Monkey Valley Resort

Beautiful place , views of Noordhoek beach are amazing , room was clean and functionally stocked. Thorfynns restaurant offers a lovely ambience and the food is lovely. Staff are very attentive. Perfect place for sundowners and a lovely meal.

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 de

We stayed 5 nights with a view of the courtyard. The room is tired and dark looking, yet spacious enough with a coffee station, fridge and seating for watching TV. Beautiful wooden floors. Breakfast (fantastic croissants) was included as a mini buffet. No cheese unless you ask for it or it is Sunday. An A la Carte breakfast can be ordered. We had one dinner there (we reserved our table but it was given to someone else) which was superb and fresh. All meals can be served outside on the huge deck with a lovely view over the milkwoods to the sea. Disappointingly the following gave it a sour taste: Curtains need washing - brown spots Tiny balcony with a small table and two chairs needed cleaning, dusty table and dirty chairs No bedside tables Bedside reading lights on the headboard do not work independently - only one bed has autonomy - we called someone to replace it. The hand shower came apart Toiletries were not replaced every day even though we were staying 5 nights Only one-ply toilet paper is provided - for an over ZAR2,000 per night rate Bath has mouldy/musty edges/brown looking dirty Although they advertised DSTV it does not work - we were informed that nobody watches DSTV anymore they all watch Netflix or YouTube! One has to get it set up with an account (which has something to do with four other units streaming off four other rooms). Every time there was load shedding the TV went off and thereafter we had to call someone several times to reset the TV. Electric plug holes are needed on both sides of the bed for charging phones, etc The mattress protector is tired and very old. Parts have ‘fossilised’ and form sharp pin-pricks through the sheets, making it rather uncomfortable. Tricky to negotiate pathways to the beach - not clearly signposted - but well worth a fantastic 8km walk on the white sandy beach.

Setting surrounded by trees, beautiful greenery, comfortable rooms; restaurant over looking the ocean, on the night we were there, there was a gentleman singing, it was lovely, the meals mouthwatering, the staff friendly, thank you for sponsoring Safta award winner Nazli George Aunty Ivy from 7de laan work soon to be seen as Ragel in Skemergrond on Kyknet. This is the place to stay in Noordhoek.

Wow what an incredible experience! We stayed in Bushbaby Self Catering Cottage with the most amazing views. The weather was perfect and we walked along the little bush track to the beach every day. It was so special! The cottage was so well equipped with full kitchen and Braai area in the mountain or on the deck. The rooms were beautiful with stunning white linen and super comfy beds. Two full bathrooms with bath’s and shower made it so wonderful for the kids! We made really such wonderful and special memories on this holiday I would highly recommend to anyone wanting something special. Our cousins joined us and stayed next door in Baboon lodge, the children had an absolute ball exploring all the magical forest surrounding the cottages, the dads loved the trail running up into the mountain, and the mums enjoyed a glass of bubbles with a view!! Paradise!!

Worst dinner we had for a long time! Service was pathetic, slow and inattentive, she didn't even know how to open a wine bottle! The fish dish my partner ordered came without mussels, so went back to the kitchen. Waited 15 minutes until it reappeared luke warm and dry. My Hollandse steak ordered medium rare turned out to be a Mexican steak, doubled up so it looks thicker, and was medium to well done! Chips looked like they were defrosted and the veggies were also nothing to write home about. There is a clear lack of capable management. Pity for this very nice venue, I won't go back there.