Hout Bay Manor

a wonderful but ageing place that needs urgently some refurbishment/refreshment for a 5 Star Hotel not suitable anymore. This aplies also to the pool that is under corstruction for at least 2 Years now Nevertheless freindly and nice people, late breakfast is wonderful and superb to meet and work in the front garden

Cape Dutch elegance combined with comfort and good service. Extensive restaurant menu, good wine cellar, and breakfasts cooked to order. Outdoor pool unheated - Brr! No lift to upper floors. Sun and shade in garden. Staff very friendly and helpful.

What a disappointment, from start to finish. We'd made a booking about a week ago, yet they didn't even have the table ready when we arrived (we had to help them move tables together). We then had to ask for more menus to be bought to us. There were 3 menus to share between a table of 7. We waited more than 20 minutes for our drinks to come (which were brought in 3 separate servings). Note, they were not busy at all, and we were told their staff was only coming in at 1pm. Their lunch is served from 12 noon, so this staff scheduling seems odd. When the draught beers arrived, they were deemed "off" with a horrible aftertaste, so my companions sent them back to exchange for bottled beers. Another drink order was incorrect, and we had to remind them to bring the replacement. The staff were pleasant enough, but untrained...it was clear our table was unhappy with the long delays, the off beers etc but there was no explanations or apologies about the situation. We had an overseas guest so didn't want to make too much of a fuss. But it did not appear there was even a manager on duty. The food itself was lucklustre. Not sure how you can get a pad Thai wrong, but they managed to. Only 3 out of 7 meals were enjoyed - the vegetarian wrap, the red curry, and the fishcake. Overall, a most-disappointing experience. I'm usually extremely forgiving of service slip-ups, but this was just bad from the word go. I emailed them directly that afternoon, and as of 4 days later. I've had no response.