I shall start with the positives. The house feels like a family home and can comfortably accommodate a large group. Lots of space for the children and well furnished. The location allows easy access to places of interest throughout Cape Town.
The views from the house are amazing. The outdoor area is brilliant with plenty of comfortable furniture. Greeting the mountain each morning was always a delight.
The negatives. On the first day I noticed cockroaches. Vicky was notified who explained that it had recently rained after the drought and that cockroaches may have 'come up from the drains'. Their numbers increased by the day until I demanded intervention. Vicky provided a pest controller who fumigated the property. It took two visits from the pest control officer to make an impact on the cockroach population. Some evenings we killed (in the recommended manner) up to 30 cockroaches. This went on for the first 11 days of our 16 day trip.
Vicky was kept informed of the issue and on one visit suggested that we could have brought the cockroaches with us!! This was a shocking and insulting suggestion. Our home in London does not have such infestation - we did not export them to Cape Town.
The swimming pool could not be used for the first 10 days. This due to it being dirty. There were leaves rotting at the bottom. The pool would be better described as a pond. However, Vicky and her husband had the pool cleaned after I complained and my local friends advised that the pool was unsafe to use.
Vicky did provide us with a lovely cleaner who attended every other day. Such service attracted a separate fee which was waived, I think, due to the infestation.
In summary, the house does feel like home, is in a great location and feels safe. There is entertainment for the children and a pool if it is operational. Had it not been for the infestation, our stay would have been a delight.