You may have heard me bragging a tad last week about being invited for a little staycation at the Strand Tower Hotel. And if you hung out with us on Instagram over the weekend you would have gotten a little sneak peak into all the fun we had playing tourists in our own beautiful city.
Arriving at Strand Towers hotel, we received the warmest welcome by the concierge staff and were taken up to our room on the 16th floor! The views that far up are just insane – With wrap around windows, we had views of table mountain, the colourful Bo-kaap and all the way up to Signal Hill as well as the stadium and ocean in the far distance. Being high amoungst the skyscrapers and watching the bustling city below was just the most magical sight. Upon entering our room we discovered (or should I say the boys discovered) a platter of chocolate cupcakes, sweets and chocolates waiting for us with a very yummy bottle of Rupert and Rothchild wine. Wine doesn’t get much better than that let me tell you!
The view from the 16th floor…..
Our stay at the hotel was so enjoyable – the staff were super helpful and went the extra mile to accommodate our wilder-than-usual children who just couldn’t contain their excitement for longer than 2 seconds. The food was great and on the first night we enjoyed prawns and curry while the boys got to make their own burgers from the buffet. Each night we were treated to a delicious bottle of wine that accompanied our meal. ( Any establishment that includes wine as part of their package gets a thumbs up from me!!)
We began our adventure on Saturday where we made our way to the V&A to visit the Two Oceans Aquarium and experience the Cape Wheel which it appears never seems to lose it’s novelty with our kids. They seriously love it more each time we go.
Have you ever seen a more gorgeous face?
After going back to the hotel for a rest and TV time we hit Seapoint promanade for a rather interesting game of putt putt. Lets just say that playing putt putt with two competitive adults and two children under 5 who don’t know anything about sticking to the rules is a bit like trying to prevent a two year-old from messing ice-cream down his top – pretty impossible! It wasn’t our finest hour in terms of keeping our cool – in fact i wish you could have seen us carrying on like a bunch of nut jobs trying desperately to explain to Noah that games have rules for a reason. It turned pear shaped so fast, we eventually had to agree to call it a day. The joys of raising a 3 and 5 year old!
On Sunday we had one of the best days we have had as a family like EVER. Honestly we had such a wonderful day from start to finish! After an amazing breakfast we headed to the Long street Sight Seeing Head Quarters and jumped on a Hop on Hop Off bus. I cannot begin to tell you the excitement the kids had pumping through their veins. It was such a beautiful sunny day which meant we were able to make the most of it and sit at the top.
We headed for Kirstenbosch where we did the Canopy walk and threw coins into the wishing well. Brody used all three of his coins to wish he could turn into a superhero. Noah announced he already was a superhero and so he wished for ice-cream. That wish seemed to work because after heading to World Of Birds for an hour we took the next bus to the Hout Bay harbour and we ate ice-cream on the beach. Noah felt very chuffed of course that his wish actually came true for once. Brody on the other hand, is still waiting to wake up looking like hulk. Bless!
From there we jumped back on a bus (the beauty of this whole thing is that buses come at 15 minute intervals so you never have to really wait!) and took a scenic drive along the coast to Camps Bay where we enjoyed a delicious seafood lunch. By the time we got back on the bus, Brody was just about falling over with exhaustion and was fast asleep and dribbling on my shoulder within minutes. Always a sign of a good day out!
All in all we had such an incredible time bonding as a family and treating the boys to some fun things – It really proved to us that you really don’t need to go very far to have a holiday together and feel like you are getting away from the normal everyday stuff.
The Hop On Hop Off Bus is definitely something we will be doing again – next time making a stop to do some wine tasting in Constantia! (What a joy knowing you can be driven around and not worry about drinking too much old grape juice right?) I would highly recommend the holliday package if you are looking to get away and enjoy some much needed family time. Joburgers, this could be just what the doctor ordered!!!
This 5 day package is currently going for ONLY R7.500 (*Valid until 15 December 2016) and R8.250 (*Valid from 16 December 2016 – 15 January 2017)
*The above rates are per adult, children under 5 stay free and children of 5 pay HALF PRICE! Call them directly on 021 431 7500 or email them for bookings and availability at reservations@leisurehotels.co.za. You can also browse their website for other info.
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