On the road again: The Sand Dollar, Melville, South Coast, KwaZulu Natal, South Africa

The Sand Dollar is situated on the owner's property, a short drive through a beautiful garden takes you up to the two storey unit.

The upstairs has the main bedroom with a bathroom, kitchen and the undercover wooden patio. We spent a lot of time sitting on the patio staring at the sea - the view was amazing!

Downstairs is a lounge area with 2 sleeper couches, another large bedroom (with a double bed and two singles) and a second bathroom with a bath and shower.

The third level - the sunroof - is not much to write home about, it's a small area with no chairs and you cannot appreciate the view unless you are standing up (it is walled all around). A couple of loungers would make it great for lying in the sun if the beach was too windy.

A walk through the property and over the railway line takes you to the beach, otherwise you can drive to one of the other beaches nearby. We ended up spending most of our time at the pool because it was very windy on the beach.

We stayed here in November 2014 and at the time they were building another unit next to it. We have not been back again but the second unit is very close to this one so I would imagine you would not have much privacy if there were strangers staying in it.

The pool is situated right in front of the second unit so this might not be ideal if there were strangers renting out the second one. However, if a large group or two families that knew each other took both units, it would be ideal.

Great features:

* Great ocean view from wooden undercover patio

* Comfortable bed and nice sized bathrooms

* Lovely splash pool

* Close to the beach

* Lots of beds for a family stay

Not so great features:

* The kitchen is really tiny and not much space for preparing meals, especially for a big family (really only the top of one small table)

* Couches in the lounge a bit old and saggy

Price: Reasonable (Less than R500 per person)

Would we go back: Maybe

Recommended for: Couples / group / family

The host/s: Lovely - friendly and welcoming. Allowed us a later check-out on the day of departure.

For more information and bookings:
www.wheretostay.co.za/thesanddollar