Kurland
Garden Route & Winelands, South Africa
Overview
Superbly family-friendly, Kurland has adorable children’s rooms and facilities galore. Children under five stay free in parents’ suites; five- to 12-year-olds, R540–R990; 13- to 16-year-olds, R1,020–R1,210 per night.
Best for
Ages two to 14.
Recommended rooms
Luxury Suites and Superior Suites have ensuite loft rooms specially for children, with two, three or four single beds and their own bathrooms. They’re dolls'-house sweet, and so pretty that you’ll wish you were small enough to share.
Crèche
Childminders are provided in peak season, and they plan and manage all activities (babysitters are available to book out of season). The crèche is open from 9am till 5pm.
Activities
There’s a brilliant play area to kick around in, and acres of grounds in which to burn off energy on foot, on bicycles or on horseback. Children’s activities are included in high-season rates, and pony rides on the Shetlands are free all year round. Older children have endless options: there’s a games room with pool table, a cupboard full of games, swingball, table tennis and quad bikes. Tennis and polo lessons can be arranged, and further afield there’s everything from bungee-jumping and canoeing to encounters with elephants and monkeys in nearby wildlife sanctuaries. As Kurland puts it, total exhaustion by sunset is pretty much guaranteed.
Swimming pool
Separate children’s pool, with armbands and inflatables to play with, but it's only supervised during the festive season or when swimming activities have been arranged.
Meals
Older kids are welcome in the dining room, where gourmet children’s menus are on offer, but they also have their own dining area in the conservatory. Alternatively, they can take their tea in the playroom or even in the kitchen. Packed lunches can be provided, and staff are more than happy to heat up milk or baby food, or rustle up some milk and biscuits.
Babysitting
Babysitters can be provided for about R40 per hour.
No need to pack
Leave the extra toys and games behind – you really won’t need them and they’re just a pain to lug around.
Also
If your children are still quite little, you may prefer to book Superior Paddock or Luxury Rose Garden Suites, as the loft rooms above the Superior Rose Garden and Luxury Paddock suites are accessed by an external staircase. Get a little edutainment into their lives with a treetop-canopy tour of the mighty Yellowwoods, 30 metres above the forest floor, in Tsitsikamma National Park.
