We stayed in a 1 bedroom suite at The Rex Hotel and really had a good experience. Located in central Knysna near the water and within easy walking distance to everything, the Rex is well designed and maintained, service was great also.

The room was great and really spacious. We stayed in a luxury studio apartment.
However, the desk staff was not at all friendly. Our room's air con was not working and despite having complained 3 times there was nothing they could do about it. They could not fix it the next day also and asked us to accept a fan as its replacement in the room.
This is simply not acceptable from such a nice property. The least they could have done was given us something complimentary but I guess that gesture was too much for them.
I am sure there will be better options than this in Knysna.

In arriving at the hotel, service was excellent, the rooms exceeded our expectations they were beautiful. The seating area for drinks on the evening outside the rose cafe was very comfortable and clean. Our only complaint, if that is the right word, was the service at breakfast, I believe that they were understaffed and therefore the service was very slow. In all though, a very nice hotel.

During the whole of our trip on the Garden Route, this was one of our most expensive stays, but I had a hard time seeing the value. Firstly, the location isn't great. You're basically two blocks off the major tourist pier, and two blocks off some pretty rough neighbourhoods where you wouldn't send your wife for a stroll. That said, the hotel does have a nice plaza to relax in and a great local, independent cafe.

The desk staff at the hotel is markedly unfriendly, and will struggle to crack a smile or have a conversation. Not sure if this bloke is trying to imagine he's working in Beverly Hills, but a bit of that South African friendliness would go a long way. The rest of the staff we encountered, primarily cleaning staff, were all top notch, friendly, and very helpful.

The main complaint with this property comes with the condition of the bathroom. The kitchen, living, and bedroom are all modernly appointed, spacious and comfortable. The cleaning was also very thorough. However, the bathroom is showing abnormal water damage for such a young property. It's obvious the shower leaks buckets when being used, and most of the baseboard gets soaked and damaged, requiring a few towels to sop it all up. Why would they let this happen to such a young property? Failed investment scheme, most likely, and short-sightedness. Another dumb thing about the shower is that there is no cover/blind on the window, so you basically get to give a top-half strip show to the neighbours. Saucy.

Also don't stay here if you need to get an early night's sleep. The live music from the pier-side restaurants is very audible on the water-facing rooms. Sleeping to a badly rendered version of "All night long" is not easy.

Parking is free. Wifi isn't included and is extortionately priced. Stupid really.

I have to say this wasn't my favorite stop.