Greece – a place where azure waters met silky white sand beaches, and never-ending vistas keep your mind buzzing for days. The mental images of cobble-stone streets and colourful-dome villages that envelop the seaside haven make you wish you could spend every summer there.
The good news for us Capetonians is that we have a little piece of Mykonos-like-heaven just a stone’s throw away from the city.
Any hard-working person worth the salt dripping from their beating brow would welcome a chance to draw in some fresh Langebaan air and leave adulting behind for a bit.
A place of relaxation – where kids can run free and grown-ups can sit back with a glass of wine and believe they were in Greece – with all of the perks, and none of the costs.
Club Mykonos Resort would be a winning start to such aspirations. The turquoise waters and immaculate shores have been its home for the past 29 years, making it an establishment on the West Coast scene, and it’s obvious why.
The resort has an x factor that is both warm and refreshing, and yet it feels familiar. Even the newly-built Marina Village which has all the space and comfort of your mother’s house with the modern-day, showroom quality amenities and breathtaking location. It is a self-catering unit with one, two and three bedrooms paired with plush trimmings.
A sparkling long swimming pool greets you at the entrance, and once inside the sunset’s warm embrace ignites a smile as you cast your eyes over the balcony and into the golden distance.
The bedrooms are spacious enough for the kids to swing each other by the hair, and tastefully decked out in the trendiest of colours and styles. The look is modern and classic white.
The view from the main bedroom gives you a bird’s eye view of the marina. The mattress must take the lion’s share of the credit for us having such a relaxing weekend. A good night’s rest makes the world of difference to one’s outlook on life. (Note to Nobel Peace Prize committee: Maybe if more people slept better we wouldn’t have half as many problems as we do.) We woke up refreshed and energised, feeling less our actual age and more our “wish we were” age.
It could also be the fact that Marina Village is situated on the water’s edge, where the sea laps at the breakers and seagulls and sailors gather to watch the sunset.
The dock is home to a flotilla of boats and yachts at different ends of the spectrum, from ouma and oupa’s little water version of a Corolla to the swanky catamarans of the elite. If you’re not into the world of bows and sterns, you can always admire them from the Dockside Café, where the food is surprisingly excellent. While many waterfront restaurants lean towards grubby pub food, Dockside Café was reasonably priced and of high-quality. I’ve had worse meals at five-star establishments.
A nearby heated indoor pool, football pitches, tennis courts and giant chessboards make children feel welcome, and the adults can try their luck at the neighbouring casino. You could easily spend two weeks there and still not have experienced everything the resort has to offer.
Marina Village is more than a home away from home. It feels like home itself and that’s probably the point. It ticks all the boxes of what a holiday spot is supposed to be, and then adds a few surprises like a gas stove, a fancy Dominoes pack and a sensational stainless steel braai kit. It’s the little things that count.
Photography: Courtesy