My mom organised a weekend away for the family in Hermanus. You need to bear in mind that this is something we have never done, so we were all rather excited. My sister had a last minute trip to London so it would only be the three of us, but we were excited. The weather, however, was conspiring against us.
We had a self catering apartment booked at the Whale Coast Hotel, which one of the relatively new hotels in Hermanus and has a great location close to the centre of town at the Hermanus Stasie. After a quick drive, it took us over an hour and a half (we had some stops along the way due to the road works on Sir Lowrys Pass). The weather was icy cold and we made it to our destination in the dark, but we had a wonderfully warm welcome and an easy and quick check in.
After filling out a form and a quick copy of a drivers licence we were shown to our apartment and also informed on the way that we’d been upgraded to a three bedroom apartment. The door opened and we were guided into a wonderful, open and welcoming living area (with stairs leading to the bedrooms). I immediately fell in love with the kitchen because of the five plate gas stove. There was also a braai on the covered balcony but the weather was terribly cold and wet so it looked unlikely that we’d be spending much time outside.
Photographs — Left: The stairs up to the bedrooms / Right: One of the comfortable rooms
Since we’d arrived at dinner time and were all ravenous we decided to head over to Col’Cacchio which was just a hop skip and jump away from the accommodation. The Whale Coast Hotel is located directly above a shopping centre which has a Checkers grocery store that is open until 20h00 and ideal if you need to pop to the shops to stock up for your trip – we decided to eat out because we were all feeling too lazy to cook.
After dinner we made our way back to the apartment and decided to snuggle under the very fluffy, warm blankets that we found in the bedroom cupboards. The hotel also provides complimentary WiFi which we connected to and played a game of online Scrabble while watching a movie on DsTV. Absolutely ideal for a winters evening.
The next day we woke up to stormier weather and so after a great hot shower and a game of rugby we had a break in the weather and so headed out for a walk. While out the weather turned nasty again so my dad headed back while my mom and I braved the weather and hit the shops while making our way back to the hotel.
Photographs — Left: Look for the Hermanus Stasie / Centre: The awesome stove / Right: View of the balcony
We ended up back at the hotel and decided to browse through the nearby shops and deciding what we’d make for dinner. The hotel has a number of shops below it including Truworths, Edgars and Foschini so you can shop til you drop when the weather is bad.
I’d decided to make soup and bread for dinner, something quick and easy and it would let me use the stove. I found my happy place in the kitchen and was pleasantly surprised at the useful items they had in the kitchen. There was even a soup ladle!
We thoroughly enjoyed our stay at the Whale Coast Hotel, it was a fantastic mix between a hermanus self catering apartment with a hotel feel (the unit is serviced). The staff is friendly and really helpful and the location is wonderful because you have easy access to the centre of town (within walking distance) while being close to all amenities you could require. We really enjoyed our home away from home for the weekend and would love to go back!
Hermanus Info:
- Hermanus Accommodation
- Things to do in Hermanus
- Hermanus Attractions
- Western Cape Accommodation
- South Africa Accommodation
Contact the Whale Coast Hotel:
Want to book your stay? Visit The Whale Coast Hotel in Hermanus.
