We stayed here for several nights as part of our independantly arranged tour of the Winelands, Cape town and Hermanus. The location is idyllic with sensational views over the vineyard with the mountains as the backdrop.
On checking in - 4 adults in 2 double rooms, we found one room in the main block and one in the cellar block. The room we occupied in the main block - whilst nicely furnished, clean, large bathroom with free-standing bath and huge shower cubicle, had only the A/C unit for any breath of air. It appeared to be the only room in the main block that did not have outdoor access in the form of patio doors and whilst having a window, albiet the view into the side of a hill,we were unable to open it. Seeing that our friends in the cellar block had their own patio furniture and magnificent view, we asked to move room. No rooms were available in the cellar block, but very many were clearly vacant in the main block with outdoor space. The young receptionist thought that this would not be a problem but it did appear to be when greeted by the Duty Manager. She explained that the rooms were awaiting arrivals and would be occupied for one night only, with further one night bookings for the remaining nights. It became apparent that these rooms were not occupied until late evening and vacated by very early morning by organised coach tours bringing in large parties of guests. Thoses guests would not even have seen the view at the times of their stay and clearly the Hotel felt more obligated to pamper these large parties, rather than smaller bookings such as our own.
Our friends in the cellar block room did say that they had no A/C and the room was needing refurbishing soon.
The bar was lovely and relaxing, but the service very dependant on the demeanour of the bar tender. Diet coke handed over in an unopened can, we had to ask for a glass and all this after waiting 15mins for service in a empty bar! The next evening we had the most jovial of bar tenders who was happy in his work and intended to cheer his guests too.
Our only evening meal in the Flavours restaurant was extremely disappointing - despite the reviews on the food here, it has to be the worst meal we ate during the whole of our stay in SA. My food was bland in colour and taste and I swear the boiled potatoes were straight from a can! One of our party had a spicy Moroccan chicken dish which was the better choice but on the whole, extremely poor. The service was equally as poor - no smiles, no pleasantries, removing plates as soon (or before) you had finished and made us wish we had made a reservation for dinner elsewhere.
Breakfast from a choice point of view was fine - again served by staff who need a damn good lesson in customer service!!! Eggs offered on the first morning to be cooked to our choice but subsequent mornings we had to ask, and it was met with the feeling that we were inconveniencing these staff!
The receptionists were super, knowledgable,friendly and interested.
The facilities generally in the Hotel are great and once more, the location perfect.
Ask for a room in the main block WITH patio doors and book a table for dinner in Stellenbosch!














