After a flying visit to the Cathedral Peak Hotel in May that lasted less than 24 hours, I vowed that I would come back for a longer visit.  And I would bring my kids with me.  This hotel, I said to myself, is paradise on wheels for young people.

Imagine my joy, then, when a few weeks ago I received an invitation from the hotel to spend a weekend with them to celebrate their 70th birthday….  “And please bring your children with you.” Would I ever?  When the rugrats got home from school that day, I said:  “You know that hotel I went to in May, in the Drakensberg, in that incredibly beautiful setting – remember I showed you pictures?” “Yes,” they said. “And I told you all about the hikes in the mountains with valleys and streams, and the two swimming pools, one with hot water, and the gym and the climbing wall, and the horse-rides and the playground and the giant chess set and the mini-golf and the kiddie’s lounge?” “Ye-e-e-s?”  they said. “And that huge dining room with the buffet that is longer than our house, and waffles for breakfast and the chocolate mousse for pudding and morning and afternoon tea with crumpets?” “Ye-e-e-s?!” they said. “Well, that’s where we’re going for the weekend…” I told them and was promptly swamped by three joyous and excited youngsters.  From then onwards, every day I had to add more detail about the Cathedral Peak Hotel and its splendours.  They didn’t believe that the buffet could be quite that big, and I wondered at times if I was building their expectations so high that they were bound to be disappointed. And then we got there, late on Friday night. Cathedral Peak Hotel is a wonderful place to arrive at night, especially when it is misty, because the extensive gardens are dotted with lights that make the place look like something out of the Faraway Tree.  What made it even better was that check-in was quick and painless, and because we had arrived late and after the dining room had closed, the kitchen had prepared a platter of sumptuous sandwiches with cold meats and cheeses. What followed was a weekend from a dream.  The weather was warm and sunny; we were spoiled for choice about activities (even quad-biking was an option); the eternal view of that dreaming Cathedral Peak was a constant reminder of just how beautiful the Drakensberg is; we were fed up to the gills at regular intervals with delicious food.  The children agreed that the buffet was bigger than they had imagined, but what thrilled them even more was the choice.  Being children, they had to be constantly deflected from the dessert section, but even the displays of fruit and veggies got a ‘Nyom, nyom, nyom’ accolade. The hotel was filled with guests who had some kind of connection with the hotel: regular guests, suppliers, travel agents, friends, media.    The main event was the party on Saturday night – a nostalgic look at the hotel that had stayed in the Van Der Riet family for four generations.  From early days as a little stone farmhouse it had expanded to a four-star 200-bedroomed resort.  “When I started here with my Mom and Dad,” said current owner William van der Riet, “it was just the three of us.  We did everything.  Now the hotel has a management staff of more than 35.” Despite the size Catheral Peak still retains the homely atmosphere that comes with a mom-and-pop operation.  General Manager Charles Preece (who has substantial expertise in running large hotels) told me it is not always easy to combine the warmth of a family-run hostelry with the demands of modern hotel-keeping, but the Van Der Riets have somehow managed it. “The staff here are exceptionally loyal,” he says.  “People stay here a very long time, a lot of people are employed from the local village, and there is a real sense of family.”  Not only are the staff loyal, so are the guests. “There’s an enormous amount of tradition here,” muses Charles.  “Guests tell me they came here with their parents, they got married here, they came here on honeymoon, they are now bringing their own children… this is a favourite place for many people.” Incredible to think that this gleaming hotel awash in luxury is 70 years old.  William, in his birthday speech, reminisced about the old days: “When I took over from my dad,” he said, “I needed to modernise the hotel.  It was not easy, as my dad had fixed ideas, but one has to move on.  For instance, the rooms did not have en-suite bathrooms, and guests would walk to the bathrooms at the end of the corridors wearing only a towel…..A great time was had by all.” Most certainly a great time was had by this particular family, and the children had to be winkled out of the swimming pool in order to leave.  They have already made me promise to come back in winter, so that they can play in the snow. And when I got home, I mentioned to my mother that I had visited the Cathedral Peak Hotel. “Oh, that’s a lovely place,” she said.  “So beautiful in those mountains.  Your dad and I went there on our honeymoon…” What can I say?  Just go and have a look at http://www.cathedralpeak.co.za/