Aquarius Luxury Suites

The location is good, the rooms are clean, and the views are stunning. At around R21,000 for seven days, though, we expected much more. The photos and welcome manual advertise a pool and gym, but we only learned after arriving that the 12th floor was locked because of some kind of dispute, so neither facility was accessible. Guests should be told this beforehand. There were problems in the room as well. The window was cracked, the sliding door was very hard to open, and there’s no air conditioning, so you depend on fans. Ours worked properly at only about two speeds. When we reported it, maintenance said the sensor was faulty and there would be a waiting period. We also weren’t told at check-in that hair dryers aren’t standard and have to be requested. When we got back from the beach, the lift was out of service and we had to climb ten flights. Some parts of the stairwell seemed unfinished and had no lighting, so we used our phone lights to see. That’s unacceptable from a safety point of view. The windows were often sandy, too, making it hard to enjoy the otherwise beautiful view. There’s a lot that needs improving before a 3- or 4-star rating feels justified.

I was there for work, but the apartment felt more like somewhere you’d want to holiday. The three-bedroom place had all the necessary amenities and was very comfortable. Two bedrooms have queen-size beds, balconies, and stunning views of Table Mountain and the ocean. The third has two single beds, little natural light, and no view, so it may suit children better. There’s a Google Smart TV for YouTube, Netflix, and other streaming, but the Wi-Fi was quite poor and made it difficult to watch.

The apartments looked good and were clean, with restaurants and supermarkets within walking distance and Big Bay just a few minutes away by car. Most of the staff were friendly. The lifts could get too full at busy times and temporarily broke down, and the Wi-Fi kept fading in and out. The shower door was crooked and leaked onto the bathroom floor, so it was missing some finishing touches. Decent overall. It might not be my first choice, but I’d come back if I couldn’t find another booking.

The location is great, within walking distance of everything, but the noise outside was awful. On all three nights of our stay, people we assumed weren’t hotel residents gathered in the street parking right in front of the hotel, including the designated hotel parking. They were loud enough to keep us awake on the 7th floor until 4am. Staff could perhaps have asked them to move the party elsewhere, but nobody did. This was our second visit in a couple of years. The first one had been worth it, so we returned and booked a 3 bedroom luxury 5 sleeper. The washing machine and tumble drier may be what makes it “luxury”; beyond that, it didn’t feel like one. The rooms were as advertised, with three bedrooms, but maintenance was poor. Paint was damaged all over and hadn’t been repaired. The shower head was damaged and unreplaced, with mold around the broken areas, so it seemed to have been that way for a while. Most of the furniture was scratched and visibly worn. Housekeeping was poor, too. Wind knocked over a cup of coffee on the balcony the first night. We cleaned as much as we could without any cleaning equipment in the unit, but the sticky coffee we couldn’t remove properly was left there for the rest of our stay. It looked like cleaners hadn’t been out on the balcony during our three nights. The windows were extremely dirty, so dirty you couldn’t see through them. Although the unit looked clean, everything felt sticky, as if it hadn’t had a proper wash in a while. We live in a coastal town and know how the coast can make things sticky, but regular cleaning prevents that. The living room carpet also looked like it hadn’t seen a vacuum in a long time. The basement door was badly damaged and seemed to have been that way for a while. Once, the lift took a long time to reach the basement, so we assumed it was busy with other visitors and took the stairs from the 7th floor. The stair lights weren’t working at one point, leaving it pitch black. We turned back toward the light because it felt unsafe. The security guard at the parking area was great. He introduced himself as Mr X. At check-in, though, the person at the desk seemed more interested in trying to hook up with the woman ahead of us than finishing her check-in and helping the next guests. We found that very unprofessional. We’d gladly visit again if maintenance is done and kept up, housekeeping cleans properly, check-in is handled as check-in, and the noise outside the hotel is addressed.