ONOMO Hotel Waterfront

I've stayed at plenty of five-star hotels, but the people at ONOMO Waterfront have impressed me more than most. Everyone, from housekeeping to the kitchen, helped make the stay feel warm and caring. The value for money is incredible too. Thuliswa at reception deserves a special thanks. She's patient, attentive, always smiling, and good at finding solutions. Whether it was a room change, a question, a request, or a bigger concern, she never made me feel like I was asking too much, even with some of my more creative demands. I keep returning, and that says plenty.

The location near the CBD used to make this my regular choice for business trips to Capetown, and I'd stayed there four times before. On my last visit, I booked without checking the price and accidentally reserved one extra day. I was charged $160 a night for a cabin room without breakfast. Even after booking.com contacted them several times to move my checkout earlier, they gave me the runaround and never replied to booking.com. I spoke with staff for three days before leaving and still got nowhere. It's overpriced, and customer service needs to improve. There are better options now, so I won't stay there again when I'm in Capetown.

This is a budget hotel, not luxury accommodation. The room was tiny and nowhere near the waterfront, and staff were very rude. There's no phone in the room, so you have to use WhatsApp. When I asked for water, they wanted to charge me. My wife and I also had to carry two bags ourselves after I asked for help and got none. There are plenty of much nicer places nearby, so avoid this one.

The restaurant was a highlight. Breakfast had good hot options, great cereal and extras, plus both self-serve coffee and a barista. Dinner was excellent, with plenty of choice including local South African dishes, good prices, and a nice French decor. There was a good selection of drinks too. We stayed three nights. The staff were friendly and helpful at check-in, in the restaurant, and with room service. Our room was comfortable and the air-conditioning worked well, though there was no cupboard or fridge. The bathroom was small but usable. Towels were changed daily, but a bathmat was missing on a couple of days. Coffee and milk weren't replenished, though we could get some from the office. There was a bit of hotel noise, but it stopped fairly early. The hotel has one lift, and the stairs are available too. It's an easy walk to V&A and about 20 minutes from the city centre.