Having lived in Noupoort, Cradock and Graaf Reinet in the Eastern Karoo, I have an affinity with the inhabitants of these small towns in South Africa who see the infrastructure collapsing as the youngsters leave and the economy dwindles. If only the Government had put the BILLIONS that it has pumped in SAA and other state entities into making small-town South Africa great again. In order to make the town compliant with Travel & Things requirements for “small town” status, the following is the minimum standard: 1 hotel in the main street, ore than one bottle store, a butcher shop where the product can be smelled from a block away and church that can be easily spotted on arrival in the town.
Upon our arrival at the LA Guest House, we were offered a choice of rooms as there were several available. The room we chose overlooked the garden and can just be seen through the open door behind the table and chairs. In fact, it was the table and chairs that decided our final choice, as we were able to have our dinner sitting there while the rain pelted down.
Seeing that my wife and I are used to our king-size bed at home, this looked a little small for the two of us. But we did not stress too much…
I ended up sleeping here (after losing a round of rock, paper, scissors). It was extremely comfortable and we did not fight about who gets the duvet. The only issue was that I could not see the TV from the bed, but as I was editing images at the desk, that was not a problem. Ensconced in a cupboard there was a microwave as well as a small bar fridge aside from the usual coffee/tea station.
Good use of space. You can brush your teeth AND use the toilet at the same time. Although this might look small, it is not cramped and by utilizing a sliding concertina door, all the space can be used. There is also a large shower in this bathroom with more than enough hot water for two showers.
I do wish that more guest houses would supply reading material in their rooms. These magazines might not have been my first choice, but as a quick read before putting off the light, they were ideal.
I wonder if one can rent this treehouse? I should have asked…
There are a variety of rooms scattered around the perimeter of the property. This leaves a large lawn to separate guests so that they do not feel cramped or that their privacy is being intruded upon.
A bench outside to relax on before heading indoors.
Some interesting bits-and-bobs in a cupboard outside our room…
The guest house only does breakfast, so I should call this the breakfast room, rather than a dining room, which implies that other meals are available.
Breakfast of champions? The traditional morning meal before packing up and heading for home. There were cereals, yoghurt and fruit on offer as well, but we decided to ‘test’ the hot breakfast and it passed with flying colours.
What happens in LA stays in LA? Not really! This was the final destination on our road trip. Much has been spoken of this town by friends who had visited before us and they mentioned a special coffee shop in a local nursery that we have to try. We were unable to find that, but we were recommended to try a restaurant close to the guest house for dinner. Very friendly wait-staff and a chef that believes that more toppings ARE better on a pizza. (That being said, there was nothing wrong with my pizza, except that anchovies to seem to be unheard of that this establishment.) The restaurant owner did handle the situation well and replaced the offending pizza with a more suitable version…where less was more. Would we return to this guest house? We certainly would.
We had put mud on our tires, added 1500km to the clock and listened to 20 CDs during the drive. Our Subaru handled the 4×4 roads to and from the beach destinations anas well as the N2 and R22 roads without an issue. COVID-19 permitting we will be returning to the area again in 2021.
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