Leisure Isle Lodge

Leisure Isle Lodge is a white two-storey lodge on Bayswater Drive with the lagoon in front of it. The guest lounges are built around wide windows, and the water and the hills past it are what you look at from most of the seats.

A landscaped garden path leads to the entrance through aloes and grasses. Inside, the hallway takes a console table and mirrored doors. There is parking, including accessible bays, and airport transfers can be arranged.

Coral, decanters and a bar

The lounges are many and each has been styled: a white sofa beneath two round mirrors, an armchair beside a dark wood drinks cabinet, a fireplace with a wicker ottoman, a mauve sofa among mirrors. Shelves are dressed with books, plants, candles, proteas and pieces of coral. A fully stocked bar has black barstools along it, and the restaurant serves at a long table beside the windows.

Wicker headboards, mirrored doors

Rooms are bright and uncluttered: a made bed under a ceiling fan, a black and white striped headboard, twin beds with wicker headboards beneath a window, mirrored sliding doors down one wall, a wicker trunk standing in as a table. Several have a seating nook with a mirror above and an en-suite shower through the doorway. Bathrooms take double vanities under a large mirror, and bathrobes are provided.

Pool deck and gravel patios

A rectangular swimming pool sits on a wooden deck with white loungers along it and a thatched gazebo at the far end. Gravel garden patios hold white wicker chairs and outdoor tables, one beside red bottlebrush flowers, another with a cushioned bench among potted aloes. Breakfast arrives with pastries and coffee; oysters and champagne turn up beside the pool.

Bayswater Drive and the mouth

The lodge stands above the beach where the lagoon meets the sea, rocky headlands framing the channel and sunsets that colour the whole bay. The island hangs off Knysna by the Armstrong Road causeway alone. There are other guest houses on the island if this one is taken.

Who stays here

Couples above all, and families: there are children’s meals, babysitting and board games. Somewhere run for you, with the water in sight.