The Charles - Cape Town, South Africa 

This is a hard hotel to review. Its location is quite a distance from downtown Cape Town. If you want to visit the Winelands you would be better off staying in Stellenbosch or Franschoek and if you want to be by the sea the NH Lord Charles does not fit that bill either, being quite a distance from Gordon's Bay. In other words you definitely need a car to discover the area. The hotel grounds are lovely, but as other reviewers mention the swimming pools are small with one not even having a bar/restaurant service except by telephone. The gym is small and I was not aware of any elevators to the upper floor, so if you have difficulty climbing stairs request a ground floor room. My room had been recently refurbished with wooden floors and new bed linen. My bathroom did not have a bathtub, just a shower and the tv does not seem to have any international channels, just plenty of sport. The room does have a window that opens and the ground floor rooms have full sized windows with access to the outside. A new shopping centre has been built opposite the hotel entrance with a supermarket and a couple of places for lunch. The staff is good as is the restaurant food. The Lord Charles Hotel is best summed as a quaintly old fashioned colonial style hotel. It has its own charming character - something I like very much.

This hotel is in a great location for the vineyards and not too far from the city itself. The last time I stayed here last year the rooms were a bit dated but this time I was in a room that had been decorated and had new modern furniture etc. This hotel is well maintained with lovely gardens surrounding the hotel and a lovely pool area. The food was really good and the staff excellent. Nothing ever seemed to be any trouble for them and the concierge staff are very knowledgeable about the local area and can recommend things to do/places to see etc. I can't really think of anything bad to say about this hotel as I had a very nice time here. It is not overly luxurious but it is very nice indeed and I would not hesitate to go back again.