Originally Posted by trojanman

Sorry...I never got around to posting even after management responded.

The first negative surfaced as we pulled up to the Porte Cochere. Even though we were in the hotel's car and identified by security at the gate, there was no one from the reception staff waiting to greet us. No big deal I guess. So we walk into the lobby and it's not particularly logical, as the focus is the massive bar. We had no idea where the front desk was, nor was anyone around to point us in the right direction. Starting to get a bad feeling...

Turns out the front desk is right inside the door, but you have to make a sharp right and dogleg into a little alcove. Somewhat hidden and completely unmarked. Did I mention there was mind-numbing electronica music playing in the background at such a loud volume it felt like a night club? Apparently they were have a "Battle of the DJs" competition. In the main bar. Next to the lobby. With no doors. At full nightclub volume. In a supposed 5-star hotel. Seriously? That should have been our clue to turn around and go straight to Cape Grace.

The front desk was staffed by only one person, and she was on the phone for at least 2-3 minutes while we just stood there waiting. We finally begin the check-in process and halfway through she realizes we hadn't been greeted appropriately. She pulls out a wet washcloth from the little box behind her desk and welcomes us. I ask for an upgrade and I'm politely told I was already upgraded 1 category through Virtuoso. Except we weren't.

We were shown our Island Junior Suite, which was a healthy walk from the front desk. Actually, it was a journey. The suite itself was certainly nice and upscale, but it was somewhat uninspiring. I really can't put my finger on it, as it had most of the features one would want in a junior suite: small bar, decent closet space, big bathroom with separate shower & soaking tub, and a small balcony. Still, it felt inadequate. Anyway, we slept the first night and it turns out the heater didn't work. Since it was winter, the interior of the room easily got down into the 60's F in the dead of the night. It was uncomfortably cold.

I brought the issue up to the front desk via phone and instead of being apologetic and asking if they could accommodate us somehow, they just said they would send someone to look at it while we were out for the day. A combination of the far walk to the island and the malfunctioning HVAC prompted me to ask for a room change to the main tower.

We were shown a downgrade to a Marina King room (for the same price). Nice, but not good enough for $600+ per night. I kindly requested an upgrade to a 1BR suite and the guy actually had the nerve to say "but you only paid for a junior suite". No sh*t, sherlock...that's why it's called an upgrade, and that's what 5 star hotels running at 30% occupancy give to guests who have had malfunctioning equipment in their rooms. Obviously I didn't say that to him, but I was certainly thinking it. I also brought up that we booked via virtuoso and did not get upgraded at check-in. After I insisted that he ask the manager, he finally agreed and gave us the upgrade. I have NEVER had to fight for an upgrade like this before, and least of all during 30% occupancy!

The 1BR suite was very spacious...typical layout of 2 regular rooms with a connecting door in the middle. Nice walk-in closet, but actually had a much smaller bathroom than the jr suite. There was a lot of wasted space in the bedroom area, and I feel that space should have been used to provide a larger bathroom.

Breakfast at Maze (gordon ramsey) was a complete joke. The food was average continental buffet fare, but the service was entirely nonexistent. They had 8 servers and 2 managers working an average of 6-8 total occupied tables. Should be a great service ratio, but it wasn't. Coffee wasn't brought to the table until at least halfway through the meal each day, silverware wasn't replaced, and when we requested a to-go cup for the coffee we were simply told "i couldn't find any". 5-star? Hardly!

Dinner at Nobu was much better as far as the food is concerned, but the service was equally crappy. Still, I would strongly recommend ditching the hotel restaurants in favor of Capetown's many excellent restaurants.

The gym was spectacular - probably the most comprehensive gym I've ever seen at a hotel, with staff who actually wanted to help. This was the first venue in the hotel where the staff were truly 5-star.

The spa was pretty to look at, but already in disrepair. The door to the men's locker room was stuck in the half-open position. The sauna didn't work. The steam room didn't get nearly steamy enough, and the "hydrotherapy" pool was lame. We didn't get any treatments even though it was part of our rate package. Trust me, we tried, but they claimed not have availability. Don't know how that happens when you're at 30% occupancy.

Concierge service ran the gamut from horrible to slightly above average. It is clear they have been trained to recommend one of the hotel restaurants first. And when you tell them you want to leave the hotel to eat, they recommend the other hotel restaurant. Seriously? Are you stupid? I said I want to LEAVE the hotel!

The following comments are from a white supervisory staff member who we complained to. As such, these are HIS comments and opinions, not mine: He felt that the "blacks and coloreds",as he put it, are not good employees because their employment is protected by the government (mandatory affirmative action for private businesses). Since it's difficult to fire them, they think they can get away with anything. He felt upper management was too used to working in Europe where people are naturally more motivated and service oriented, and that the managers have no control over "these people".

Yes folks, a supervisor at a 5-star hotel actually made bigoted and racist remarks about his coworkers to a guest in the front of the house. True or not, the comments were entirely uncalled for and beyond inappropriate.

I wrote to management, who replied to me several days later. They apologized, said they would look into it, and offered me 1 free night back in Capetown. A nice gesture, but I can't exactly take off from LAX for a quick weekend in CPT. Would have preferred a credit back to my card or a free night at any O&O property.

Despite the slight grumblings I have heard on Tripadvisor regarding Cape Grace, I have to believe that would be a far superior property to O&O at this point.

YMMV