A cullinary suprise (Southern Sun Cullinan Hotel (Cape Town, South Africa))

Member Name: kellylouj

Product:	Southern Sun Cullinan Hotel (Cape Town, South Africa)
Date:	13/11/06 (255 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great service, fantastic rooms

Disadvantages: None

During my visit to Cape Town back in May of this year I decided on splitting my stay in two hotels The Cullinan was the first of my stay.

We had prebooked a transfer with the Hotel direct to collect us from Cape Town Airport, it was a top of the range mercedes (most hotels use this car for pickups) it cost us R100//£9.00 approx and the transfer took approximately 35 minutes and it was definately the most stress free transfer I have ever had.

The Cullinan is a 4 star hotel and once we arrived at the hotel, we were greeted by the Concierge we were then directed to the Reception desk and were very pleasantly greeted by the two members working on the reception.
Check-in opens at 2pm.
I checked in with my name and then was asked to sign the invoice, checking the names of the guests and my home address. They required a credit card imprint for any charges to the room once we checked-out . We were then provided with our key card for the room which we were informed we would have to show whenever we billed anything to the room.

The porter took our bags and once we were all checked in the porter showed us to our room.
In South Africa tips are heavily relied on so expect to tip anyone that helps you no matter how small a task they assist you with.

We walked straight ahead from the foyer which is marbled and elegant rugs are displayed in the seating areas with comfortable sofas and chairs.

There are both stairs and elevators up to the rooms which are located just off the foyer.

*****The Room*****
Once we arrived at our room it was clear to see how spacious it was and was so clean and light. Our room was overlooking the hotel pool and you could see in the distance the Victoria and Albert waterfront.
We were told that there were 416 rooms in the hotel and all of the same high quality standard, inside the room was two large beds although we had requested a double room, the beds themselves were larger than a standard single bed so it was not a problem as the bed easily accommodated 2 people.
There was a large colour television located at the food of the bed and had sky news and local channels as most hotels do and of course there was the option to pay for movies etc should you require this service and this would be added onto your bill upon check-out.
The bathroom was very spacious and had both a separate shower and bath, luxurious white towels and complimentary toiletries.
In addition there was a work desk with lamp, the voltage is 220v so you do need an adaptor to plug in UK appliances. A direct dial telephone is standard in all rooms and optional internet access for a charge.

****Facilities at the Hotel****
Air Conditioning is standard at the hotel and is in each room.
A laundry and valet service is offered in each room and provided with a laundry bag is a price list and how to deposit your laundry.
Doctor and Dentist on call.
Wake up calls can be requested free of charge
Guest relations desk is available, now I did actually make use of this service as I was only staying in the Cullinan Inn for 2 nights we had to transfer to our next hotel The Table Bay, we asked the guest relations desk if we could pre-book a taxi, they advised us that there was a free coach service that picked up at the hotel and took guests to the waterfront where our next hotel was located they said that if we asked the driver he would drop us off there at no charge, this to me was outstanding customer service and we offered a BIG tip for this!
As you would expect for business type hotels the standard secretarial services were available for an additional charge which included facsimile and photocopying all guests had 30mins fee of charge use of the Internet Cafe which was a great facility and I managed to make full use of sending emails to friends to make them all jealous!!
The hotel had an outdoor pool which was not heated and as we were there in May, we were experiencing the beginning of the South African Winter so it was not particuarly hot, however it looked appealing for a swim. There was an onsite fitness centre which unfortunately I did not visit.

****Eateries****
We had breakfast included in the cost of the room this was in the Peach Tree Breakfast Room, open Mon-Fri 06:30-10:30am and on the weekend 07:00-11:00am.
There was a wide selection of products available ranging from Fresh Fruit, Cold meats and cheese to a full cooked breakfast, with chef's on hand to freshly prepare your eggs to whatever style you prefer.

We had our evening meals in Kelsey's Grill House and it was a real treat the setting is romantic and dimly lit and not particuarly busy. The food was outstanding and I had a steak and my boyfriend had the Paella (he was all for sampling the delacacies of South Africa) the food was really cheap and we were having 2 course meals and a bottle of wine and that was only costing £30 for the both of us and we were having top quality food!

The rooms are serviced daily and you can use the "Do not disturb" door hanger or "Service my room" to suit your stay.

After 2 nights it was time to move onto the next hotel and I was pretty anxious about my next hotel as I had found this to be absolutely fautless.
When it was time to check-out we had no problems we handed in our key cards and was asked if we enjoyed our stay and provided with a receipt, the staff were pleasant and friendly throughout our stay and I would like to stay there again in the near future. Check-out was at 11am but a late check-out could be requested.

This hotel was definately one of the best I saw around and is well worth hunting around for a competitive price, I recommend going direct to the Hotel if you are purchasing accommodation and flights separately as you will find it still works out fairly cheaply but if you would like it all packaged up, Thompsons and Virgin Holidays feature this hotel.

****Contact Hotel****
The Cullinan Hotel
PO Box 51319
Waterfront
8002
email: contactus@Southernsun.com

Summary: A great hotel located in a great area.