Casa Labia — Restaurant in Western Cape

Disgusting Experience - (Still no response from management, they seem to comment exclusively on positive reviews).

They double-booked our room and didn't tell us, then they asked us to leave as soon as possible early the next morning (at 8:30 am, on my birthday).

(Keep in mind this venue charges thousands of rand for a night)

My girlfriend and I spent the night at Casa Labia on Friday the 25th of August 2023. This experience was to celebrate my birthday the next day (Saturday).

We checked in and really liked the estate, it's gorgeous. After having our bags taken to the room (the one upstairs that faces Muizenberg) we went out to have dinner in town and returned that evening.

At 8:10 a.m. the next day, someone tried to open our door, no knocking or anything. I called out about who it was - to no response. With the creaky wooden floorboards, I could then hear the person walk away. Uncomfortable.

Again at 8:20, the same thing happened. I called out again. No response. At this point I was still in bed, I wasn't exactly going to run to the door especially when there was no response to my asking who it was. This was unnerving though.

At 8:30 someone actually knocked - it was who I assumed to be the manager.

He told me the receptionist had made a mistake and double booked our room that day for a wedding (for the bride to get ready in) and he said it was "awkward to ask' but "could we please leave as soon as possible. At 8:30. On my birthday. After we've just spent a premium rate for a 'premium experience'.

I asked him if it was he who tried to open the door earlier, and he said it must have been the bride. Why was the bride directed to our room with nobody notifying her that it was occupied? They couldn't tell me.

I told the manager that this thoroughly spoiled the experience because checkout is at 11 am, and to have to rush to leave early, at 8:30 am is not what we paid for.

He did not offer an apology. He did not offer a discount on a future visit.

Let's get things straight, the venue is nice, but this place reeks of absent upper management and the staff have become complacent and incompetent.

How on earth can you double-book a room without notifying anyone and then direct other people to it when there are people staying in it? I'm glad I locked the door before bed or it would have been incredibly worse.

I can't understand how a place like this charges thousands to stay in yet they can't get the basics of bookings or even apologies correct.

Edit: I'd almost forgotten, but there were two robes hung up for us - one of them had a hole the size of a golf ball in the back. How does something like this get washed and neatly laid out for guests with a large hole in it?

I've never had an experience like this in my life - even the cheapest hotels and hostels I've stayed in have performed better.

I would actively discourage anyone wanting...

Very disappointing experience. My Mom booked almost 3 months in advance and paid the deposit as required for high tea. Two weeks before the event we were told they could no longer accommodate us due to a wedding booked on that day - this seems to be very common practice for their restaurant and accommodation - see the other reviews. When she mentioned this was not acceptable they then said they would accommodate us separate from the wedding setup and we could still come for our high tea. When we arrived on the day nothing was setup and we were told they couldn’t do anything and could not find our booking (they did eventually find it but said we had been notified that our booking was cancelled - which wasn’t entirely true - we were told we would be accommodated). After much insistence we were told they will seat us outside on the balcony and serve us for high tea - we waited over 40 minutes to be seated and over an hour for our tea and food. The tea was plentiful and lovely but service was mediocre at the start (toward the end we had a dedicated waiter who was friendly and attentive). The savouries were tasty and the sweets were ok but presentation of the sweets was below average. I’m hoping that this experience was because there was a scheduling mixup but it seems like these scheduling ‘mixups’ are quite a common thing. The stress it caused and the extra waiting and inconvenience of it all isn’t worth it. Besides the complementary glasses of champagne whilst we waited no other discount or extra was offered as an apology. In fact I don’t think a single apology was issued at all. We still had a great time (good company can save any disaster) but given the other reviews here I don’t think I would recommend it or...

I am quite surprised to see so many good revues for this venue - I can only think we were unlucky, or were treated as second class citizens because we used a Hyperli voucher. We bought a voucher for a "gourmet picnic" as a friend's birthday gift. As she was ill, we made use of the voucher, and I'm very pleased she didn't get to use it. We arrived on time for our booking, and we were asked to wait in the lounge as they were still setting up our picnic. I'm not sure what took so long, as all this involved was a blanket & a pillow (one pillow, two guests??). We then waited for ages to be served. I asked if I could order a glass of wine in addition to our picnic, and was told I would be given a menu. Waited another age. Our picnic basket arrived with no drinks included - even though I asked for the wine in addition to the included drinks. We had to go inside to ask for the wine menu & request our drinks. Again, we had to wait & wait. I finally received a wine list, and ordered. After waiting a long while again, the waiter returned to "check my order" and I had to place the wine order a second time. By now our picnic has been sweating in the sun while waiting for the wine. The food was also a disappointment. There was nothing "Gourmet" about this experience. If I had paid full price for what we received, I would have been horrified - already was not worth the R400 paid. Very disappointed. The venue & views are lovely - only thing that made the...