Cape Town gay accommodation, stay, pink budget, travellers, homosexual visits, vacations

Cape Town gay travel, accommodation, stay, pink budget, travellers, homosexual visits, vacations, De Waterkant cottages, apartments, villas, penthouses, accommodation, South Africa

Here are some useful answers to questions we are frequently asked. However please just contact us if you need any further details or specific arrangements made.

Airport Taxi Service

Q.
Can I do this myself at the airport or can you arrange?

A.
Happy to, just give us your details and our friendly airport taxi service will meet you with a name board as you come into the arrivals hall. Check-in time is from 14:00 – 17:30 Monday to Friday and 14:00 – 15:00 weekends/public holidays. For late airport arrivals after 17:30 weekdays and 15:00 weekends/public holidays please arrange for an airport pick-up service with us and your driver will take you directly to your property.

Bedding

Q.
Do I need bed linen?

A.
No, we provide 100% cotton duvets and sheets with bed blankets and optional flat sheets if required during the hot season in all our Cape Town accommodation.

Q.	How often are the sheets and towels changed?
A.	We do change bed linen every three days but if you require a shorter period then no problem. Towels are regularly changed.

Q.	Do you provide baby cots?
A.	Yes we can at a daily rate of R70 with basic bed sheets.

Q.	Do you provide towels?
A.	Absolutely, and if you do need more during your stay simply ask your housekeeper. We also provide beach towels for you to use outside the property.

Q.	Does your self-catering properties have a laundry service?
A.	Yes, we use a local company just down the road and every property has a laundry book with instructions.

Q.	Do you allow more than two people to sleep in a room?
A.	All our properties are advertised with the maximum number of people it can accommodate and unfortunately we do not allow three people to sleep in a double bed or allow sleeping on sofas.

Breakfast

Q.	Can you provide and include within the accommodation rate?
A.	As the village has so much to offer in the way of cafes and restaurants that are all within less than a couple minutes walk of our properties we do not arrange breakfast vouchers but can recommend places to suit all tastes.

Cleaning

Q.	Are your properties serviced?
A.	Yes, a full service is done six days a week with a light service of replenishing towels, cleaning bathrooms and making beds on Sunday. The only exception is public holiday when alternative arrangements will be made. We do not service properties on public holidays.

Q.	What time do you clean?
A.	Our housekeeping staff don’t like to disturb you too early so usually from about 10am till just after 4pm. If you do have a specific time then let us know and we will see if we can assist. Alternatively if you do not want to be disturbed just let us know.

Q.	Do you do laundry?
A.	Yes, we use a local company just down the road and every property has a laundry book with instructions.

Early Check-ins

Q.	If our flight arrives early can we check-in early?
A.	If the property has not been booked the night before then we will always do our best to get you after 9.30am weekdays and after 10am weekends/public holidays. If the property does have a guest checking out then normally the 2pm check-in applies though we are happy to store luggage and give you a call if we can get you in earlier. Unfortunately our reception does not have changing facilities.

Entertaining

Can I invite friends around to the property?

Of course, most properties have additional glasses and crockery so you can entertain a couple of friends and we do encourage you to enjoy the place as a home. All we ask is that you respect the property accordingly and make sure there is no smoking inside and that there is no more than 2 additional visitors than the property can accommodate. Management reserves the right to ask visitors to vacate the property with immediate affect should the terms and conditions not be adhered to. Guests are responsible for their visitors and liable for any costs incurred.

Extra Guest Services

Q.	What do you offer?
A.	We provide a list of additional services such as daily gym membership at Virgin Active (R70), cottage massage (1 hour R450), cottage flowers (from R250), pre-stock your kitchen (we send you a list and we do the rest), private functions, excursions and car hire. If you need anything else arranged we will be happy to assist.

Hire Car

Q.	Can you arrange?
A.	No problem, just tell us what type of car you are looking for and we can either arrange for the firm to meet you at the airport or they can simply come to your front door on a particular day and time.

House-keeping

Q.	What service do you provide?
A.	On daily rentals a house-keeper will do a standard clean weekdays, Saturday and a light service on Sunday's; we do not service on public holidays. A house-keeper assistant will also clean, water and maintain the outdoor areas. If the property requires a heavy clean due to extreme usage e.g. party then, at managements discretion, R350 heavy cleaning charge will be invoiced.

Internet Access

What service do you provide?

We do offer WiFi internet access that can be purchased as 1Gig data usage for R120 running at a maximum of 384kbps. Although we do our best to make sure this service is working unfortunately we are governed by the state telecommunications company, Telkom. As yet we do not have fibre info structure and the area is connected via old cooper cables on telegraph poles which can sometimes have faults. Please be aware this is out of our control if there is a problem and Telkom is not known for speedy repair service.
There are a couple of internet cafe options close by which we can recommend when you are here.

Late check-ins

How late can I check-in?

For all arrivals after 17:30 weekdays and 15:00 weekends & public holidays please call
072 457 4387 half an hour before you arrive in the village and we will meet you at 40 Napier Street.
We can arrange an airport taxis service to bring you directly to our reception; please let us know your arrival flight details.
From 17:30 weekdays and 15:00 weekend/public holidays we recommend using our airport taxis service which will take you directly to your cottage. If you do not intend to book our airport taxis service you will be charged a late check-in fee of R150 per arrival time for staff to meet you at our reception for a late night check-in.

Please let us know your approximate arrival times when booking and if your times change.

If you are planning to use a hire car we advise getting the vehicle delivered to your property the following day. Please come to reception the following day for us to take photo-copy(s) of your ID or passport and complete our registration.

Late Check-outs

Q.	Can I leave later than 11:00?
A.	If the property has no booking for that night then no problem. We have late check-out fee of R400 (low season) R600 (high season) up to 16:00. After this time then a full days rate will be charged.

Location

Q.	How close are you to specific Cape Town locations?
A.	Check-out the area info section which does give a breakdown of key distances to either walk or drive.

Q.	What’s the location like?
A.	De Waterkant Village is a great place to base yourself if you want to be at the heart of the city. It is just below Signal Hill and above the V&A Waterfront, and tucked between the City Centre and Green Point.

Parking

Q.	Is there any?
A.	Apart from the properties with garages there is street parking available.

Payment Methods

Q.	Do you accept credit cards?
A.	Yes, Visa & Mastercard.

Q.	Can I pay by bank transfer?
A.	Absolutely for national eft payments, if you want to pay by international eft then a 1.5% levy is incurred.

Provisions

Q.	How close is the nearest food shop?
A.	There is a deli no more than 3 minutes walk from the furthest property with a cash machine and just 12 minutes walk is Woolworths Food Store. On Somerset Road there is a 24 hour petrol station with cash machines and basic food & drink store.

Public Holidays

Q.	Is your reception open on these days?
A.	Our reception is shut on the 25th December and 1st January; for arrivals on these days all guests have to use our airport pick-up service which will take you directly to your property. For all other public holidays please enquire directly. For more information on South African public holidays please view http://www.info.gov.za/aboutsa/holidays.htm.

Safety and Security

Q.	Is it safe?
A.	A common question we get asked usually because most international first time visitors have only television news knowledge. Cape Town is a large metropolitan city and although you do have areas of poverty right next to wealth you basically should treat the place like any other major city and just use common sense.

Satellite Television

Q.	What channels are available in the property?
A.	All our properties have DSTV Compact and we do recommend for our South African guests that you are more than welcome to bring your own DSTV Premium cards. For more information on channels and programming please view www.dstv.com

Tipping

Q.	What is the normal amount and where do I pay it?
A.	At your own discretion but as a guideline- restaurants normally are around 10-12%, long taxis journey's around R10-20 max, street car guards (who are not legal so if you want to) no more than R2 and house-keeping staff is really up to you.

Tours

Q.	Can you arrange a tour i.e. day trip to the winelands or Cape Peninsula?
A.	Just let us know what you are looking for and we will happily arrange. Let us know if you prefer a personal tour guide, or a driver and vehicle or if you are happy to join a small group and we will do the rest?