Richard's house in Hout Bay is just metres from the beach and close to some great restaurants (don't miss Bugattis for pizzas and Cheynes/Lucky Bao for great Asian crossover dishes).
The best part of the house is the pool area, where you'll probably be spending most of your time. It is a lovely and well-sized pool, big enough for exercise or just to lounge about in.
The wifi in the house is very fast, which was great for us as we were doing quite a lot of work from home. It supported digital meetings via Zoom and the connection was strong, no interruptions or sudden outages.
The veranda is furnished with a large sofa and two armchairs, good for breakfast. We enjoyed our cup of tea on the steps down towards the pool. The upper deck is amazing for sunsets, sundowners and dinner, once you get the hang of the trapdoor.
The best feature indoors is the open kitchen, with a large gas stove and electric oven if you're into cooking. The kitchen table with bar stools is a welcoming space, and great for working from. There is not a lot of cutlery and crockery so we found ourselves doing dishes by hand a lot instead of using the dishwasher.
There were some issues while checking in (the pool wasn't clean and there were not enough towels), but these were sorted out as soon as was possible and Richard was very quick to answer if we had any questions or concerns.
The master bedroom is comfortable and spacious, whereas the other rooms are slightly smaller. All the bedrooms are closely situated to one another so even if it is possible to close the doors the walls are quite thin and any talking or louder noises are easy to hear.
As this is a private home, be prepared for a very personal touch with mementos on the walls and fridge. We found it charming.
We thoroughly enjoyed our stay in Hout Bay and are dreaming of going back to that pool!