Mystic Mountain Cottage

I enjoyed our stay. The place was clean and neat, spacious, and comfortable, with loads of provisions, more than I’ve had in almost any holiday rental. It has both gas and electric stoves, so you’ll be okay during power outages, and the emergency lights are a nice touch. You can tell it was built from salvage yard bits, which must have taken some doing, but hardly anything fits together and the finish leaves a lot to be desired. It’s a weird one to rate because it’s a complete package, yet so many simple details let it down. The shower floor doesn’t seem to have enough river sand beneath it, the upstairs toilet isn’t secured properly, and the kitchen tap looks like it came straight out of an 80s horror movie. Every light fitting is different and out of place, and the paintings and portraits hang crooked. There are kitchen utensils and cookware, which is great, but some of it is awful. For example, the frying pan is wafer thin. There’s a vacuum cleaner, but its plug is broken so you can’t use it. I understand that rental places can’t have top-quality items because guests might abuse or damage them. The unit is very close to the R712, so road noise could be a problem if you’re after a quieter break.

The cottage had everything we needed, along with plenty of useful information about Clarens and the surrounding area. It was a very comfortable stay, with stunning views from the terrace and all the places in town close by.

We loved the sunrise from the stoep, and breakfast there was breathtaking. The views are epic, the water delicious, and the downstairs bed was amazing. The kitchen was lovely and well equipped, and the cottage has everything you’d want for a winter holiday, including great DSTV and WiFi. The book about Clarens history was a lovely extra. Everything is within walking distance, so we left the car in the garage and got our walk on. Upstairs was a bit hot in summer, and the bed up there could be more comfortable. We can’t wait to come back to Mystic Mountain in winter. When you visit Clarens, this is where you’ll want to sleep!

We had a cosy getaway at this lovely Clarens cottage, and the free WiFi and DSTV were great. The very uncomfortable double bed upstairs and the extremely loud wooden floor up there bothered me a bit.