Cape Town - Our usual family mode of travel is self-catering, or camping - or staying with friends or family.
So the chance of a trip up the West Coast, with an overnight stay in a hotel in the fishing town of St Helena Bay, had me all excited.
BON Hotels and their PR agency organised a road trip up the R27 - with stops along the way (see below). A meander from Bloubergstrand eventually deposited a gaggle of journalists and bloggers at the front door of the hotel chain's Shelley Point venue mid-afternoon of a sunny winter Thursday.
Blue cocktails were offered, pizza was consumed, and then we were given a tour of various hotel facilities: the nine-hole golf course (green and gorgeous), the six-rink bowling green (green and flat) and the kiddy entertainment facilities (secure and well-appointed, with an outdoor play area and an indoor room too).
At last, we got to put our bags in our rooms - and my phone call home reported that I was staying in a room with two floors in the hotel's A-block.
We had been given rooms in the luxury suites. There are 51 of these loft-style suites with a lounge and patio area and an upstairs bedroom complete with queen size bed and en-suite bathroom.
I could learn to like such luxury - though it did feel a little sinful to be there all by myself.
On to dinner. The hotel has two restaurants and we ate in São Antonio, the one alongside the pool deck - a surf and turf set menu filled the corners adequately. The menu is Mediterranean inspired - though we were too busy chatting to pay much attention to the food.
A fairly standard buffet-style breakfast the next morning was upstairs in São Gabrielle, with a golf-course and sea view.
I had taken an early morning walk to the beach: ten minutes, and a turn round a remarkably ugly statue of Vasco da Gama, had me looking at the sun coming up over the sea (the peninsula positioning of the hotel means you can see it going down over the sea as well).
Well-fed and well-rested, we hit the road back to Cape Town.
I love our family self-catering road trips - and they are what we can afford. Luxury hotels are not usually on our list of destinations. Nevertheless I tentatively asked what a stay at Shelley Point would cost - and was tempted. They're currently running a winter “rate-shedding” special - until August 31 you get breakfast, a hydro spa session, unlimited golf (kids under 12 free) from R499 per person sharing, per night.
Their spring special deals are also worth a look: until November 30, you can get breakfast and unlimited golf from R549 per person sharing, per night. Again, kids under 12 stay free. (Various terms and conditions apply).
I think the dudes at home and I might be in for a luxury weekend.
Local attractions:
* Our road trip up the R27 took in !Khwa ttu (www.khwattu.org), a San cultural and educational centre, and the West Coast Fossil Park (www.fossilpark.org.za). Both are way more interesting than they sound, with the fossil park in particular likely to be a favourite with children showcasing as it does exceptionally well-preserved fossil faunal dating back about 5.2 million years. A member of our party has had good breakfasts at !Khwa ttu, with lots of run around space for little ones.
* The hotel's website says that in St Helena, you can (if you are in luck) catch the fishermen coming in at the harbour just outside the gates. (Local tip – try around noon – you could find yourself buying some fresh fish off the locals for a song.)
* Lunch in Paternoster is also a possibility.
* You can also visit Bokkom Laan in Velddrif or take a boat ride up the Berg River.
* Langebaan is 54km away and is worth a detour on the way there or the way back - possibly taking in the West Coast National Park.
Renee Moodie, IOL Lifestyle Editor
* Renee Moodie was a guest of BON Hotels.
* For more information, go to http://www.bonhotels.com/bon-hotel-shelley-point