Magellan's Passage

For us, our stay was a complete miss.... when we arrived around 2 PM for checking in, the front door was locked and a note on the door mentioned that the owner was out for max 30 minutes. Unfortunately he did not show up at all that day... a guy showed up and let us in and gave us our room keys, but had no clue about further details and neither about customer service. I tried to get in touch with the owner since I knew he had made a restaurant reservation for us on that day - unfortunately, I tried via telephone (he left his mobile phone number on the door), via mail, via text but no reply from him.... we ended up calling several restaurants ourselves (choices are limited on 26 December) and finally found a restaurant open and with a tabel available. The next morning, during breakfast, I saw a person who I assumed was the owner and that proved to be true later on... Unfortunately, all he did was trying to avoid us and not talking to us - we did not get a welcome, neither an apology. On the contrary, he avoided all possible contact... As a result, we truly felt uncomfortable throughout our stay. What a disappointment !

The place is beautiful, the location is really good (you're a stone throw away from Boulders Beach and Seaforth Beach and 2 minutes from Simon's Town), the breakfast was delicious and the service couldn't be more professional. Excellent room, with an incredible view of the bay. Everything was perfect! As a suggestion: It would be really good to have the option to have dinner in the Inn...!

Well, I believe that we were the couple that WizardBristol refers to in his review. While I share some of WizardBristol's observations, I beg to differ, in the most polite way possible, on other points. Just to say that we, too, booked our accommodation months ago and all four nights we booked were showing as available on the guest house's website at the time. Ultimately, if the guest house really double-booked the room, it does of course not matter who booked first. I agree this should not happen. It may console BristolWizard to hear that we would actually choose one of the sea-facing suites with decks on the lower level over the loft suite next time. This is not because there was anything wrong with the loft suite, but because you were really exposed to the (fairly strong during our stay) winds on the upper outside deck. The decks on the lower level offer similarly stunning views, but were much more sheltered. It is true that the property is for sale at present. The reason for this, however, appears to be that the mother company - which has completely different business interests - is in a tight financial position and needs to raise cash. It is nothing to do with Magellan's Passage itself. I certainly hope that they can find a buyer who acquires the guest house as a going concern. The friendliness we encountered from all staff and the level of service we received reflect very positively indeed on the property, especially given what must be a difficult time for everybody there. We, too, raised the issue of the fridge in our room not being as cold as it could be and this was rectified very quickly. Equally, a blown fuse disabling the aircon was fixed immediately. The bowl in bathroom (which we had as well) would have been there to allow you to wash or to save the first (cold) shower water. Given the current water supply situation, this is not the first time we have seen this in the Cape. Magellan's passage is a very good option in Simon's Town. While the smallest (normal) signs of wear are in evidence, a high standard is maintained throughout. The décor is generally tasteful and I liked the nautical theme. WiFi was fast and reliable. If I really wanted to criticise anything, I would question the choice of floor coverings in the rooms. While having a certain rustic charm, those cocos (?) mats also vaguely reminded me of recycled potato sacks. This certainly would not stop me, however, from staying here again. The rooms (and I saw more than one) are spacious and clean, our bed was comfortable, and the sea views are simply stunning. Access to the whole area is controlled by manned security overnight, so it felt safe without razor wire and electric fencing. It was perfectly quiet at night. Breakfast was prepared to order every morning and was very good. Cereals and fresh fruit salad was available in addition to various cooked options. Darwin could not have been more helpful, friendly, and professional. The same goes for his crew. I keep my fingers crossed for you guys that the owner finds a good solution. You deserve it. And, of course, I would like to have the option to return!

My wife and I had really been looking forward to staying here overnight on our way back to Cape Town airport. What a huge disappointment. Darwin checked us in and gave us a tour of the guest house before showing us to our room. We had booked and prepaid for the loft suite with sea and mountain views several months before, and had received confirmation of this; however, this was not the “suite” we were shown into. When asked about this Darwin said that the loft suite had sustained a water leak which had to be fixed, and so he had allocated us another room. At the time we accepted this but shortly afterwards the next people to arrive were given the loft room, and when confronted Darwin admitted that he had lied to us as the water leak had only been minor. He said that the lady who had previously stayed in the loft suite had been ill and he had been reluctant to put us in there; however, he was unable to explain why, therefore, he had subsequently put someone else in that suite. On closer inspection we identified several issues with the room Darwin had given us : * Fridge not working properly * Large wet patch on the carpet between bedroom and bathroom that was partially hidden by a small mat, and washing up bowl in the bathroom, leading us to think that maybe the water leak had been in this room * Safe in the wardrobe not affixed to the wall, making it possible for someone to remove the safe from the room complete with its contents - hardly a secure place to store valuables. * Holes in the bed sheet * Holes in the carpet near the sliding door On deciding to have a drink on the communal terrace we found that the bar did not stock many of the wines and drinks listed on the honesty bar sheet. Then, while having a glass of wine on the terrace we noticed that what appeared to be prospective buyers were being shown around. When asked directly if the guest house was up for sale Darwin admitted that it was. Given all the issues Darwin agreed to comp our nights stay, and on checkout put a refund through the credit card machine, giving us a receipt for the refund; however, a week down the line the refund is still not showing on our credit card statement, and an email to Darwin has gone unanswered.

We stayed here one night because we wanted to see the pinguens. The guest house stands high up the hillside and the seaview from there is amazing. As well as from our sea facing guest room. The pinguen area is quite close to the guest house. Would defenitely recommend Magellans Passage!