145 High Cape - Vredehoek
Published: January 19, 2009 2:14 pm
145 High Cape is a luxurious 2 bedroom self-catering apartment ideally located on the slopes of Table Mountain, with stunning views of the city of Cape Town below. Accommodates maximum of 4 guests.
May 11th, 2010 at 4:02 pm
No doubt the view is this apartment’s best feature. However if you don’t want to look down on beautiful Cape Town from a tomb with dark grey walls, black leather sofas and black tiles everywhere you might have a problem. When you arrive at this “deluxe accommodation” you might find plenty of activities to keep you occupied like: cleaning the floors, windows, mirrors, even the interior of the washing machine; scrubbing the oven; defrosting the fridge; and repairing the shower, just to name a few.
You might want to spend some of your time making lists for the apartment manager like “what’s missing in the not so fully-equipped kitchen” and “what’s broken”—washing machine, DVD player, satellite TV decoder, skylight window in the bathroom (no ventilation!), ironing board, were items on our list. The apartment manager might even give you a chance to repair one or two of the broken pieces of equipment yourself; or she might have you call a handy man and ask you to be there for the respective appointments.
If you are a good mechanic, you might even be able to fully open the balcony folding door with the help of a screwdriver.
You surely will have a good night sleep if you avoid removing the sheets to examine the bedding and if you are able to ignore the cute little ants everywhere. Unfortunately, the balcony furniture pictured on the internet advertisement does not exist. In its place you will find four folding camping chairs (of which one is broken), a cheap plastic camping table, and a broken parasol. The advertised “music system” is worth a good laugh because it is the lowest quality of its kind.
Finally, if financially flexible, you are in the right place. The electricity was switched off in the middle of our rental period and we had a hard time convincing the manager to reimburse us for the extra money we had to spend for electricity during the second half of our stay. According to the Internet advertisement, satellite TV is included but we were forced under false pretenses to pay an extra 500 Rand for this amenity.
May 12th, 2010 at 1:03 pm
Mr Wolfgang Michler from Germany stayed in this apartment for several months. He was given the opportunity to leave with a full refund which he did not do (paying under ZAR300 per night). He complained incessantly about everything and I understand that this is a modus operandi by some tourists, particularly germans, who hope to squeeze out a refund! Anyone wishing to stay at high Cape can contact me and I will give them referrals of other guests!
May 19th, 2010 at 2:26 pm
Significantly Mrs. Maurer acts like she did during our two month stay: She obviously regretted an initially offered low price and made it a point that we better keep our mouth shut regardless of whatever trouble or deficiencies her clients are faced with. Otherwise you are a total nuisance and on top one of those nasty tourists who are only after a refund. She seems to be especially fond of Germans. Pretty strange that I denied a refund when offered! Anyone wishing to stay at 145 High Cape can contact me as well and I will provide them with proof of what we have experienced.
May 19th, 2010 at 2:50 pm
My wife and I had the good fortune to spend our first week in Cape Town at 145 High Cape in January 2010. The location and views ares magnificent, especially at night with the city shimmering below like a lake of jewels. Access is easy and secure, the apartment tastefully appointed and comfortable, and most important to us, the kitchen functioned well. We adored the apartment and felt thoroughly at home and cant wait for a return visit next year.
Emily and Warren Clark, British Columbia, Canada
May 24th, 2010 at 1:23 pm
Have stayed twice at 145 High Cape when visiting from Australia. It is a stunning apartment with lovely views and I love having the swimming pool close by. Would recommend this apartment to anyone visiting Cape Town. It is got everything!
Gareth Barrett
Sydney Australia
May 26th, 2010 at 5:17 pm
We are visitors from Ireland and had the pleasure of staying at 145 High Cape, in a secure complex, in December 2009. The apartment was immaculate and we were able to enjoy uninterrupted views of the harbour and to Robben Island in the distance.It is adjacent to a communal swimming pool with excellent braai facilities.
From a security perspective, the apartment is upstairs; there is a lock-up garage and the staff at the gate friendly and keep an eye on everything. The furnishing is practical with leather sofas and wooden floors; which we found helpful with small children, as was the big bath which the children really enjoyed. Mrs Maurer was most helpful even bringing in an extra cot for us.
Day trips are easily accessible from the aparmtent and the Gardens Shopping Centre a short drive away.
We would definately stay there again and have no hesitation in recommending the unit.
Michael, Christine, Cameron and Kelly Eckersley
Dublin, Ireland
May 28th, 2010 at 4:25 pm
Review for 145 High Cape
This fully equipped self-catering unit has got a stunning view and a perfect location! Sit on the balcony and enjoy the view over Cape Town harbour …. it will be worth it! Owners always respond quickly to booking requests and are at all times helpful.
Almut Riedel
Afric Xperience Tours
Windhoek Nambia
June 1st, 2010 at 12:56 pm
145 High Cape
I have just completed my second 30 day visit to this wonderful apartment and have booked it again for a month in May 2011.
The apartment is nicely furnished with a well equipped kitchen for ’self caterers’, also TV/DVD and CD player - comfortable beds and luxurious bathtub - although I only use the shower.
From the sweeping panoramic views of Devil’s Peak, Table Mountain, Lion’s Head, Signal Hill, the city and harbour views, this apartment has all of the ‘must see’ sights straight from the balcony, of this most beautiful city in the world - the mother city of Cape Town.
Marilyn Woelfl
Harrisburg PA
United States of America
October 20th, 2010 at 2:19 am
In defense of Mrs. Maurer, I would have to ask Mr. Michler to take into account that “most” GUESTS do not keep the apartments they rent in a clean manner. They count on the “maid” to clean up after them.
Unfortunately, good help can be hard to find, especially if you are relying on those persons to keep the apartment in tip top when you can’t always be there. Also, guests are expected to report problems–they don’t always do that. Some guest abuse the appliance, electronics, etc,; hence, don’t expect top of the line in same. If the shoes were on my feet, I certainly wouldn’t be renting out an apartment with Bose sound system, 42″ plasma TV, etc, unless I was charging accordingly.
As for the gray walls, etc, I would believe the practically of keeping a heavily used apartment in the best condition possible would be very difficult if there were white walls, carpeted floors, etc. The black stone finishes in the apartment are granite and very expensive. I understand not everyone’s taste runs to this type of decor.
Please also keep in mind the wild fires from Dec. 08 to Feb. 09. The fires came very close to this apartment which meant heavy soot over EVERYTHING. Can you imagine the cleanup?
The best and only way to take care of that would be to paint in darker colors.
I have stayed at this apartment twice (August 2009 and May 2010) and have booked for May 2011.
I have been going to Cape Town since 1999 (I have a permanent visa and plan to permanently move there in 2012), and have been in many apartments. NONE of them have the accommodations, let alone the view, that this apartment does.
One cannot expect any public place to be perfect, (not even some of your finest hotels), and when something is found not to be in working order, it should be reported or, DIY.
I cannot expect my landlord to run the dishwater, washing machine, TV/DVD, decoder, and CD player, etc., after every tennant, to make sure that it works. However, I do expect my landlord to fix anything that I report as not working and this has been done during my two stays.
I realize that everyone’s standards of expectations differ, but keep in mind that things are done differently, in different countries. If I expected the same standards everywhere I traveled, I would never leave the United States and only travel to the most expensive of hotels and accommodations, which means I would never travel.