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All reviews la residence food and wine the cliff cape town moment you arrive mussels beach house sun loungers our night stay fantastic views whale season see whales overlooking the sea portfolio luxury arnold properties
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Reviewed September 6, 2015

We cannot praise this hotel enough. We only stayed 1 night and we regret not staying for another. From the moment we booked until we left the service was superb. The views from the restaurant and lounge are beautiful and you really could see whales from the hotel. All of the staff were warm and friendly and we hope to visit here again in the future. I would agree with other reviewers that a car is desirable. The hotel helped us to organise whale watching flights and a boat trip which were also fantastic.

Date of stay: August 2015
  • Trip type: Traveled as a couple
    • Location
    • Rooms
    • Service
Thank lisacn2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
TheRoyalPortfolio, General Manager at Birkenhead House, responded to this reviewResponded September 15, 2015

Dear Lisacn2015

Thank you for your lovely feedback.

Having a car certainly makes getting around a lot easier for those keen to explore the amazing area around Hermanus - including the Hemel en Aarde Valley and the local nature reserves such as Fernkloof. We do provide a complimentary shuttle service for guests from Birkenhead House into the centre of town and can easily arrange for transfers and taxis.

We are delighted that you have enjoyed your stay with us and we look forward to welcoming you back to Birkenhead House or one of our other properties in the not too distance future.

Kindest regards

Shane Brummer
General Manager | Birkenhead House
Birkenhead House is a member of The Royal Portfolio

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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Reviewed August 28, 2015

Wow!! What a view. The Birkenhead house is perched on a cliff top about 15 minutes from Hermanus town. When you check in they will walk you through the common areas and take you to the front patio area and then you'll see what I mean. The view to the sea and beach below is absolutely spectacular. The sea is wild on the coast and the sight and sound of the breaking waves will take your breath away.
The rooms in the hotel are large and sumptuous without being brash. The service is excellent and the hotel food is also top class.
Now a couple of moans. Firstly the local area seems to suffer quite badly from South Africas' power problems and you are highly likely to get power cuts. Try reading a book or watching TV in the evening without power!
You will need a car if you stay there. It's too far to walk to town although the hotel does run a courtesy car to assist you.
They tend to offer full board only and sometimes the meal choices are limited.
But despite all, the view of the sea is just to die for.

Room tip: Sea view room essential
Date of stay: March 2015
  • Trip type: Traveled as a couple
    • Value
    • Location
    • Service
1  Thank PeterSF
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
TheRoyalPortfolio, General Manager at Birkenhead House, responded to this reviewResponded September 1, 2015

Dear PeterSF

Thank you very much for taking the time to write this review.

We are delighted that you had a wonderful stay and want to thank you for the constructive feedback. While the load-shedding (electricity) situation in South Africa is improving, we are looking into the feasibility of a generator at Birkenhead House.

We have also spoken to our chef about the meal choices and are looking at adding more options for our guests while staying true to our philosophy of a changing daily menu that focuses on fresh, local produce.

We hope to welcome you back to Birkenhead House in the not too distant future.

Kindest Regards

Shane Brummer
General Manager | Birkenhead House
Birkenhead House is a member of The Royal Portfolio

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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Reviewed August 28, 2015

Fantastic boutique hotel with great staff, the following sentiments come to mind; flexible and accommodating check-in with a smile/ nothing is too much trouble (we arrived from Oudtshoorn at 13:00pm and left again at 14:30 arriving back at 17:00 to be still offered lunch - wonderful service!), soft sheets, heated floors, wake-up call greeted with tea/ coffee, generous bathroom with free-standing bath, hot water bottles in the bed, our room (#9) was bright and airy with a modern yet luxurious feel, well stocked mini bar with food and drink, friendly engaging staff - very genuine and really helpful, lovely lounge area overlooking the sea to watch the whales (100 - 200m off shore), binoculars provided, all-inclusive without cutting corners, ultimate luxury without being stuffy, great food with a wonderful chef who was more than happy to come and talk through his cuisine, friendly servers always on hand, late check-out at no cost with lunch provided FOC, ideally positioned hotel with immediate access to the beach, walks etc. I don't think I could find a bad word to say about The Birkenhead if I tried! Special mentions go to the reception team (I just wish I could remember their names - sorry?!), to Shane the `friendly' GM who made a point of engaging with us (invited one of the young guest from another party to surf outside the front of the hotel with him) and Ricardo who was a great host and guest relations champion. It would be really nice if the hotel responds with their names as I feel so guilty not being able to specifically remember the young blond lady/ host who greeted us on arrival and showed us around the hotel. We were about a month early for the whales and understanding if we came in Sept/ Oct we'd have had an abundance in the bay (we must have seen 6 - 8 over the 2 day stay). We definitely plan to return for more whale watching at such a wonderful hotel. We've stayed at some great boutique hotels during our stay in SA (including Eagles Crag at Shamwari Game Reserve, Tsala Treetop Hotel in Plettenburg Bay, View Boutique Hotel at Wilderness, The Rosenhoff in Outdshoorn and The Dock House at Cape Town) and have to say that The Birkenhead offered the most all round experience of friendliness, opulence, atmosphere, views and relaxation. We would highly recommend this as a hotel to be at the top of your list when visiting SA. Room #9 was spot-on! Thanks to all the staff at The Birkenhead for a very special experience.

Room tip: Room 9 was beautiful - airy, bright, large and opulent :-)
Date of stay: August 2015
  • Trip type: Traveled with family
    • Location
    • Cleanliness
    • Service
Thank DCMIT1
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
TheRoyalPortfolio, General Manager at Birkenhead House, responded to this reviewResponded September 1, 2015

Dear DCMIT1

It was really great having you with us and we are delighted that you enjoyed your stay. Thank you for the wonderful review. The young ladies at reception, Barbara-Ann and Verne are a great asset to the team. Luta, the hostess, is one of our newest staff members and we're thrilled that she is making such a positive impact.

Our entire team enjoy welcoming guests to their “home away from home” and we look forward to your return visit with us, hopefully in the not too distant future!

Kindest Regards

Shane Brummer
General Manager | Birkenhead House
Birkenhead House is a member of The Royal Portfolio

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Reviewed August 14, 2015

We arrived at Birkenhead House after staying at the sister hotel La Residence in Franschhoek - which I would award 10 stars to, so Birkenhead House had to surpass my expectations to come close to La Residence.
Hotel is superbly located at top of the cliff overlooking the bay - perfect in the whale season.
There is a cliff-top path into Hermanus, allow yourself 2 hours for a leisurely stroll and get the hotel mini-bus to give you a lift back!
All rooms are different - we had a side balcony and view of the bay - very good. Each room is described well on the website.
Food was superb - lots to choose and spoil yourself. Wife also enjoyed a massage.

Room tip: Study the website for the room options/views
Date of stay: March 2015
  • Trip type: Traveled as a couple
    • Location
    • Rooms
    • Service
1  Thank Peter M
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
TheRoyalPortfolio, General Manager at Birkenhead House, responded to this reviewResponded August 18, 2015

Dear Peter M

Thank you for the wonderful feedback on your stay at Birkenhead House. We're thrilled that you enjoyed your time here and at La Residence. We look forward to welcoming you back in the not too distant future.

Kindest regards

Shane Brummer
General Manager | Birkenhead House
Birkenhead House is a member of The Royal Portfolio

Report response as inappropriate
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Reviewed July 29, 2015

I absolutely loved our stay at Birkenhead house. The property itself is gorgeous and situated on the rocks just above the beach in Hermanus so you have amazing views.

Our room was spacious, beautifully decorated and full of interesting art. It also had two balconies with different views of the ocean and mountains which was a real treat.

We felt really at home and the staff and everyone there were super friendly.

We enjoyed a delicious lunch with a bottle of rose ( all local drinks are included in the price ) while trying to spot some whales in the bay.

We also went down to the beach for sunset and then snuggled up on the couch next to the fire with a glass of red wine. Its such a great spot for a romantic holiday and I would definitely suggest it to couples and honeymooners.

Dinner was another 4 course delight with a lot of local flavours and another bottle of great red wine.

We were really sad to leave and cant wait to go back in Summer time to make use of the two pools one of which is an infinity pools with unspoilt ocean views.

Birkenhead is close enough to town ( and a little local cafe called The Daily Bread is just up the road ) but its not in the middle of everything which makes it great for relaxation!

Room tip: We loved our front facing sea room!
Date of stay: July 2015
  • Trip type: Traveled as a couple
    • Location
    • Sleep Quality
    • Service
Thank Superficialgirl
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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