Reviews from guests who stayed at this hotel, shared by our hotel supplier. Score based on the latest 10 reviews.
Elcois
South Africa · Family · January 2026
“Great location an view”
+Loved the location and house. It is old, but that makes it charming.
−The bedding and carpets need serious replacement. I think it is a health concern since the pillows are moulded. We arranged cleaning for 2 days and received no days. I had to ask for our deposit back afterwards and is still waiting for the cleaning to be refunded. If the power is off there is no water. This was the situation for almost two days. When we contacted the property agent to ask for help, they switched the water over to municipality water. I cannot understand why they would not do it from the start during a power outage knowing the guests in that house is without water.
Patrick
United Kingdom · Group of friends · May 2025
“Exceptional”
Adeline
United Kingdom · Group of friends · April 2024
“Superb”
Roshean
South Africa · Family · July 2023
“Absolutely loved our stay”
+Location and historic charm
−Items such as gas or inverters need to be installed to combat Load shedding Let customers know that water is not suitable to drink
Dirk
South Africa · Family · June 2023
“Bad”
+Only the view and location.
−Everything except the view. We understand the house is an old historic building. But it needs some serious major upgrades. But for the going rate per night you can't only pay for the view. There is so much potential in it and it could be a pristine gem after its renovated completely. Fortunately for us the hosts were able to move us to an apartment that were more to our liking and preference. For that I can thank you a lot.
Penny
South Africa · Family · June 2023
“This is our third family visit to Whaleback but we will hesitate to return.”
+We love the position on the sea edge and the history and charm of the cottage. We loved looking out over ski boat beach from the deck and enjoyed braaiing. We found the kitchen well provisioned but do leave more than one cleaning pill per day for the dishwasher. We have stayed here before and had memorable family times and we recaptured memories.
−We were disappointed there was no active alarm system - clearly it was available in the past. We believe given the iconic nature of the cottage there should be a greater focus on bathrooms for 13 beds. There is only one shower and it is poorly tiled including missing floor tiles - with minimum cost this could be upgraded. With powercuts there is no facility for hot water - the heat pump should have a bypass method for hot water. The worst problem by far is the smell of sewerage coming down the cracked pipe in the hallway next to the kitchen. It was offensive and we worried about seepage. There were only 4 of us in the house and would be concerned if the full complement of people stayed using the toilets. Also there is a major leek in the roof of the kitchen when it rains. On the verandah deck we would have loved more comfortable chairs. We feel more attention to maintenance is necessary for the price we pay.
Isla
United Kingdom · Family · April 2023
“Relaxing holiday by the sea.”
+The position was spectacular! The house was old but full of character. The staff were friendly and helpful.
−We found the wiring of the house very old and could do with renewing. The water was a problem, it tasted terrible even after boiling it. Our mattress was a bit old and bumpy. There were a few small issues that I wrote about on the review sheet. I hope these are helpful.
Peter
South Africa · Group of friends · January 2023
“Disappointing.”
+Beautiful location. Lovely old house, poorly maintained.
−No gas hob for boiling water during heavy load shedding (up to 10 hrs a day). Gas geysers do not work during load shedding, so no hot water for much of the day. The place leaked badly during rain. Very obvious poor maintenance. Only one emergency bulb and some candles for load shedding. Very disappointing for R4k per day.
Sioux
United Kingdom · Family · December 2022
“Amazing seaside holiday!”
+Amazing quaint home with a lot of charm but the old gal needs some TLC. Overall very comfortable and clean, views are awesome, housekeeping excellent! Doreen from housekeeping is amazing, a lovely lady. Pool was well maintained. Grounds are also great! Overall a fab 10 days, sadly though the last 3 days were marred by us all being quite ill due to tainted tap water.
−*Attempted break in on the weekend, in the downstairs front bedroom. The window latch screws were pulled put of the wood and the window forced open. Our dogs barking alerted us to the fact that there was someone on the premises. My son inlaw fixed the window as best he could. *Rain water leaking on along wall near bottom of staircase *Gutters on verandah blocked, leaking and dripping onto seating area. We cleaned the gutters, which stopped some of the dripping *General lack of upkeep/maintenance (rotting wood on doors, rusting hinges on gates, lack of plug points downstairs resulting in extensions and adaptors being used which is a fire hazard, no main light switch for bedroom on patio), house needs electrical upgrade *No warning of possible water contamination in borehole during rains, we all landed up with severe diarrhoea and vomiting. We were told the tap water was safe to drink.