Chez Pierre

Chez Pierre is a guest house on Kingsway, run the old-fashioned way. Breakfast is cooked rather than laid out, the coffee station in the hall is kept filled, and somebody notices whether you came back for it.

You turn in past a painted sign at the driveway, onto a path that is lit after dark. The building wraps a courtyard with balconies looking down into it, and there is parking. The grounds have been gardened rather than merely maintained: a rose arch, a bird bath, a stone cherub in a flowerbed.

Stripes, and a stove that gets lit

Blue and white runs through the whole house, which sounds like a lot of it and reads as cheerful. The lounge has a wood-burning stove, a blue sofa and a striped armchair. A second sitting room goes up into a vaulted ceiling and stays bright into the afternoon, with wicker chairs beside French doors. Dogs are welcome.

Beds under the travel posters

Rooms are dressed in white trimmed with blue, lamps either side, framed vintage travel posters above the headboards. One opens through French doors onto a balcony. There is a children’s room with bunk beds, a ladder and bunting strung across the wall. One bathroom has a freestanding tub beside a glass-walled shower.

Round the pool in the morning

The pool sits in the courtyard, white furniture and umbrellas at its edge and a wooden deck alongside. Breakfast gets carried out and eaten there when the weather allows, which on this coast is most of the time.

Flat lanes and a reserve

Steenbok Nature Reserve is on the island itself, free to walk into and open at all times. The lanes are flat, so a bicycle is the sensible way about. Shops and places to eat cluster near Kings Park. If you would rather have your own kitchen, there are whole houses on the island too.

Who ends up staying

Couples and families who would rather be greeted than checked in, and anyone travelling with a dog.