The Gallery Studios

I enjoyed the studio, and it was high quality, but breakfast was a letdown. It was served in another building and felt like hostel food. Some menu items weren’t available, and juice and coffee cost extra. I’d expected good service for the price, so the experience felt more like staying in a hostel.

The rooms were lovely, but the rest was a 0/10 and I won’t return. On arrival there was no parking available, despite parking being stated when we booked, and we had to pay R60 per day. Getting to the room and breakfast in another building was poorly handled. Breakfast had only three choices, they made no effort to accommodate us, and we ended up eating at Wimpy.

We couldn’t sleep because of noise from a nearby club between 11.30pm and 2am, and our room had no view. The advertised rooftop terrace, where guests were meant to sit and look out to sea for whales, was inaccessible because the push bar had been removed from the door. The way senior staff handled our concerns was rude and unhelpful. We also had no safe place to park: the recommended car park was supposed to have overnight security, but nobody was there. On our first night, someone cut the rental car’s fuel line and stole half a tank of fuel. The hotel immediately acknowledged that security should have been present at both the car park and studios, and that others had already reported no security that night. Even so, they were very reluctant to find a more secure spot for our replacement car. At checkout, after acting surprised that we hadn’t enjoyed our stay, the manager I’d told about the incident claimed he had checked with the rental company and tow truck and that the fuel line wasn’t cut, saying Ford Eco Sport vehicles are always breaking down and getting towed. That was a complete lie. We told the hotel at checkout why we were unhappy, but about 24 hours later they reported us as a “no show.” That’s insulting and stupid, especially since check-in required a 500ZAR pre-charge to our card as a damage deposit. I also have a copy of the hotel’s completed incident report about the car damage, with photos attached. I presume they did this to avoid a negative review. It was devious and disgraceful.

The room was meticulously clean, with a great bed and bedding and a stunning bathroom. But both windows faced a wall, and below us we could hear restaurant bins being rolled down the corridor. The TV seemed to be there just for show.