We stayed at The Dock House for 3 nights at the very start of a 21 day holiday commencing in Cape Town. We have a preference for boutique hotels, they are usually quirky and the service excellent and I have to say we were not disappointed. The check in and welcome drink at the neighbouring Queen Victoria was efficient and welcoming and we were shown quickly to our room which was great as it was only mid morning.

The room was lovely and spacious, with ample seating to relax, very clean and well presented. The bathroom was huge, with a shower room, separate toilet and bath area with a roll top bath.

There was a welcome plate of sweet items presented on the desk, the chocolate brownie square and the Turkish Delight were outstanding and I still think about them!

The hotel was fantastically placed for the V&A Waterfront and was in a very safe courtyard area. We had drinks at the Queen Victoria and ate dinner in the other linked hotel, the Victoria and Alfred. Our food there was extremely good. The service in all three properties was outstanding, everyone was very polite and helpful, from the restaurant staff, reception team, bar staff and also the outside team who set up the sun-beds each morning - who waved and called good morning when we were out on the balcony.

Breakfast is in a small drawing room which at first looked rather formal, and wasn’t helped by us being the only ones there on our first morning, as we were up early to meet a tour guide, so we felt a little conspicuous! However other guests did arrive after a while and it felt less austere.

Plenty of choice on the menu for cooked breakfast as well as pastries, cereal and fruit. The guesthouse manager who looks after everyone (whose name I cannot recall) was very efficient and clearly proud of the facilities, decor and flowers in the room which he had done himself. I do agree with a previous reviewer that it was slightly odd to be presented with a bill to sign on our departure day when the breakfast is included in your stay, so essentially this was really just for you to tip-while the service did warrant a tip it didn’t really feel quite right to have a bill handed to you for this purpose. Perhaps the hotel could look at an alternative way to cover this off-perhaps at reception when you check out?

Our stay at The Dock House was a wonderful start to our holiday and we were blown away by Cape Town, so much to see and do we couldn’t possibly do it justice in three days, but will certainly be back for more in the future.

We stayed at the Dock House Boutique Hotel as the first stop of our recent visit to South Africa. We choose this property due to its close proximity to the V&A and it didn’t disappoint. The staff are very professional and could not do enough for us. We appreciated the use of the spa for refreshing after a long flight and the use of the pool area until our room was ready. The view from our room was wonderful and we felt we were a part of the comings and goings of the area without being in the middle of it.

The hotel is small with only 6 rooms. This is reflected in the small and beautifully decorated breakfast room which in the end proved a bit too quiet for us, so we preferred breakfast at the adjoining Queen Victoria or its sister property the Victoria and Alfred on the waterfront. We had a wonderful meal at the Dash restaurant at the Queen Victoria our first night and we both agreed it may have been the best meal we had during our entire 2 week stay in SA. The chef is truly talented.

We now move to my concerns regarding the Dock House. Before arrival I read a truly worrying review on Trip Advisor regarding Room #4 with torn curtains, broken toilet flush, dirty carpets etc etc etc. I immediately wrote to the GM of the hotel regarding my concerns. I received a very nice email back with lovely words regarding the relative departments taking care of issues, although no written guarantee that these particular issues would be addressed. I just assumed they would be and if not, we wouldn’t be placed in that room. I am happy to report that we weren’t in that room. We were in fact given room #3 which on first impressions was lovely. Large bedroom and bathroom, private entrance up your own staircase and a lovely balcony with a great view. It was when trying to run the bath that I was reminded of a review posted in April 2023 which included several issues that were still broken 10 months later. The reviewer reported “The bath mechanism allowing water to drain was broken and in fact half fallen out so bath water could not run out. Rubbish bin in bathroom is badly dented. The smaller (economic) water flush button of the Gerberit toilet did not work.” We did call reception and asked them to send somebody to sort out the bath water which they did. He came prepared with his tool kit – a pen knife. When the bath mechanism fell apart, he shrugged his shoulders and we never saw him again. The good thing though was that the adjoining door between rooms which the April reviewer reported as unlocked was locked and we had no leaking from the shower. I accept that this an old historical building and maintenance issues are harder, but a dented rubbish bin is an easy trip to a B&Q equivalent store and a broken bath is a good plumber. When paying £450 - £500 per night these issues should never be found by your customers especially when raised 10 months earlier. It shows a disrespect to your customers that issues raised and reported are ignored.

I struggle when trying to decide which star rating to give this property because many things noted at the beginning of my review made me very happy and in the end, we decided not to go to management to complain because it would have been a waste of time and would have spoiled our holiday. Instead, as I had lowered my expectations before our arrival, I chalked it up to a hotel with an expensive “Faulty Towers” charm. You will have to decide for yourself if you are willing to pay a lot of money for that charm.