All that glitters…is not gold
Jan 27
Accommodation Five Stars, Grande Roche, Hotel, Paarl Rock, porter service, valet parking 3 Comments
Five star rated hotels conjure up images of being whisked away on a cloud of luxury, where your every need is attended to while you lounge on a cloud op almost-impossible comfort – if you’re prepared to pay for the privilege, of course.
The Grande Roche Hotel promises just that and more: Nestled at the foot of the magnificent Paarl Rock is a small, luxury hotel like no other. Its website describes “a place where history interacts with modern comforts…where the atmosphere of a bygone era brings a sense of gracious, unhurried living”.
The property is beautiful, restored to its Cape Dutch splendour in the early Nineties, with lush gardens enveloping you in a cocoon of tranquillity. The rooms are spacious, with comfortable furnishings – the bed made a comfortable resting place after a hard day tasting and analysing more than a 100 wines!
Sadly all the other elements that make you feel special; those little “cherry-on-top” add-ons that we all expect from a five star establishment, those are absent. No valet parking, no porter service for our luggage or even an offer thereof, no room induction – the service was friendly enough, just absent minded. Even the décor in the rooms seem tired, out dated and sometimes even mismatched; like the 60-year old plastic surgery victims dressed like 20-year olds, I often see prancing around on the Promenade. They have gold plated taps in the shower – straight out of an 80’s porn movie! We have stayed at older hotels before and love the air of elegance these properties with such a gracious history impart.
The food offering was perfectly adequate but then again, who looks for “adequate” at a 5 star hotel? Even when supplying your own wine, you do not expect to get served corked wine. Requiring more than 3 requests to set up a table for breakfast cannot be expected from any person before the first cup of coffee (or glass of wine). For the record: the poached eggs I ordered every morning were just perfect.
The Grande Roche is a beautiful and stately grand dame; sadly, her petticoat is hanging out just a tad and it’s yellow with age.
021 863 5100
Jan 28, 2013 @ 18:46:38
Our experience at some South African 5 Star hotels has been quite similar. It’s really sad. We recently stayed at the 5 Star Hilton in Cape Town. No welcome to hotel, no offer to help with bags, no tour of hotel, no complimentary water (or anything else). Basically you get given your room key and they send you on your way. Won’t go into details about all that was wrong with room.
The breakfast was an absolute disgrace. An inedible hard and rubbery omelette. We paid a 5 Star price for 3 star room with 2 star service. When we contacted the GM of the hotel he was full of excuses.
Then on the other hand, the very next night we stayed over at the 5 Star Taj in Cape Town. Perfect service, perfect room and very good food.
So I guess it’s the luck of the draw.
Jan 29, 2013 @ 09:54:12
Unfortunately, this is exactly the sort of feedback I hear from clients who stay in some of our so-called better hotels. There is an on-going debate in the Cape about the low quality of service found in hospitality establishments, across the board including restaurants, and it seems visitors are not guaranteed top quality unless they frequent only the handful of places that stand out from the rest. This is unacceptable given the prices asked and the ‘bragging’ that is done by establishments when advertising and promoting themselves.
Many industry players need to realise that beautiful scenery alone will not sustain the continued growth we expect from tourism in the Cape.
Mar 29, 2013 @ 13:22:24
Thats what the Mount Nelson is for: 150 years of attention to detail.
Franschhoek and Stellenbosch have many luxury boutique places to stay