BlackBrick Cape Town

The rooms are simple but fine, and they were cleaned well. I’d read another review mentioning shower pressure, but it was no problem at all for us. The hotel isn’t the most luxurious, and you do hear city life, but you’re right in the middle of central CT. It’s very well located in Cape Town, and the chef’s cheese omelets at breakfast are world class. He and the breakfast manager are friendly hospitality pros, as are the front desk and housekeeping teams.

We ended up here because an event had driven demand and prices up at the other Cape Town hotels. It turned out to be a bad choice. The building is old and has been converted into a hotel without properly upgrading the windows. When the wind blows, the room feels like a hurricane is coming through. The rooms are spacious, but laid out poorly. The décor looks nice in photos, yet in person it feels almost toy-like and not cozy. Cleanliness was virtually nonexistent: the third floor was full of cockroaches (Blattella), and having those “roommates” was disgusting. The breakfast area is laughable, and the breakfast is just as poor. For a place right in the city centre, it’s disappointing that they can’t offer a better setup.

My disappointment was room 501. Drain pipes from the rooms above run visibly across the ceiling or slab, and you can imagine the sound of flushing water passing right through the room. That made it very inconvenient, so I gave the room two stars. Otherwise, the place is quiet, though getting through the gates to the parking isn’t easy. They send a very long directions message that you have to read while driving. I was disappointed to receive it only after I’d already got lost.

THE WORST EXPERIENCE I HAVE EVER HAD, AND IT WAS THE PENTHOUSE APARTMENT! The apartment reeked of tobacco, and the whole building did too. The photos are misleading: the pictured items are there, but you can’t see their condition. Everything was dirty or broken. The curtains looked like they hadn’t been washed in about five years. There were stains on the sofas and chairs, dirty marks all over the walls, and the walls looked like they hadn’t been scrubbed since the building was erected. The scatter cushions on the bed were dirtier than a dishcloth. The towel rail and toilet paper rail were ready to fall off the wall. Water pressure was horrendous, and the temperature swung from extremely hot to cold every 10 seconds. There was also a cigarette burn on the bedside table. The manager said they’d issue a refund, but after we left, they refused. Please DO NOT stay here. Take this seriously and don’t waste your money!