The St James of Knysna, Knysna

If you like small hotels who cannot do enough for you then this is the place to stay in Knysna, I should know I've been to South Africa six times and stayed at St James on four of these trips; lots of people, like me, go back again and again. The position is ideal, just outside Knysna so you can easily travel in to the Town or go the other direction. The rooms are very nice and spacious if, perhaps, very slightly old fashioned. The views (you must have a Lagoon view) are to die for. It is a pity the owners (who live on site) have decided to move into what were IMHO the best positioned rooms (The Cottages) so these will no longer be available from May 2005. Having said that if I owned St James I would do exactly the same. I am not a gardener but the gardens are fantastic and you will see one of the owners and her team working on them (non intrusively) all the time. The staff are all very friendly and efficient but not stuffy. Unlike a lot of places on the Garden Route you can stay for more than a couple of days as there is plenty to see and do, so much so that we need to return and will do so.