Reviews of Benguela

We had an exceptional dinner with Jonathan.

No TV

Jonathan is a great host. The Breakfast we enjoyed was superb. The room really comfortable and the pool refreshing to swim in!

Loved the interior, sea views. Stunning breakfast.

Good size room, friendly host. Quirky interiors!

A little remote, but host was great dropping us and collecting from restaurants… JTs

The owner was lovely and made us feel so welcome

Not enough parking available for all guests so had to park outside which I was worried about

The owner is awesome. Very kind and helpful The room was comfortable and with everything one need Breakfast was great and the ☕️ the best I had in SA

Not close to the beach The bath and toilet are in the room with no separation (I didn't mind)

Staff are very welcoming Place is very well situated

The pool was a bit green

Quirky property full of art and random furnishings. Breakfast is good. Staff friendly and helpful.

Intermittent noise from the air conditioning unit made it impossible to sleep with it turned on. Pool was undergoing repair on the day we arrived so we couldn’t use it, but hadn’t been informed in advance.

Everything exceeded our expectations. I will definitely recommend this to anyone. Kind regards Johan Parking arrangements

Jonathan was a great host, amazing breakfast and the location was excellent.

Nil

The view, the help yourself sweetie counter and the cat.

Almost tries too hard. Lovely decor. Minimal choice offered at breakfast but what was offered was delicious. Maybe a small menu offered the night before would have allowed for some personal choices.

What an amazing find! Some of our group of 8 wanted to enjoy shark cage diving and we came across Benguela and struck lucky. The whole atmosphere is one of relaxed sophistication, with beautiful and quirky decoration and artwork. The bedrooms lead out on to a pool area, which is quite intimate, but was not a problem as our group had taken the rooms. There is a stocked fridge in the room and the shower has plenty of power. The real Gem of this place is Jonathan and his team. We opted to join for dinner which was the most amazing experience at the big, shared table. The experience started with gathering in the lounge for drinks and meeting the couple of other guests, then moving into the incredible dining room for a 5-course banquet, complete with paired wines. All the time being entertained by Jonathan and his very friendly hounds. Breakfast the next day was of course both tasty and beautifully presented. We had a couple of other requests. Like borrowing some towels and checking out later – all of which were kindly met with pleasure from our very accommodating host. We would be very happy to stay again…… you can book for the dinner even if you are not staying. Highly recommended.

The property is in a quiet residential area and while its a very quick walk down to the sea, there are very few other commercial establishments to maybe get a coffee. (the one we walked down to happened to be closed on Tuesdays)

Very modern and chic

The pool wasn’t great and not very private

Wonderful host, lovely home and the best breakfasts!

Lovely place to stay with outstanding food. Terrific host. Near to fabulous restaurants.

The stay at Benguela was superb. We stayed for one night and were able to enjoy the dinner experience. It was so nice to come together and interact with the other guests, as well as Jonathan. The food was amazing. The staff is very attentive. We were helped in every way. Loved our stay!

During our trip on the Garden Route, we wanted to go sharkdiving, so we intended to pass by Hermanus. However, upon finding Benguela on Booking, we decided to pass by Gansbaai instead. What a great choice that was! We could book a sharkdiving experience via a recommendation of the hotel and had a wonderful stay too: (i) our room had a pool view and was spacious, (ii) the property lies in a very quiet neighbourhood, so although the pool lies next to a road, there is no noise as there is no traffic, (iii) the owner Jonathan is an excellent host that manages to find a good balance between his guests’ privacy and the social angle and (iv) the dinner he cooked for us and the rest of the guests was excellent - it was also a nice experience to meet some of the other guests and hear about their backgrounds and travels. We would definitely recommend!

Most rooms are situated around the pool, which allows guests from other rooms to look into your room when the curtains are not closed. However, it’s a small property so people generally just stay in front of their own room. Also, be aware that this is more like a Bed & Breakfast than a hotel. Finally, note that there are two (very kind) greyhounds walking around on the property. It’s lovely if you like dogs (like us), but be aware if you don’t.