Mixed Review
My partner and I, both professionals, decided to take a bit of a break in Cape Town. We have used plenty other booking sites previously - travelling both locally and internationally. It was our first time using AirBnB. Quite excited, we found Diana & Mike's Place in Muizenberg. Read the description with the wonderful list of amenities. Spoke to Mike after our booking and everything seemed all in order. Upon our arrival in Cape Town we got the keys from Linda. We were shown the front door of the room and told Mike would be back later to meet us.
The room appears to be an old garage that has been converted into an office and an AirBnB room. The room itself was lovely however had quite a few issues. The head of the bed is right by the road so it does get quite noisy whilst trying to sleep. There is an inter-leading door between the room and office which isn't locked so privacy is somewhat debatable. The was a fairly strong and pungent smell of sewerage at the entrance to the room which eventually became quite unpleasant - Not quite sure where this smell came from. Thankfully we couldn't smell it in the room. Although advertised, the room can sleep three, there is a dingy mattress folded in half under the main bed. I wouldn't put my family on it. Other than these issues, the room itself is great!
With regard to what is advertised on the AirBnB listing, Netflix, basic breakfasts, bicycles, etc. Don't get your hopes up, we never saw any of these things. There was an old half block of butter in the fridge and that's about it.
We were suitably disappointed by the host. We were told we would meet Mike on a few occasions, however this never happened until the day of checkout when Mike wanted the keys. Admittedly we were out and about fairly regularly, there was most certainly ample opportunity for the hosts to introduce themselves especially considering they were in the office behind the unlocked door.
Lastly I'm not quite sure how the AirBnB booking/payment system is calculated. As advertised the room is R356.00 per night, my account was debited for R825.25 per night.
On the plus side, the cottage is centrally located in Muizenberg and pretty easy to get around from there. Nearby to the Blue Bird Market which is definitely recommended.
Overall the room is physically decent and liveable however don't book it with the expectations of the advert being fulfilled.