Charming beachfront Strand apartment

The apartment building is located on a good spot near surfer beach.

The building is old and of poor construction (1) the structure and poor insulation means there is a eerie loud howling noise inside the flat that you can hardly hear your companions, (2) the bedroom window frame has expanded such like that the bedroom window cannot close. It is unimaginable in crime ridden South Africa to sleep with an open window. One of the beds is next to the window, the window flaps during the blustery wind for which the Strand is known for, (3) the front windows are of poor quality and permanently smudged, so you can’t enjoy the view, (4) there is no function TV channel, you have to use your own subscriber to access any channel, (5) some of the cutlery were dirty in the drawers, (6) we noted the electricity supply to be prepaid, so not sure what will happen if you run out of electricity.

The view

The space for the toilet

The view and the cleanliness I liked.

The shower I did not like.

Excellent location

Geyser was off when we arrived so had cold showers the first night.

The place was neat and tidy, great view as well, amazingly located in a safe area near the beach

No housekeeping, you have to clean up yourself, we didn’t mind but it’s always nice to have housekeeping especially when you’re on vacation and have so many different activities that require you to leave the vacation house early, would have also been nice to find the house cleaned and wet towels and wet carpets changed after a long day of exploring cape town, I’ve stayed in cheaper guesthouses for longer periods that offer housekeeping, you’re also not met by any staff when you arrive, I had to wait at the gate for a while before I got in, Giovanni should also try to always be ready to answer calls especially when guests are coming, you do however get a WhatsApp message with instructions on how to find your room, but it takes time to figure out, I had just driven 10 hours, I was tired, it would have been nice to be greeted by smiling faces, explaining everything to me, possibly even helping me carry luggage, you also have to figure out where to park, the parking is an open parking, it would have been nice to have a covered parking.

The location is really great - walk across the street and you're at the beach, or to travel from here to other places (e.g. Stellenbosch, Somerset West, Gordan's Bay) was easy. Do note that it can be quite a bit of traveling into Cape Town (easily an hour's drive). Parking was easy and worked well. The sea-view was great. Keys were very easy to obtain and leave behind at exit. The flat has everything you need - good size fridge, washing machine, oven/stove, plenty of cupboards, 1 double-bed and 2x single beds, towels, hairdryer. It was nice and clean. The block of flats were fairly quiet - we seldom were aware of other tenants. The Wifi was provided and it worked well, so did the TV (very easy to get all your favorite streaming apps going). The host is very responsive and sorted out issues quick and easily.

It has a single bathroom, which we knew going in, but might bite (especially if we had our other kids with us too). When we arrived we missed a couple of towels and some crockery, but the host sorted these out for us within a couple of hours. The beds aren't very comfy, but that might also be my older body :)