Bosky Dell (sheltered place) is perhaps the last secret hide-out of the Cape. In a truly unique setting directly above the iconic Boulders Beach, it seems lost in time. A large, rambling homestead complete with coach house and stables built in 1850 has been converted into five charming self-contained, self-catering cottages. Bosky offers simple and comfy, peaceful and private, spotlessly clean accommodation. The spacious private grounds adjoin Boulders Beach, our garden gate leads directly on to the beach walkway. The white sandy cove below is strewn with giant granite boulders 540 million years old. It is sheltered from the wind and offers safe, shark-free bathing. Besides its incomparable beauty, the beach is famous for the unique colony of endangered African Penguins that took up home at The Boulders in 1982. This is a nature lover's paradise - truly a hidden jewel where our visitors return to experience its magic.
Star ratings are intended to indicate the general level of features, amenities, and services to expect. This property is classified according to Giata.
HOTEL STYLE
Quaint
Mid-range
Languages Spoken
English
Location
5 Grant Avenue Boulders Beach, Simon's Town 7975 South Africa
We spent a night here in Unit B, for six people. A beautiful location, yes, although the unit had no view. Spotlessly clean, yes, though not in the best state of repair. However, for a self catering place it is hopelessly underequipped. A one cup plunger fir six people? Scant serving dishes? No barbecue equipment (very strange for South Africa)? Salad servers and bowl? Not really good enough. Fortunately our stay was short, as it would have been impossible to cater for the family with the available equipment.
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Date of stay: August 2013Trip type: Travelled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Launa A, Manager at Bosky Dell
Responded 31 Mar 2018
Thank you for your review! We have recently upgraded our resort - New bathrooms in four of our five cottages. Each cottage also now has more than enough quality crockery, cutlery and glassware and 4 cup plungers!!! We have all the required barbecue equipment, including built in brick barbecue areas.
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I loved this spot..Will definitely recommend and be back. I found Bosky Dell to be a great self catering option if you're wanting to explore Cape Town's Southern peninsula or just wanting time out in a beautiful place. It's just outside of Simonstown and beyond the railway line so you'll need a car. It's more about position than boutique accomodation. The main old house and original outbuildings which have been converted into self catering units are modest, very adequately fitted, clean and right on the edge of Boulders Beach with an uninterrupted view across the the bay. You can access the famous Boulders Penguin Colony through the gate at the bottom of the property as well as the wonderful boardwalk along the edge of the sea. A sheltered swimming beach is a walk away. The staff are accommodating and helpful. I was there out of season and enjoyed the fantastic setting, sunrise/sunset walks..penguin watching and quiet...well except for the braying of penguins and guinea fowl calls and birds and ocean and that odd boom you hear at night in Simonstown that seems to come from the sea. Note to management: I didn't mind the simple accomodation but not having tea, coffee and sugar ( and maybe rusks)available is a great South African hospitality tradition I missed.
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Date of stay: July 2013
Value
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Sleep Quality
Trip type: Travelled solo
Room Tip:I was travelling solo, in Simonstown for a three day workshop. I was initially booked into the...
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Launa A, Manager at Bosky Dell
Responded 26 Jul 2018
Thank you for your review.... We loved your idea about the tea/coffee and rusks ;) Seems our guest do too!!!
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Bosky Dell needs to be added to Trip Advisor's Hidden Gem list! What a fabulous place in one of the most beautiful parts of the Cape Peninsula. For those of us who can't afford to have our own holiday house there, it offers a lovely taste of what it would be like..... As mentioned in previous reviews, it's not fancy at all, BUT it makes up for it by being absolutely charming, spotlessly clean and with a feel of a bygone era. Making it more luxurious would detract from its simplicity and appeal (it's not for those wanting all the mod cons). We stayed in the A Cottage which has lovely views from the protected balcony as do the Main House, the Stables and the Coach House. It was also wonderful to have a roaring fire on a cold rainy Cape winter's night. When the sun did break through we enjoyed lazing in the lovely sunroom. Contrary to Mabros' comments below, we thought the prices very reasonable considering the location - for both locals and (especially) overseas visitors. And we've stayed in many fancier places where a separate shower is nothing more than a pathetic trickle - this one at least had fabulous pressure! Other than the choice of beaches and walking paths next to the sea, Simon's Town, with its quaint shops, pubs and restaurants is an attraction itself. It's a brisk 15 minutes walk away. What a lovely village feel with plenty of friendly locals. Having previously always ended up at The Meeting Place, we had planned to eat in a different restaurant for each meal and tried Pescado on Friday night which we thoroughly enjoyed (although the service isn't the greatest). We ended up having lunch, supper and breakfast at KISS, a foodie place - yet another Hidden Gem! We loved the owners, Dan and Claire, the food, the decor, the vibe AND the prices!!! We kept on wondering to ourselves why we feel so compelled to visit Europe when we have such fabulous places on our doorstep. We're planning to go back to experience Bosky Dell at least once in every season - can't wait!
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Date of stay: July 2012
Value
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Location
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Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
The 2 bed cottage is outdated - basically camping in a cottage (no sea view), no coverings on windows, some windows don’t open, no locks on bathrooms, uncomfortable furniture and limited crockery, lots of steep steps (not child friendly) - it’s not worth it.
The property manager is rude, loud & screams racist remarks on the property - it was disturbing and being exposed to someone like that on your holiday will ruin it. Our kids are still asking questions about her language and some of the terms used.
There are a few great options in the surrounding area with great hospitality service, keep looking and give this one a hard pass.
Read the comments from management in response to reviews on security, safety, racism. It’s shocking. This is a time for the owners to really investigate, listen, reflect and transform.
It’s a pity, as the view from the car park area is pretty and I really wish we could reach the owners to share how the property is being run.
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Date of stay: January 2022Trip type: Travelled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Bosky Dell, Other at Bosky Dell
Responded 01 Feb 2022
Your family's incessant slandering of Launa on various online platforms is tantamount to harassment and cyber bullying and is a direct reflection of you. Anyone who takes the time to read any of the numerous (90+) excellent reviews giving us an overall longstanding rating of 9/10 on booking.com will certainly come to the quick realisation that your family members are doing their utmost to destroy the reputation of both the management as well as this establishment.
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Manager put the phone down on me when I enquired about a change in the booking. Most terrible customer service I’ve ever experienced. I would like the owner to please get hold of me as the manager is completely unhelpful. That is not the customer experience you would expect from a hospitality business.
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Date of stay: December 2020Trip type: Travelled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Bosky Dell, Other at Bosky Dell
Responded 31 Oct 2021
The "change in the booking" that you refer to was an error that you made on the booking.com online booking platform. To clarify: When prompted to select number of guests one is presented with the option to stipulate the number of adults, and the number and ages of children accompanying the adults. You selected two adults and two children, both aged naught. (In the notes section on the platform you informed us of their ages being 5 and 7) Only children under the age stay for free! You were made aware of the error via the booking.com messaging system, and our office called the mobile number that you had provided twice but on both attempts the phone was not answered. We then alerted booking.com to the error and it was only after this on the following day that you called our landline. We offered you the opportunity to rectify the error by alerting booking.com the the fault and thereby being billed the applicable rate however this was unacceptable to you. You casually mentioned that as you and your partner had already reserved the unit and therefore impossible for us to let it to anyone else, that it should make no difference to us if the children joined you. What you seemed unable to understand is that it does make a difference to us! We need to account for every 'head in bed' and the time to clean the unit, launder the linen and remake the beds takes longer for four people than it does for two. You did not only call once Sarah - you called a few times and sent a quite a few messages via the booking.com platform and even resorted to complaining via the Airbnb messaging system after enquiring about a larger more expensive unit. I was eventually unable to continue attending to your unreasonable demands and informed you that I could not do so, and it was at this point that I made my intention to disconnect the call clear. We remain clear that unrealistic discounts such as what you were proposing are never allowed and if and when discounts are considered it is always at the owners discretion and only ever for our return guests.
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Having stayed at the Main House at Bosky Dell several times over the past decade, our last weekend ensured I’ll never be back.
For an aging accommodation that only gets a handful of bookings in high season, where the shower doesn’t drain, the kitchen feels like a University dormitory, (and don’t make the mistake of thinking that this R3,900 a night self-catering might come with luxuries like salt or pepper) I hoped for some leniency on the rules about paying for infants, and having friends over for a meal. The good news is, if everything else in Cape Town is booked, this property will be available. It has a stunning view and is close to the penguins.
Full Disclosure: I broke their rules. The website says a flat fee for the Main House for 6 adults. We were a party of four adults, and I thought inviting 2 friends to use the extra bedroom would be fine for what they are charging. What they mean is if you check in with 4, don’t think of inviting people afterwards, and your infant is charged as an Adult. Despite never having more than 6 adults stay, since they were not in the original booking, we had to pay thousands extra for the 4 children: 2 X four-year olds, 1 two-year old (who all slept in the bed with their parents) and a 6 month old that slept in our crib. And those 6 adults? They shared one shower, because there is only one room that can be classified as a bathroom. If you are booking this enormous property because you think it might be okay to have people over for lunch or dinner, think again. We assumed inviting 7 adults and their four-year olds to come up from the beach to share some birthday cake on a Sunday afternoon might be okay having paid R13,000 for the long weekend, but nope, you can’t do that. That cost us another charge, and a R5,000 deposit that we were told was being ‘gracious’. If you are booking, make sure you read every single FAQ on the website, every single line in the emails, and every single line on the booking form, or your very expensive stay will be a whole lot more expensive. And instead of a relaxing weekend away, it will feel like your every move is being monitored, tallied and priced. Other no-nos: moving any furniture in order to get a better view of the ocean, having guests on the patio, letting your kids run around on the grass (you have to book that), and don’t put a drink down without a coaster, that comes out of your damage deposit.
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Date of stay: January 2019
Rooms
Location
Service
Trip type: Travelled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from BoskyDell, Manager at Bosky Dell
Responded 21 May 2019
4 MONTHS LATER….. yes, that how long ago you were here! We were “lenient”…. and you broke the rules (you said it!) You were given a discount of 20%, which is unusual for a 3 night stay during the High Season – and yet you still hoped to squeeze an additional 5 people (3 adults and 2 children over 2 nights) into a cottage that only sleeps 6 without even asking us. We don't encourage overcrowding, or sleeping “dormitory style” in any of our cottages. (There are backpacker and holiday camp options in the area). With regard to our rate’s for the Main House, our website refers to: 1. A “Flat Nightly Rate” for the Main House - http://bosky-dell.co.za/info 2. Accommodating ”six guests in three comfortable bedrooms” - http://bosky-dell.co.za/main-house. No mention anywhere of “a flat fee for the Main House for 6 adults”. • IF and WHEN the ENTIRE enormous property is booked out by ONE GROUP - we are happy to accommodate requests for EVENTS such as birthday parties for children etc. • We do make it quite clear that this is "usually only possible during our Low Season: 1 May - 30 September." (please follow this link: http://bosky-dell.co.za/info) • It goes without saying that when one is planning on booking in ANYWHERE that one familiarise oneself with the rules of that establishment. In my opinion that is an essential courtesy that should be extended, and in hindsight we should never have accommodated your requests at all. • To the best of my knowledge your FULL damage deposit was refunded - even though you apparently consider leaving water marks on our furniture and dragging our HEAVY teak patio furniture onto the driveway an acceptable treatment of our property. • Bosky Dell like most self-catering properties has rules for very good reasons!
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We stayed in the Stables for 5 nights. Loved every moment. Don't expect luxury, there are plenty upmarket places in Simonstown for that. If it's simple clean accommodation right next to the beach and friendly staff, Bosky Dell is the place to go. We have found our permanent choice of accommodation in Simonstown.
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Date of stay: October 2015
Value
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Service
Trip type: Travelled as a couple
Room Tip:The Stables . Suitable for a couple, has a private little terrace at the back door, stunning sea...
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
The location of this self catering cluster of cottages is excellent. We were a family of 4 and hired Cottage A which was behind the main house the rooms were OK and the bathroom was OK, they shouldn't bother with the shower on the wall, almost impossible to use! The fridge and kitchen is hopelessly too small and under equipped for a family of 4. The living area is also very small. They seem to rely too much on the location to justify the prices. I would rather hire the main house which looks far more spacious and has unbelievable views
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Date of stay: December 2011
Value
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
My daughter booked 2 cottages at Bosky Dell in January. The gas shower in our cottage was awful, the water was either too hot or too cold . The furniture in both cottages were outdated and uncomfortable. A white towel served as a curtain in the second bedroom of my daughter’s cottage- totally unacceptable. The website mentions a gate that gives one access to the penguin board walk . However, on our arrival we were told that the gate was for the exclusive use of the guests staying in the main house. The manager was upset that the main house guests allowed us to use both their beach access gate and parking. On checkout , Launa presented my daughter with an inaccurate exorbitant bill. She refused to pay the bill and Launa threatened to call the police. What? Yes. I was in shock. On closer scrutiny of the invoice we realised that she tried to charge us extra for the toddler who was 2 years and 13 days old . My daughter refused to pay and Launa backed off. This manager needs extensive training as she made in accurate, prejudicial assumptions about us.
We are professional people, nevertheless everyone deserves to be treated with dignity regardless of who they are. We did not flout a single rule , but this manager surely did. She was rude and abusive to us and our guests . This establishment gets a thumbs down and should definitely be avoided at all cost as the message was clear : we do not want people like you.
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Date of stay: January 2022Trip type: Travelled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Bosky Dell, Other at Bosky Dell
Responded 23 Jan 2022
This is a gross misrepresentation of the facts and we are willing to challenge these unsubstantiated claims/allegations as we have ample witnesses (staff, other guests and a neighbour) as well as video footage, and the owners were also on the telephone as the events were unfolding. Your family's incessant slandering of Launa on various online platforms is tantamount to harassment and cyber bullying and is a direct reflection of you. Anyone who takes the time to read any of the numerous (90+) excellent reviews giving us an overall longstanding rating of 9/10 on booking.com will certainly come to the quick realisation that your family members are doing their utmost to destroy the reputation of both the management as well as this establishment. p.s. Launa did not have to relinquish - your daughter made such a scene on the property so we decided that it would be best to rather have her leave and forfeit the monies due to us rather than risk her causing any further disturbance to our other paying guests. Our website (www.bosky-dell.co.za) states very clearly that "Children under the age of 24 months and younger stay for free. Children 24 months and older stay at 100% of the adult rate". Your daughter seemed to have some trouble understanding this.
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We went to Bosky Dell as part of our honeymoon road trip. We stayed in the coach house, after just 30minutes there I just had to book an extra two days. Extremely helpfull and friendly staff. Will recommend to anyone amd everyone!
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Date of stay: December 2020Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Johannesburg, South Africa41 contributions8 helpful votes
"The main house has the views. It has an internal door to one of the upstairs apartments so for larger groups or families, you can book both together."
There are more places to choose from in the Simon's Town area.
PRICE RANGE
R 2,396 - R 2,487 (Based on Average Rates for a Standard Room)
LOCATION
South AfricaWestern CapeCape TownSimon's Town
NUMBER OF ROOMS
5
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