Weekend escape: Turbine Hotel, Knysna

Knysna’s Turbine Hotel is quirky yet comfortable in its industrial chic, writes Andrea Nagel

The view of the old turbine building is best from Turbine Trixie, the booze-cruise pontoon barge that takes guests through the picturesque canals of Thesen island and out onto the Knysna lagoon.

From the boat you can see the pillars and pipes of the power station jutting into the sunset sky, high above the multistorey structure that gives the landmark building its particular charm.

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Although the Turbine Hotel's previous incarnation as a power plant is not as strikingly obvious from the entrance on the other side of the building as it is from the canals, the huge pieces of machinery that have pride of place throughout the five-star boutique hotel have been restored to pay tribute to the space's industrial past.

The hotel on Thesen Island is actually part of a Heritage Walk, with its four imposing steam towers visible from far away.

It was clever to keep the soul of the power plant intact because it gives the hotel such distinctive and interesting character in an age when ''beige" interior design is the go-to brief for most modern hotels.

The industrial backdrop of bare bricks and brightly coloured bits of turbine is softened by the playfulness of the décor. It echoes the playful nature of Knysna itself, between water and forest, full of sprites and magic.

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Schalk Hildebrand, the hotel's activities manager, is just as much a part of the hotel as the turbine spirit of it.

It's Hildebrand who gets us out of our rooms and exploring Thesen Island and Knysna, across the bridge.

We have two days to fill with water sports and booze cruises, bike rides to the famous Knysna Heads and walks through the mystical forests. We ride bikes to the mouth of the lagoon where it meets the sea - the second most dangerous shipping passage in the world - and climb to the top of the Heads where you can see secret coves on the beach below. We also stop at a microbrewery, pause for a wine tasting and visit the endangered Knysna seahorses in the SAN Parks office.

We hike a famous forest trail through fern-lined gullies under the canopy of 800-year-old yellowwood trees, and visit the San Ambrosi Chapel Museum, which preserves the fascinating story of the Gouna silk spinners, a little-known history of immigrants who came to the area to establish a silk industry. And we also couldn't miss the famous hot chocolate from île de païn in the Thesen Island village.

Chef Ursula Nieuwoudt is at the helm of the hotel's Island Café and the Turbine Tapas Bar, which serves delicious snacks to share. Col'cacchio pizzeria at the water's edge is there if you want even more variety.

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• For reservations call 044-302-5746 or visit turbinehotel.co.za.

• Andrea Nagel was a guest of Turbine Boutique Hotel & Spa in Knysna

• This article was originally published in The Times.