Whale Cottage meltdown

Chris von Ulmenstein is a controversial blogger who produces a daily aggregation of tourist news snippets about Cape Town and environs called WhaleTales Tourism, Food, and Wine news headlines. This week yielded a comet vintage of negative reviews of her own Whale Cottage Camps Bay guest house on TripAdvisor. Rarely has such a torrent of toxic complaints been levelled against an establishment. Six slaggings in a week surely indicate a suite of serious problems. Perhaps Cape Town Tourism can help Chris out of this mess? It’s certainly doing the international image of Camps Bay and Cape Town no favours.

A Johannesburg friend is something of a Winelands flâneur and offers 50 reasons why the Whale Cottages in Hermanus and Franschhoek should be avoided after visits in November. CvU is doing serious damage to the Cape as a wine tourism destination and needs to be stopped, smartish.

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1 of 5 starsReviewed 5 days ago NEW via mobile

When you have been to a place beforehand, and enjoyed a good stay, you never think of checking Tripadvisor before re-booking it. Ohhhhh how wrong was I!? We stayed in 2009 and although the rooms were small, and there was a water leak from the patio door (which was summarily resolved with extra towels placed on the floor) we had…More 

1 of 5 starsReviewed 1 week ago NEW via mobile

The rudest and most unhelpful owner of the B&B which made us want to avoid going back to relax there. Dirty place, overall a nasty experience. Cockroaches. Worse than poor service- actually nasty behaviour from the I owner Chris is inexcusable for someone in the hospitality industry. Do not stay here EVER! In my view, if you have a chip…More 

1 of 5 starsReviewed 1 week ago

A disappointing end to our wonderful honeymoon in South Africa. We had booked the Whale Cottage for 6 nights and paid a 50% deposit when we booked. A month before the stay we were prompted to pay the remaining 50% in full by wire transfer which cost us £9. The owner Chris wouldn’t accept a credit card payment. On arrival…More 

1 of 5 starsReviewed 1 week ago

I booked in here and the sister Whale Cottage in Hermanus on my December 2013 trip to the Cape with my wife and two young children. These were the two worst B&Bs I have stayed at and the only places where we had to pay in full upfront! I now realise that this is because most people would leave after…More 

1 of 5 starsReviewed 1 week ago

worth experience ever, DO NOT GO THERE, cockroaches, dirty bathroom and bed, EXTREMELY rude german woman, the WHALE is inside ! don’t order a tea a 8.29am , you will be answered “we start at 8.30” in a rude way, she is dirty so is the place, bedding is not done according to guest and booking, DISGUSTING dirty place and…More 

“Unacceptable”

1 of 5 starsReviewed 1 week ago

There are certain ‘basics’ one expects at a four star guest house like toilet paper and soap for example. My room had neither! When I brought this oversight to the attention of the owner she was rude and dismissive and refused to apologize. The guest house is in a great location but the owner is rude and unhelpful which contributes…More