Dune Ridge Country House.

Hidden away in a thick fynbos behind St Francis Links, and within a few minutes’ drive of St Francis Bay’s famous beaches, this award-winning 4-Star lodge offers guests the peace and tranquillity of a remote farmhouse, but with modern hospitality and service. 

With six double rooms and one family cottage, its Cape homestead-styled buildings, with their high roofs, spacious rooms, polished wood and large verandas, symbolise charm and comfort from a bygone era. 

The bedrooms are spacious and sumptuously equipped – I always sleep like the dead each time we visit Dune Ridge. The bathrooms have huge tubs and showers as well as under floor heating, which is such a pleasure in winter. Each room also comes with a well-stocked mini-bar, a tea and coffee station and DSTV. 

This comfort carries through to the main lounge area, which, with its huge stone fireplace, is furnished with large, deep Kudu-leather couches.

In winter, the fire is always crackling away and the lounge is a great place to enjoy a drink, play board games and chat with other guests.  

The dining room, bar and deck are all adjacent to the lounge and stepping off the veranda you’ll find a beautiful indigenous garden with abundant birdlife and small game.

There is also plenty to keep you busy at Dune Ridge itself – from their Bush Spa, large swimming pool and a nature walk. 

Interiors are a mix of past and present, with modern plush textural fabrics


The Garden Cottage

I always enjoy relaxing on the private patio, reading or watching the sunbirds flitter from flower to flower, while the kids explore the ample grounds, play on the swings or have a dip in the pool. 

Sarah, the manager, is also an accomplished chef and you should order her fresh wholesome African cuisines in advance. Breakfast is served in the dining area where each table is set with crisp linen, sparkling cutlery, warm muffins and freshly-squeezed orange juice. Eggs to your liking and bacon, mushrooms and tomatoes are on order too!

Dune Ridge is ideal for private small weddings, romantic honeymoons and secluded family holidays.

For more information, visit www.duneridgestfrancis.co.za or call 042 294 1560. 

For great savings on life’s little pleasures visit Bargain Buys!  Know somebody who is getting married, Wedding and Function can assist.  Have kids, then you need to visit Kids Connection.

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About us

Actually, Home Food and Travel offers a lot more than just reviews of accommodation, restaurants, spas and adventure activities.  We also visit great destinations, receive advice from interior designers and stop to smell the roses and taste the coffee.

Our team of journalists are seasoned travels and love visiting the myriad of exciting places around South Africa.  Whether it is off the beaten track or in the heart of the top attractions of the country, we’ll be there,

Home Food and Travel advice on finding the right accommodation

So what is the right accommodation?  Well more often than not, it’s your travel budget that dictates the type of accommodation that you choose. 

Expensive is not always better.  Our team at Home Food and Travel will tell you that they have camped in areas with limited ablutions and had a wonderful holiday.  They have also spent a night in a five star hotel only to be disappointed because their expectations exceeded the experience.

The reason for your travels will also affect your choice.  A business trip requires different amenities to a beach holiday. 

Our articles, reviews and experiences can certainly help you make your decision.

Restaurants with a good mix of service, food and ambiance

To my mind a great restaurant offers three things – excellent service, great food and a wonderful ambiance.  Of these, service is the most important. 

No matter that the food is delicious and the setting delightful, poor service can ruin the occasion.  However, great service combined with mediocre meal and a plane jane restaurant can still be a pleasant night out.

We’ve eaten in restaurants that are really dirty but with incredible food and couldn’t help but give a rave review.  We’ve also hardly noticed what we ate because the setting was just amazing.

However, the best restaurants come with the best of service, food and ambiance.

Spas are the ultimate relaxation aid

How do you know when you have had a great spa experience?  The answer, of course, is when you doze off on the treatment table. 

Well that’s our theory anyway.  It also doesn’t take a grand location with enormous facilities for a spa to be really good

A small, personal spa that is owner run can result in the best massage you have ever experienced.  However, the grand spas in five star hotels offer unsurpassed facilities in an environment that just makes the stress in your shoulders and neck melt away before you even finish checking in.

Adventure!

You don’t have to be an adrenaline junky to enjoy an exciting experience.  In fact, what are commonly termed adventure activities usually have incredibly high safety standards and unblemished safety records.

Ziplining, bungy jumping and shark cage diving are all very safe.  It’s just that our mind tells us we are craaazzzzyyyy to be doing this.

On the road to great places of accommodation, restaurants, spas and adventure activities

If you’re driving, be safe and make use of all the wonderful farm stalls that populate South Africa’s open roads.

If you overhear somebody asking a lot of questions or see someone taking photos of empty bedrooms chances are it’s one of our Home Food and Travel team members.

We’re out looking or those great places of accommodation, restaurants, spas and adventure activities.

See you on the road!

 

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