Dock House Boutique Hotel and Spa by NEWMARK

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.

Food quality was good, staff very friendly

Service rather slow and fruit not very plentiful

Great location, all the staff were extremely helpful.

Nothing

Super special welcome, amazing location, beautiful room and great cleaning and luggage services.

I would expect more support to book some nice restaurants, we were recommended & booked for a very touristic average restaurant at the waterfront.

AMAZING! Don’t hesitate to book. Would stay here again 100%

Had character

A but noisy outside by the pool at the weekend

Everything, it’s superb

Nothing at all

Bags of character and comfort. Stunning gardens. Excellent staff and service. Amazing breakfast.

Nothing.

The Dock House is possibly one of the nicest hotels in which we have stayed. The accommodation is palatial. We stayed in Superior Luxury Rooms (3). All had their own personality but equally splendid. The upstairs suites have amazing balconies with panoramic views of the waterfront. It is located across the road from the busy Waterfront Area of Capetown so is handy for restaurants and sightseeing, boat trips etc. The food was excellent we ate at the pool, and in the dining room of the sister hotel the Queen Victoria which is a more modern building but equally beautiful. Staff were friendly and helpful. We would highly recommend it for family trips or couples alike.

There is a certain amount of noise from live music and bands across the road but that didn’t bother us at all. Our only problem while there was the air conditioning in one room did not work and although they repeatedly tried to fix it, it never worked properly. Saying that they offered us an alternative room in the sister hotel which we declined. They also made up for it by giving us one of our rooms for a late check out at 3 pm on departure day which for a family of 5 adults was a god send.