Protea Hotel Dorpshuis & Spa Stellenbosch

I would not pay for this accommodation. Toilet seat broken - unhygienic and should be replaced immediately No shampoo Electrical point - cover hanging loose - unsafe No shower - hand-held shower but no where to attach to the wall This is a disgrace to the Protea name

The hotel has an old traditional feel to it. We stayed in room 12 for one night. It was large, and the bed was comfortable with nice bed linen. I had a very good sleep there. The bathroom was massive, with a lovely walk-in rain shower, but unfortunately it flooded each time we had a shower. As we arrived late, we decided to have dinner at the hotel. In hindsight, I wish we had walked into the centre of Stellenbosch instead. There are some great restaurants there, and the area felt very safe.

The hotel rooms are spacious and comfortable. I like small hotels and this was it for me, and felt homely. Good spread of breakfast. Nice size pool. Can you possibly consider making it a heated pool. It was summer, but it was still very cold, The good thing is that it’s partially covered by trees and this is great in summer, but doesn’t get enough sun to warm it up a bit. Food at the restaurant is fine, not much variety, but agin it could be inspired by the size of the hotel. Service could be better, on arrival they watched us from reception with suitcase, we had to ask for assistance, before they could move. It wasn’t a good first impression. Besides that, the experience was generally good.

Decent hotel, not your normal corporate type. Room was spacious and on the ground floor, clean and comfortable. Not a huge amount of choice with the food in the evening when compared to other hotels we had stayed in our our tour. Staff friendly. Nice little bar area for a drink pre evening meal.

Hotel booked as part of a trip of a lifetime through ROL. Hotel was nowhere near up to expectations given the cost of the holiday and implications that the trip was a top notch trip. I expected a standard such as Four Seasons but this was not at that level. The staff were very nice, helpful and lovely and the hotel is perfectly satisfactory and clean but not the standard for what we were led to believe to expect for our trip by ROL.

I would like to start by saying that I am a Platinum level Bonvoy member, and have visited six different Protea hotels, on our last two trips to Africa - four in SA. While the Protea chain is not at the top level of the Bonvoy chain, prior to this visit, we have enjoyed our visits to all of the properties. The property in Stellenbosch has both positive and negative aspects. The positives are they have very friendly staff, the property is well taken care of, the beds are comfortable and the pool area is a nice spot to relax. On the negative side, this hotel does not treat their tier members with the same level of recognition as other Protea properties that we have visited or that of any other Bonvoy properties that we have visited around the globe. That is the reason for this review. I think this must be an oversight from the management at this hotel. All of the Protea hotels prior to our visit to this location met or exceeded our expectations. This one did not! We asked about breakfast upon arrival, and we were advised that nothing was offered as we had booked the room on points. After check in, I logged into Bonvoy and opened the Bonvoy website to confirm what should have been offered. I approached the desk to query this and was then advised that that is not what I asked when checking in. I then pointed out that this is what is to be offered, and if it is not, then the member is to be compensated. I did not want the compensation, just the breakfast. I was then handed a card giving us a continental breakfast for the duration of our stay. I then pointed out that the website says breakfast, not a continental breakfast. They were firm on their offering, and that was what we had every morning. No bottled water in the room - another first in Africa, and a guaranteed late check out of 4 pm was met with rejection, due to the fact that the hotel was fully booked the evening of our departure. I again showed the staff the benefits of platinum and they then allowed us to stay until 2 pm. It is unfortunate to see this in a Bonvoy property, but in our experience, it is unique. I would not recommend this property, until management addresses these issues, and I hope that they do. I would wait for further reviews.

What a nice change from soul-less modern hotels - I had a split-level room with a wood panelled ceiling.....downstairs a kitchen area/lounge with bathroom/shower cabinet at one side, bedroom areas accessed via flight of wooden stairs, really nice and has some character. The room was accessed via a tree/shrub/plant lined outside walkway near the pool which felt quite tropical. All staff were lovely - friendly and happy to help with anything. The centre of Stellenbosch was a few minutes walk away where there are several bustling bars and restaurants - it felt perfectly safe to walk there even at night. I will definitely stay in this hotel on my next visit to Stellenbosch.

The rooms are old, tired, badly designed and out of date. There were fishmoths in the bed. The spa services and sauna were out of service and the pool was not heated as advertised. There was no service by the pool and the hotel has no contingency to cope with the regular planned power outages that have been a part of love in South Africa for 14 years now. We couldn't even have toast with breakfast. You can find far better accommodation in Stellenbosch for much much cheaper.

What a great stay we had at this hotel. Every member of staff was so polite, friendly and helpful. The rooms are so comfortable, with everything you need. Breakfast is fresh and tasty. Being there in chilly September, we had lovely fires lit in the main lounge. Wonderful in every way.