We spent 8 nights over Christmas at this lovely house high up on a mountain in Muizenberg. It does enjoy spectacular views and is extremely spacious with some great indoor and outdoor spaces.
WHAT I WISH I HAD KNOWN:
1. Muizenberg is a surfing town about 30 minutes outside of Cape Town. It is known for surfing and Great White Sharks. If you are not into either of these, it may not be the best place to stay. We were a $25 and 30 minute Uber ride to just about every major attraction in Cape Town, including Table Mountatin Cable Car, Kirstenbosch Gardens, V&A Waterfront, downtown, etc. That got to be quite a drag.
2. The place is truly “self-catering”, as in there are practically no amenities provided. We had to buy our own soap, shampoo, laundry detergent, coffee, sugar - basic things you would expect for a short-term stay. I even had to ask to have trash liners provided.
3. Because the house is situated high up on a mountain, to get to town you have to either walk up/down dozens of steep stairs (a good workout but difficult with kids) or else take a long drive around the mountain. This made coming back with groceries difficult. If driving, the long driveway is extremely steep, several of our drivers couldn’t make it up so we had to walk up.
4. There is no jacuzzi/spa as was originally advertised. This is due to water restrictions but we had friends who were able to truck in water for their pool so it is in fact possible to get around them. Since this was one of the main draws of the place for us, we were very disappointed at not being able to enjoy it.
5. Check out is quite early. We were told 10am which is difficult enough with small kids but then were quite surprised to see the cleaners show up before 9am! They waited in the garage while we finished packing but it put undue stress on us to leave and was not the warmest parting for us after a lengthy stay.
In short, while the space is lovely, on balance I would not choose to stay there again. I did not find it was a particularly good value for the money and would go elsewhere for my next Cape Town stay.