Guest User
October 5, 2023
This is simply a warning: Late in 2022 I had booked five nights at this property through Tablet Hotels for a trip in the first few months of 2023. Upon arriving in Johannesburg, I found an issue with my eye; after visiting an ophthalmologist, and then retina specialist, it turned out that I had to return home for emergency surgery. The day I was supposed to fly to Cape Town check into the Cape Grace, I ended up flying home. As soon as I realized that I had to depart ASAP, I contacted Tablet Hotels to let them know that I had to leave S. Africa due to an emergency; I did NOT want to cancel, but simply re-book at a later date (I was already returning the next month). Repeat: I did NOT want a refund, I simply wanted to move the date. Tablet Hotels contacted the Cape Grace, who informed that they would not even consider re-booking me, and that they would be keeping my money and I would not have the room later. Which is nice for the hotel, as they would be able to resell the room a second time. Two lessons: 1) Book a room at the Cape Grace at your own risk. I was out several thousand USD*, and it was a bit surprising and a lot disappointing. 2) If you DO book the Cape Grace, do NOT prepay and...DO take out travel insurance. Because they don't care about reasonability, they only seem to care about taking as much money as possible in whatever way possible. This is typical of S. African banks, but I expected more of a hotel of this "caliber." You've been warned. A much more budget-conscious alternative would be the V&A Waterfront hotel - many rooms have simultaneous views of the harbour AND Table mountain, and you can even wave over to the Cape Grace! :) *Sure, if I could afford to book this property, I could afford to "lose" the money, but it was just surprising that it would be lost due to greed, as there was no way the hotel wouldn't have been able to resell my room, at a HUGE markup from what I had booked months in advance.