My partner and I stayed in Harbour Views for ten days, with my mother joining us for part of that time. Kalk Bay is a fabulous seaside community, with a working fishing harbor, interesting shops, and a real buzz about the place.

Harbour Views is perfect if you like to be in the thick of it. It has a fabulous view of the harbour and the sweep of False Bay and it is on Main Road, which is the main route along the peninsula. There is a steady flow of traffic, including heavy vehicles, and it tends to get very busy at rush hour. With the windows shut the traffic is much quieter, but still audible, and so this is not the flat if you’re looking for quiet. It’s worth mentioning that there's a long-term program of roadworks between Muizenberg and Fishhoek which can lead to very long delays and so it would be a good idea to check their status if you plan to bring a car.

Unfortunately our visit was marred by the fridge breaking down within two days of our arrival and we were then without it for the rest of our stay. Apparently the fridge had broken down previously. We immediately reported the problem to Michael, who attempted, unsuccessfully, to fix it. Michael advised us to contact his PA in case of further problems during the weekend, but it turned out that she didn’t work over the weekend. Five days after the breakdown, a technician came and advised that we should switch the fridge off for two days, which took us nearly to the end of our holiday.

Liane, who manages the flat, stepped in to help, and lent us her own small camping fridge-box so we could at least keep milk and cheese cool, but we couldn't shop for fresh food and eat in the flat as we had planned to do.

We hoped that Michael would volunteer some level of refund due to the inconvenience, but failing this we put in a request. He invited us to suggest an amount, and we proposed 25%. Michael cited this as unreasonable, in view of the fact that he had tried to fix the fridge, had spent a lot of money on technicians, that we could have planned and shopped differently, and there is a plethora of good places to eat nearby. For us, this was missing the point of a self-catering flat, and Michael’s failure to acknowledge this left a bitter taste, but we wanted to move on from the issue, and so we agreed to a lower amount which was at least some gesture of recompense.

Liane, the manager, was friendly and helpful at all times, but unfortunately she wasn't given authority to make decisions without consulting Michael’s PA and/or Michael himself. One point of contact would be much more satisfactory for holidaymakers who naturally would prefer not to be in lengthy negotiations if things go wrong.