Nova Boutique Hotel, spa — Hotel in Eastern Cape

We recently spent 1 night at the Nova Boutique Hotel in the family suite; an airport stopover before being collected the following day for transfer to our Eastern Cape game reserve.||The positives..|-Close proximity to the airport. |-Nice modern building with a lovely reception and bar area.|-Friendly helpful manager (Justice).|-Lovely breakfast room serving a really good breakfast with lots of cooked options and fabulous coffee. |-Extremely comfortable beds and nice bedding. |-A short taxi ride away from numerous dining options. ||The negatives..|-We booked almost a year before our stay, provided flight details, and reconfirmed our collection from the airport several times leading up to our arrival. Despite this nobody met us at the airport, so we were left feeling panicked arriving in an unfamiliar city. This was our 1st stop in SA. An airport representative helped and was eventually able to reach the hotel after several attempts, and the owners did eventually come to collect us. They were a friendly couple, but it seemed odd, and slightly rude, that they didn't once apologise for having forgotten us.|-The 2 bed family suite was a separate area at the back of the main building, and although large, it was very run down and dirty. It was definitely not worth the price paid (approx £200 for the night!)|-2 bedside lamps, but just for show.. there were no plug sockets for them! |-No plug sockets or lights by the dressing table. I ended up plugging my hair straighteners in the kitchen with no mirror to use.|-Very dirty under the edge of the rugs, and dirty, mouldy bathrooms. The curtains were also filthy with what appeared to be muddy hand prints! If we hadn't have been in an unfamiliar city , we'd have left without spending the night.||We did look upstairs in the main building at the gym on the morning of our departure, and a number of bedroom doors were open. Whilst we didn't venture inside they did look nice and in complete contrast to the room we'd been allocated. Whilst I definitely couldn't recommend the family suite, the main rooms at least did look ok from the small glimpse we had, and can only assume they were based on the other...

Short version: Book with nøva when you visit Port Elisabeth. You won't find more welcoming and modern accommodation.

More details: Staff and management are extremely friendly and helpful. They even helped us with a recommendation for a very good restaurant in the area and took care of reservations and transportation. We were picked up on time at the airport with a nice and spacious German car that fit our large luggage. The hotel is only 2 minutes down the street. It has a very modern and appealing space and moon landing theme and is decorated with great attention to detail. The rooms are spacious and clean. There is plenty of room to unpack and a comfortable bed to rest in. The bathroom is very large and has everything you need. A big shower, a bathtub, more than enough towels and good cleaning products too. We slept like a baby and were shuttled to the airport very early in the morning. Even that early we were offered breakfast, but we declined gratefully and enjoyed a wonderful cup of cappuccino instead. Although it was a very short stay in nøva, we can definitely recommend this place and would like to thank Gale, her husband and the wonderful staff for a very...

Honestly this hotel exceeded my expectations! It is a brand new hotel with a beautiful theme, relating each room to a constellations. The decoration is gorgeous and the facilities are well maintained. Rooms were quite spacious and extremely comfy (bathtubs, coffee machine, hairdryer, even Netflix is available for guests to use). Staff were amazing, Justice even went as far as booking as a dinner at a restaurant during our first night, this guy was always there to help us, even through WhatsApp. The other lady was also extremely kind (she even offered me a longer towel while I was sunbathing so I wouldn't burn my feet). The owners are extremely kind as well and super approachable. During our check out we had to leave our luggage with them and they kindly allowed us to keep a room and to check out later since that room was available anyway (they did not charge extra for that). Overall, this is one the best hotels I have stayed at in terms of kindness, service and excellence. I wish them...