{"id":17830,"date":"2011-03-08T08:40:46","date_gmt":"2011-03-08T06:40:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.whalecottage.com\/blog\/?p=17830"},"modified":"2011-03-09T01:35:13","modified_gmt":"2011-03-08T23:35:13","slug":"hotel-review-taj-cape-town-dinner-good-but-staff-service-not-5-star","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.chrisvonulmenstein.com\/blog\/cape-town\/hotel-review-taj-cape-town-dinner-good-but-staff-service-not-5-star\/","title":{"rendered":"Hotel Review: Taj Cape Town dinner good, but staff service not 5-star!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>I\u00a0often stay in five-star accommodation, to see what we can learn from it.\u00a0 When a special offer was made to members of Gastronauts, attending a\u00a0dinner at The Taj Cape Town\u00a0last week, I grabbed the opportunity to experience this hotel, and made a booking.\u00a0\u00a0 I had booked the hotel room to share with my colleague, to allow her to experience the advertised 5-star service, but a last-minute\u00a0guest arrival\u00a0prevented her from joining me.\u00a0\u00a0I was relieved in hindsight that she could not join me, because I would not want\u00a0the service I experienced at The Taj\u00a0to be her benchmark for service quality.\u00a0 I was so\u00a0frustrated by the poor staff service that\u00a0I experienced that I checked out of this The Leading Hotels of the World member hotel just after midnight.<\/p>\n

It started when I knew that\u00a0my colleague\u00a0could not join me, so I called the hotel at 16h00 on the day of my stay, to ask for the room to be changed\u00a0from a twin-bed one to one with a king bed.\u00a0 I asked for the Reservations Manager who had handled my booking, and the call went through to his answering machine.\u00a0I did not receive a call back, and called again an hour later, to be told that he wasn’t feeling well, and that he had been sent home.\u00a0 Clearly no one was\u00a0listening to\u00a0his messages.\u00a0<\/p>\n

When I arrived, I parked at Mandela Rhodes Place (free parking here is included in the package, as the hotel does not have its own parking), and I had to carry my overnight bag, my computer bag, and my dress bag from the parking garage to the hotel.\u00a0 A\u00a0Taj doorman\u00a0saw me coming along, and quickly opened the door, and welcomed me back (odd, as I had just arrived!), but made no effort to help me with my bags.\u00a0\u00a0 There was only one receptionist on duty, and she was assisting a security officer linked to a VIP room.\u00a0 There was no acknowledgement of my presence until she had finished with the other person.\u00a0 She then asked me mechanically “How can we be of assistance?”.\u00a0 It was quite obvious that I was checking in, given the luggage that I had with me, but this seemed to be a surprise to her.\u00a0\u00a0 I was then told that I had to sign the ‘Legal document’ – this is when my hair started to stand on end.\u00a0 She asked if I\u00a0wanted to\u00a0go to the lobby for the check-in.\u00a0\u00a0As if I was\u00a0a tourist, I was asked for my passport, not a document I normally walk around with in my home city of Cape Town!\u00a0\u00a0 I was offered a non-alcoholic drink in a tiny glass, but requested a glass of water, lemon\u00a0and ice from Andrea, when she\u00a0asked me what I wanted to drink.\u00a0\u00a0 I was served a glass of lukewarm tap water without ice and lemon.\u00a0 When I fed this back to Andrea, she seemed quite relaxed about it, without apology, and the water was replaced with what I had ordered.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The ‘Legal document’ I signed had no details about my stay, other than my name, the rate, and the date of stay.\u00a0\u00a0 However it had\u00a0eleven Terms and Conditions, in very small print, that I was asked to sign.\u00a0 Being very cautious of such ‘legal documents’, especially as she used this term, I studied the document in detail.\u00a0 Some of these terms are rather scary.\u00a0 For example, it states that the rate on the ‘registration card’ is exclusive of taxes and is ‘for room only’.\u00a0 It was confirmed to me that the rate included Breakfast, but this is not stated in the terms and conditions, and I had to\u00a0write this into the ‘legal document’. \u00a0 The hotel has the right to take a ‘lien’ on guest luggage and belongings if one does not pay what is due, and these can then be sold or auctioned off.\u00a0\u00a0 No responsibility at all is taken for theft or other loss.\u00a0\u00a0 The clause that caught my eye was the following: “The Management reserves to itself the absolute right of admission to any person in the hotel premises and to request any guest to vacate his or hers (sic)\u00a0room at any moment without previous notice and without assigning any reason whatsoever and the guest shall be bound to vacate when requested to do so” – not the best way to inspire confidence and trust in the hotel and its operation on arrival.\u00a0\u00a0 A clause relates to ‘tenancy’ and ‘sub-tenancy’\u00a0 and is not understandable at all, it is so full of legalese!\u00a0\u00a0 Very nervously I signed the ‘Legal document’; and asked for a photocopy, to record which rights I had signed away!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>I was then chased along to go to the room.\u00a0\u00a0 Again I had to carry all my own luggage to the room!\u00a0 I had to laugh when\u00a0the staff member\u00a0asked if she could book a table for dinner for me, but I had booked specifically due to the Gastronauts dinner at the hotel, which Andrea said was not reflected on my booking!\u00a0\u00a0She kept calling me by my surname, which is a 5-star hotel habit, but it is so formal.\u00a0 I asked her to call me “Chris”, but she clearly felt uncomfortable doing so.\u00a0 It reflected what the problem is in this hotel – a lack of communication between staff members and departments. \u00a0Andrea asked me if I would be using the internet, a rather silly question, as I was clearly lugging my laptop with me.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Proactively she offered to expand my internet allocation to a 24 hour one, instead of the half an hour free service guests are entitled to, the only good service I received outside of the\u00a0Mint restaurant at the Taj Hotel.\u00a0\u00a0 I do question the half an hour allocation – surely internet connection is an entry level service accommodation establishments should offer these days, especially at 5-star level.\u00a0 The cost of the 24 hour service is a preposterous R230.\u00a0\u00a0 Andrea called for an ice bucket so that I could add ice to my bottle of water, which was at the bed.\u00a0 It arrived without ice tongs, and I had to take the ice with my fingers.\u00a0\u00a0 Andrea asked me if I would need to know anything else, having switched on the TV, showing a promotional Taj programme.\u00a0\u00a0 She did not explain how to\u00a0find the TV channels or how to use\u00a0the phone, all of which became an issue later on.\u00a0 Luckily I referred to the room directory, and I was guided to find it in the drawer of the desk – I would never have thought\u00a0of looking for it there.\u00a0 I found a welcome letter in my room, signed with ‘warmest regards’ from the Assistant Front Office Manager,\u00a0and I was asked to note the ‘key facilities’ of the hotel, so that I could enjoy a ‘memorable stay’!\"\"<\/a>\u00a0 The room card holder gushes on this theme too: “Our team is committed to making your stay not only comfortable but also memorable in every way” – I am sure the experience I had is not the ‘memorability’ that the hotel had in mind!<\/p>\n

The room has\u00a0a beautiful view onto Table Mountain, especially\u00a0on the 8th floor level.\u00a0\u00a0 It has a comfortable desk, with the clever placement of plug points above the desk, and not below it.\u00a0\u00a0A table had a welcome bottle of Doolhof wine, some fruit, chocolates and a plate with pannacotta on it.\u00a0\u00a0The bathroom is well-appointed, with bath and shower, and Molton Brown\u00a0 bathroom amenities.\u00a0\u00a0It is not the most luxurious hotel room that I have stayed in, but it appeared comfortable and spacious.<\/p>\n

Prior to the Gastronauts dinner we had sparkling wine in the lobby, being a glass of M\u00f4reson Solitaire MCC NV (Veritas Gold).\u00a0\u00a0 The hotel would have known how many persons were booked for the dinner, but the sparkling wine had run out when I arrived, the waiter told us.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0It took some time before he found some more of it.\u00a0 We were served canap\u00e9s, being gruyere profiteroles and white asparagus jelly.\u00a0 We were ushered into Mint restaurant, and I was told at which table I was to sit.\u00a0 I chose a place in the middle of the table, and was then forced to move from this seat, as the chair was booked by another member, I was told.\u00a0 There were no name cards on the table, and I was most determinedly moved by the Beverages Manager.\u00a0\u00a0 In the end it turned out to be a blessing, sitting with\u00a0Angelo and Tina Casu from Grand Dedale<\/a><\/strong><\/span>, Samarie Smith from Die Burger <\/strong>and her partner\u00a0Paul Swanepoel, with Takuan von Arnim and his wife Christiane of Haute Cabriere, and Michael Pownall, GM of the Taj Hotel.\u00a0\u00a0 Michael came to South Africa for the opening of the Cape Sun in 1994, then opened La Vend\u00f4me Hotel in Sea Point,\u00a0moved\u00a0to the Mount Nelson Hotel, and then spent some time in America for Orient Express, the owners of the Mount Nelson, amongst others.\u00a0Michael and Angelo worked together at the Cape Sun and at the Mount Nelson.\u00a0\u00a0In 2008\u00a0Michael returned to open the Taj Cape Town, a challenge as he was involved in the renovations, which incorporated the old Board of Executors and the South African Reserve Bank buildings.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>The set menu, without choices,\u00a0was printed on hand-made paper with an orange and gold-embossed\u00a0backing, and rolled up with a ribbon, looking elegant and unusual.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Three sets of cutlery were laid out per guest.\u00a0 Willowcreek olive oil and balsamic vinegar were on the table, as was\u00a0a basket of delicious mixed rolls.\u00a0 The Gastronauts dinner and wine pairing was good, and the service excellent.\u00a0\u00a0 The dinner had been specifically paired with 2010 Gold and Double Gold Veritas award-winning wines, Bennie Howard, the Gastronauts’ chairman and Veritas Awards’ Deputy Chairman, and the Taj head chef Sayam Longani pairing the food courses and the wines.\u00a0 The starter was a duck and goose liver terrine which was served with an interesting grape compote, and thinly sliced toast,\u00a0and was paired with De Wetshof Finesse Chardonnay 2009 (Veritas Gold).\u00a0\u00a0Bennie told us that De Wetshof makes eight excellent Chardonnays, and that the Finesse goes well with food, being rich and elegant.\u00a0\u00a0I did not enjoy the sage-baked kabeljou, finding it dry and rather boring, but it was paired with a heavenly Cederberg Chenin Blanc 2010 (Veritas Double Gold),\u00a0a delicious fruity wine.\u00a0\u00a0\"\"<\/a>For the pairing of the softest deconstructed Karan Beef Wellington, served with the cutest porcini mushroom pie, we were offered two wine choices – Bilton Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 (Veritas Gold)\u00a0and the Lamond Cape Agulhus Syrah 2008 (Veritas Double Gold), and for many the Bilton was the preferred wine.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\"\"<\/a>Dessert was an unexciting\u00a0dark chocolate parfait with orange jelly, and one had the choice of pairing it with\u00a0a yummy\u00a0Fleur du Cap Noble Late Harvest 2009 (Veritas Double Gold), or a Van Rhyn’s 12 year brandy (Veritas Double Gold).\u00a0\u00a0 Friandises were served with a choice of coffees, to round off a lovely evening.<\/p>\n

After dinner I wanted another cappuccino, and I asked a staff member of the hotel when the Twankey Bar closes.\u00a0 She told me at about midnight or 12.30 am.\u00a0 I went to pop in at Brio first to have a coffee there, and then went to Twankey.\u00a0\u00a0 It was 23h20.\u00a0\u00a0 There were other guests in the bar.\u00a0\u00a0 When I asked for a cappuccino, I was told that the bar was closed, as they had cashed up already, despite the other guests still being there.\u00a0 I asked\u00a0the waiter\u00a0if he could add the coffee to the room bill, to which he answered in the affirmative, but no coffee ever arrived.\u00a0 He was very keen for me to use the hotel bar, which I did not see nor was I shown – I thought it was the Twankey!\u00a0\u00a0When I returned into the hotel, I was welcomed back once again by the doorman, clearly a standard line.<\/p>\n

On my return to the room at about 11.30 pm the turn-down had been done, and a letter of departure (I had not used the room for more than an hour at that time) was already waiting for me, thanking me for my choice\u00a0of hotel, trusting that I\u00a0“had a memorable time”, and wishing me “a safe journey onwards”.\u00a0\u00a0 It also requested that I complete a Guest Feedback Survey, and stated that “all at Taj Cape Town look forward to welcoming you back to our special hotel in the very near future”.\u00a0\u00a0 The survey has some oddities – it refers to “associates anticipating and meeting your personal preferences” and the “ability of our associates to ensure no disturbances occur…”, meaning that the staff must be referred to as ‘associates’, a first in the hospitality industry, to my knowledge.<\/p>\n

Needing to do some work,\u00a0and always working with the television on, I\u00a0tried to find channel 23, which the TV list said was Deutsche Welle.\u00a0\u00a0 I wanted to pick up on the latest news\u00a0about the resignation of the German Defence Minister.\u00a0 I could not get the remote to change anything on the TV, and had to work out how to use the phone to call for help.\u00a0 I could not be advised about the TV channels on the phone, and was told that someone would call me\u00a0back.\u00a0\u00a0A knock on the door\u00a0presented\u00a0the duty manager and her colleague.\u00a0 She arrogantly told me that the use of the remote to find the TV channels was self-explanatory!\u00a0\u00a0 However, it was not that clear to her either, as she struggled for about ten minutes to get to channel 23 !\u00a0 However, channel 23 was set on ProSieben (an irritating common channel)\u00a0and not on Deutsche Welle.\u00a0 I was told that they\u00a0could not send an IT person to my room to fix the problem immediately, and would only be able to do so the next morning, when I was due to check out!\u00a0\u00a0 I explained to\u00a0the Duty Manager\u00a0that\u00a0they just needed to\u00a0change the programme selection within the German bouquet.\u00a0\u00a0 I heard nothing further, and had to call again.\u00a0 I was promised a call back, which did\u00a0come some time later, but I could not work out how to answer the room phone.\u00a0 I then called the Front Desk.\u00a0 Here a new person answered the phone, telling me that his colleagues had left for the day, and that I would have to wait for IT for the next day to fix\u00a0the “Dutch TV” problem!!!\u00a0\u00a0 Once again a communication problem\u00a0between staff was evident.\u00a0 By now I had quite enough, and decided that I could\u00a0only escape this service nightmare\u00a0by checking out and going home.\u00a0\u00a0 Michael Pownall\u00a0was standing at Reception when I left, and asked what was wrong.\u00a0 I\u00a0promised him a report.\u00a0 Kindly he sent a staff member to accompany me to the Mandela Rhodes Place parking garage,\u00a0and once again I carried all my belongings myself.\u00a0\u00a0So I did not get to try out The Taj Cape Town bed, the bathroom, the pool,\u00a0or the breakfast, but I was far happier\u00a0once I had left for home.<\/p>\n

The Taj Hotel has\u00a0a nice\u00a0GM, and good staff at Mint Restaurant, but\u00a0the Reception\u00a0staff\u00a0have a ‘falseness’ about them, being like ‘tape recorders’, saying the same thing over and over again to each guest without the ability to vary their standard message, and\u00a0do not have complete information about the hotel\u00a0(e.g. the Twankey Bar closing time), or about their guests.\u00a0\u00a0 The staff\u00a0arrogance is a shame, as The Taj\u00a0Cape Town\u00a0is so beautiful, and could be welcoming to Capetonians too.\u00a0\u00a0 I did not experience five-star service at The Taj Cape Town, and certainly did not have a ‘memorable stay’!<\/p>\n

Taj Cape Town<\/strong>, Wale Street, Cape Town.\u00a0\u00a0 Tel (021) 819-2000.\u00a0 www.tajhotels.com<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio:\u00a0www.whalecottage.com<\/a>\u00a0 Twitter: @WhaleCottage<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I\u00a0often stay in five-star accommodation, to see what we can learn from it.\u00a0 When a special offer was made to members of Gastronauts, attending a\u00a0dinner at The Taj Cape Town\u00a0last week, I grabbed the opportunity to experience this hotel, and made a booking.\u00a0\u00a0 I had booked the hotel room to share with my colleague, to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false},"categories":[7,3,124,20,21,19],"tags":[32367,10403,9935,10417,9448,8897,816,5715,4845,2138,32366,1373,3212,10418,8377,9664,9333,412,9933,10416,129,581,887,146,6462,2164,10420,10411,10414,10402,2038,10410,10406,10421,10405,1326,10412,2848,10408,10419,10407,6680,10413,4,10398,10409,6481,10400,10399,5061,5051,10415,8895,10401,7502],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t