Monkey Valley Resort — Hotel in Noordhoek

Subject: Serious complaint - the Monkey Valley restaurant

I am writing this to warn all patrons and guests of the beautiful Monkey Valley Resort in Noordhoek.

Please note that I take no pleasure in discrediting any business, however I feel I have no choice but to warn the public.

The facts are as follows : Monkey Valley restaurant was hosting a live band on Sunday 30/11/22 from 4pm to 6pm. The parents of the band members made a considerable effort to market the event, the result being a whopping turnout of over 50 people.   Customers who would not otherwise have spent their money at Monkey Valley restaurant.

Here is what happened: We had reserved a table of 25 people, all close friends. The first concerning event was the male waiter who immediately  informed us, “we do not do separate tabs.” To which my friend replied “that’s going to be difficult with a table of 25!”  The waiter responded by stating that this was Monkey Valley’s policy. This was extremely odd as many of us had no problem issuing and paying with a separate tab and it is not their policy.

After the event, approximately ten people from that close group stayed for dinner.  The bill arrived and you can imagine the horror when we were informed that we were short over R900. (Despite the fact that everyone who left earlier had settled their bills.). We each recontacted each individual who had been seated in our are and confirmed that everyone had paid their personal bills.

There is no doubt in my mind that a staff member loaded the bill.  For example, there were 2 of us drinking savanna.  I had 2 which were ordered and paid for at the bar.  One other person in our group also had 2 savannas and paid separately before leaving the venue. However there were numerous savanna’s on our final bill despite the fact that no one else in our party had been drinking them.

Copious orders of chips were supposedly ordered and not paid for - apparently.  Way more than there were people eating at our table.

I am personally devastated for many reasons-

We were deliberately misinformed about small group tabs (what other reason than to load the bill?) Between two families we managed to increase the venue’s customer numbers by over 50 people, boosting their financial intake on that day enormously and to be taken such advantage of is utterly disgraceful. We are a very close knit group of friends who go out together often and we have NEVER had anything like this happen before. I had to fork out R450.  Considering I had only ordered, consumed & already paid for 2 Drinks. I deliberately did not eat at the venue, being on a strict budget.

To date, I have received no correspondence from the Monkey Valley management, except for the events manager who has nothing to do with the restaurant. She was quite rightly appalled and forwarded my email to the manager/owner’s daughter Tracy Sole. Again I have received no apology or correspondence of any kind. My husband contacted Jason Sole, another Manager/owner (son of owner Judy Sole.) Jason absolutely refused to accept that it had anything to do with his restaurant. He too, has not made contact with me.

We have been patrons of the resort for over 29 years and even had our son’s wedding at the resort.

I am appalled at the owners and managers total disinterest and lack of basic good...

If this place was run even half decently, it would literally print money. With its rustic charm and amazing views, it has the potential to be one of the best places to stay in Cape Town. But unfortunately it falls despairingly short of the mark. Let me preface my review by mentioning that my family and I stayed at the resort for 9 nights, occupying 7 rooms, and 2 self catering chalets.||Rooms:|- The majority of the rooms don't have showers, only baths. The hand shower in our bath didn't work properly.|- All of the rooms were dirty and dusty. Our room hadn't seen a good vacuum cleaner or feather duster in months. |- One of the self catering chalets had mice nesting behind the washing machine.|- The rooms on the top level have a thatch roof, with nests of geckos and mice that have MMA fights at 2am. ||Restaurant:|- Having dined at the restaurant at least 15 times over the course of our stay, I can't tell you without a doubt that the only redeeming quality of this establishment is the incredible view|- On quiet days, the service was good. But as soon as it got a busy, we constantly had to chase down our waiter, often placing orders with several different waiters.|- On the whole the food was also good, but they constantly got simple things wrong like bringing the incorrect side (chips, salad etc.) or the drinks. Granted these are small mistakes, but it happens far too often.|- Whatever you do, don't order cocktails from the bar. We are pretty sure the bartender just reads the menu to see what the ingredients are and then wings it. We saw many cocktails sent back.||Other Issues:|- The owner, Judy, has several dogs that run around the resort freely. When they see a squirrel or something, they go bananas, which is quite disconcerting for patrons at the restaurant. My cousin also stood in some of their excrement which had not been cleaned up. |- On Christmas morning, Judy was playing music from her portable speaker very loudly at 6am, right in front of some of the rooms. She also proceeded to reserve the best table on the deck for herself and her family. |- On Christmas day, my aunt tripped over a protruding rock by the restaurant entrance and broke her arm. Judy happened to walk by shortly after the incident, and asked if she was ok, and then just went back to her table at the restaurant.|- R2500 was stolen from one of the chalets. I am most certainly not saying it was the staff, but it is worth mentioning in this review. They did refund this amount however, which was great of them. ||To wrap things up, it’s clear that all the issues we faced stem from an owner who simply doesn’t care. This place could be exceptional, but it’s painfully obvious that Judy has let things slide in every possible way. The resort is falling apart. The gardens are overgrown, the buildings are in disrepair, and everything just feels neglected. The staff are left to fend for themselves, and while a few managers were nice enough, they just don’t have the leadership or eye for detail needed to run a successful operation. || It’s such a shame because this place has so much potential. I hope Judy reads this message and takes it as constructive criticism to make the...

I am still In shock and feel embarrassed by the way I was treated and the way things were handled this morning at your restaurant. 1st the glasses that u gave us with our cokes still had pieces of orange juice stuck on sides and a oil ontop of the glasses which I called the waiter aside and told her softly that it's ok that it happened and don't expect more coke but for other people maby ask the kitchen staff just to give future glasses a better clean as you will get people moaning at u when not your fault.I was there for my niece birthday but sat seperate from the party as was all kids. On my way there I stopped close to my house which is in kenilworth to draw money as had to give my niece money for her birthday. I drew R1000 and put R200 in a envelope for my niece. Our bill came to R525 infront of the waiter my daughter and her boyfriend I counted and put the R600 in the book. 15min later the waiter returned and asked me how much did I pay I said R600 but the R75 is yours he said I'm sorry but u only gave me R300 I said impossible I counted it and double checked my purse which only had R200 in. I told him that he must of dropped it somewhere and even asked my kids to maby go under the deck to check for him. He carried on and insisted that I only gave R300 I showed him my purse and showed him proof that I drew R1000 just before coming I also told him that if there was any chance at all that I felt I did not pay R600 I would give the money but iam 100% sure I did and so did my daughter and her boyfriend. I was still getting questioned infront of other people at the restaurant aswell which made me feel so small. I would never steal or pay short at any place I am a honest soft person. I asked to speak to the manager who came and cross questioned me again infront of people and told me that the restaurant is a honest place which in a way saying that I am not?? I gave my number and asked for a apology as soon as cash up is done or they find it. The manager then said will call you when they don't find it aswell. I am so hurt got put so in the eyes. I'm also not sure why the waiter would only come back to me 15min later saying I paid short. I even asked them to please check the cameras which was told there is none. I am behond hurt and disappointed this is the 1st time I have come there and got this experience. Even when I told my husband now he is shocked that I stood up for myself as I'm extremely soft and would of just paid again but the way the staff and manager made me feel...