This weekend my partner took me away for what was meant to be a romantic weekend.
He decided that in order to really spoil me he would book at a top hotel right on the coast along Cape Town’s trendy Atlantic Seaboard, and booked us a sea-view room at just such a place accordingly. I was really excited at the prospect of being treated to some first rate luxury!
What a disappointment.
The "Warm" Welcome
We were welcomed by the reception staff who were friendly enough, but told right away not to order room service for breakfast (something we had intended to do) as even though the rate included breakfast, if we ordered it in our room we would be charged again. This was explained more as a threat than a friendly piece of advice.
We were not shown to our room (which was on another floor) despite the fact that there were ample members of staff available at the desk and no-one else was checking in at that time.
We struggled for some time to open the door as our key card appeared to be faulty and eventually had to go back up to reception to get another one. Had someone shown us to our room they could have demonstrated how the card worked.
The Room
Once we finally made it inside the view was indeed spectacular (although rainy but we can’t blame the hotel for that!) but the room itself was totally bland and soulless. First of all we had requested some romantic extras in the room (roses, champagne etc) when the booking was made but these were nowhere to be seen. And sure we could have (should have) complained but who wants to stand around watching a housekeeper scatter rose petals over your bed once you’re already in the room?
Secondly the bathroom was tiny, with a small bath and a shower over it, which we later discovered leaked all over the floor and in fact out the door.
The décor in the room and bathroom reminded us of a hospital – a slightly grubby one at that with old fashioned, grey, worn carpeting and blank white walls. The room was so small that the bed took up most of the space and the cupboards held no robes and no extra pillows or blankets, which we looked for as it was pretty chilly.
The Rude Awakening
Early the next morning I was woken by the sound of furniture being moved in the rooms above us, followed by an hour of droning from a vacuum cleaning.
At 9h00 we thought we heard a knock at the door (we were still in bed as checkout was only at 11h00) but before we had time to decide if it was a knock or more furniture being banged about in walked a cleaner!
The Bad Breakfast
Breakfast was served in the equally bland and antiseptic dining room which once again relied solely on the view for interest. We had to order coffee twice before it finally arrived and then the milk only came along some time later. The service was generally poor considering the restaurant was only half full when we arrived.
The Lesson Learned
This entire experience made me realise that what we do here at Portfolio is so important. I will never again book into a large, impersonal hotel no matter how many stars it has or how fantastic the position is.
Sure you get shabby B&Bs that smell of old age homes if you don''t book with care. But I would far rather enjoy the personal touch, attention to detail and warm welcome at one of our personally assessed guest houses, B&Bs, villas, lodges or country homes than endure another night in a room that feels like something out of Grey’s Anatomy.
Look out for our new series of Romantic Getaways in Portfolio establishments right around South Africa starting October 2009!
