Oria Guesthouse

There’s a swimming pool, and breakfast is delicious. It’s a great place to enjoy, and it stays peaceful all the time.

There’s been construction and renovation work going on for ages, and the whole venue looks worn, especially the bathrooms. Our bedding was dirty and the carpets hadn’t been vacuumed. The area felt very unsafe, with no shops nearby. Reception wasn’t ready for our group even though we arrived at check-in time. There’s a school across the street, but I wouldn’t bring kids here.

For what we paid, I’m appalled by the service and facilities. We spent R1400 for two nights, then found an extra bed cost R250 per night and a smoking room came with another R500 charge. The lodge calls itself one-star, but it doesn’t deserve that rating. I’m never coming back. The staff have no people skills. Housekeeping poked her head in while I was still in my pajamas and asked if she could clean. The room had only one window and no other ventilation. The shower was cold, the taps were broken, and we had to put the kettle on the floor to boil it. When we opened the fridge, it smelled like old food, probably left by previous guests. The sheets were still dirty when we opened the bedding. Nobody warned us about the renovations. Early in the morning, workers woke us up with building and hammering noise.

The rooms are decent, and the showers have really high pressure. Staff were friendly. The downsides were the bad DStv signal on the TV, no breakfast, and a dodgy part of Cape Town. It’s advertised as Milnerton, but it’s actually in Brooklyn.