Hippo Boutique Hotel

This was a WOW on so many levels. From the personalized greeting at reception to walking us to our room. Opening the door, we were blown away by the attention to detail, layout and decor. Every need was catered for. A huge bonus was being given R400 in vouchers to eat at the two local restaurants a two minute walk away. Thankyou !

Near kloof st. Has own parking which is a big plus. Spacious rooms. Nicely attired. No breakfast but spoilt for choice in the city.

The hotel has a central position, however breakfast is served by voucher at near by coffee shops or bistros. Guests are mostly self organized, however friendly staff helps where need is. Free reliable Wifi.

It was very hard to select a rating for this Hotel. I selected it because I am a smoker, and was looking for a room with a patio or balcony where i could go outside and smoke, as I had to stay in Cape Town for 4 nights. I was assured before i paid the deposit that my room would have a balcony, and I was even shown a photo of this balcony. Upon arrival, after a long and tiring journey, the room which was assigned to me did not have a balcony, and when i questioned it, I was told I am "upgraded". When I said that it certainly was not an "upgrade" for me, I was shown a much smaller room with a balcony (like the one in the photo), but the balcony was severely damaged and had "do not enter/dangerous" signs all over it! My rating for the hotel at that stage would have been ONE. I then complained, and was taken back to the first non-smoking room, and was told i can smoke in it, and the manager even brought me an ashtray! With the excellent service from the duty manager, and the coffee machine in this room, my rating of the Hotel shot up to FOUR. Imagine then my surprise when i came back on the last night of my stay, to find that a "smoking fine" had been added to my account, and that the ashtray had been removed!! The duty manager was EXTREMELY rude and dismissive, and she didn't do anything to resolve the issue.. With that, and the fact that I had developed severe backpain from the extremely lumpy mattress, my rating dropped back down to ONE. The only factor that resulted in the rating going back up to THREE, was the fact that the same duty manager from the first day, who was so accommodating when i checked in, Mujahid Arnold, was fortunately back on duty the next morning when i checked out. He had removed the smoking fine, and helped me with my luggage all the way across the street to my taxi. Thanks Mujahid, you are a gem! As for the rest, the management of this Hotel should realise that staying at it is not a "toy project" for us who stay there, and they should REALLY work on their communication with their guests, and between their duty managers! Do better!