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Reviews of Audacia Manor Boutique Hotel

5 out of 5
Audacia Manor Boutique Hotel
11 Sir Arthur Road, Morningside, Durban, KwaZulu-Natal

Reviews

8.4

Very Good

Rating 10 - Excellent. 21 out of 46 reviews" "
Rating 8 - Good. 16 out of 46 reviews" "
Rating 6 - Okay. 8 out of 46 reviews" "
Rating 4 - Poor. 0 out of 46 reviews" "
Rating 2 - Terrible. 1 out of 46 reviews" "

9.0/10

Cleanliness

8.4/10

Staff & service

10/10

Amenities

8.6/10

Property conditions & facilities

Reviews

8/10 Good

Verified traveler

Business traveler
Liked: Staff & service
Nice but....
Nice hotel with spacious room, and friendly staff, but the furnitures inside the room were about to break down and the carpet was not in the best condition. Far fron being a 5 star hotel...
Stayed 3 nights in Apr 2021

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveler

Business traveler
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
A beautiful boutique hotel with large rooms an attentive service
Stayed 2 nights in Nov 2020
Response from Audacia Management on Nov 9, 2020
Dear GUEST, Thank you for the wonderful comments and for taking the time to give us feedback. We are delighted to hear that you enjoyed your stay! We hope to see you again soon, take care.

2/10 Terrible

Amantha

Traveled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Shocking experience
With COVID we looked for a hotel that was spacious with few guests. The hotel has spacious rooms and with only 10 rooms, it suited our needs. The hotel failed to mention that they hire out the premises for events. One such event was scheduled for the Sunday morning - the team setting up worked outside our room for most of the night, and got pretty rowdy from around 6am on the Sunday morning. Completely unacceptable. The party further increased the number of people sharing the space (a converted house) by over 40 - we could not use the main entrance as this was set up for the party and most of the 40+ guests did not wear masks, nor did they practice social distancing. The hotel did nothing to correct this. The only up side to the stay was that management was gracious enough to let us check out early and refund us. Lovely hotel, average service, and a complete disregard for the safety or comfort of guests!
Stayed 4 nights in Oct 2020
Response from Audacia Management on Nov 9, 2020
Dear Sir, Thank you for taking the time to give us feedback, it is greatly appreciated. Please accept our apologies for the discomfort that you felt during your stay. It most certainly does not reflect the high standard that we are know for. We are a boutique hotel as well as we do intimate functions, unfortunately an outside decorator took matters into her own hands. This will most certainly not happen again in the future. We hope to see you again were we can offer you the breakaway that you deserve. Please take care and all the best,

8/10 Good

Martin

Stayed 1 night in Jun 2020
Response from Thando Mavuso on Jul 6, 2020
Dear Valued Guest, We highly appreciate your honest feed back thank you for staying at Audacia Manor Boutique Hotel hope to see you again. Yours in Hospitality Reservations

8/10 Good

Joanne

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Joanne’s review
Wonderful large room comfortable firm bed large bathroom and nice balcony with view. Area relatively safe. Very accommodating staff. Good breakfast.
Stayed 1 night in Aug 2019

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveler

Traveled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
My husband and I were so blessed to have had the opportunity to stay at this beautiful place. The manor is a piece of history and a place to treasure. We will never forget staying there. From the moment we checked in and until we checked we checked out we felt at home and safe. Your staff were professional, and most gracious to us. Breakfasts were delicious. Our heartfelt thanks to all the staff for taking care of us. We look forward to staying at the manor when we come back to South Africa.
Stayed 3 nights in Apr 2019

8/10 Good

Bill, Edinburgh, UK

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Lovely hotel in a quiet part of town overlooking the city. Loved the staff who couldn’ t do enough for us including leaving us fruit to eat as we had a 4.00am departure. Food beautifullly presented and so tasty. On the other side of the coin we felt the pool area needs some attention to draw guests to make better use of it. If we had to single out a member of their great staff it would be Agnes who was amazing!!
Stayed 8 nights in Jan 2019
Response from audacia on Feb 7, 2019
Thank you very much for your review as it's much important for us to know about your experience you had to our establishment. and it build us more to where we must improve. thank you, Regards, Cadet

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveler

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
The staff and property was very nice. We had a miscommunication about our driver that we had for the day. Did not realize that we will be charged for the mileage. Thought the price that he gave us for the day was the only price.
Stayed 2 nights in Oct 2018
Response from Cadet on Nov 12, 2018
Good day Anonymous, it was a lovely experience having you on our establishment, Audacia Manor Historique Boutique Hotel, better as the miscommunication was resolved for the driver and I really appreciate your understanding off the matter. Hoping to having you in future as it's our duties and responsibility to make each and everyone of our Guest to feel at hope or even go beyond your expectation. have a wonderful evening! Regards, Cadet Mulemera. Assistant Manager.

6/10 Okay

Verified traveler

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Great staff but expected more from Audacia
They staff is so lovely and friendly. The building is interesting and has lots of potential. The room was comfortable - the best part is the little balcony with sea view. It is a "shared" balcony some of the rooms have private balconies. No attention to detail (no extra cotton wool or amenities in bath room only just bare minimum). New towels are sorely needed. Although there are some special furniture and art pieces, the place lacks luxury atmosphere. We expected more of 5 star establishment. Lovely pool area. The food not great. We had breakfast and dinner over 2 days and felt the kitchen can do better. The dinning room courtyard needs to spruced up. (needs flowers and plants. The fountain is not operational). It can be a haven if things are jacked up a bit. It is clear that some effort has been put in however to compete with 5 star accommodation and attract the discerning traveler requires more improvements. Room tip - if you are a light sleeper choose a room not overlooking parking area. Noisy people arrived, loud music woke us up. The checkin and checkout was smooth. Lovely people.
Stayed 2 nights in Oct 2018
Response from Cadet on Nov 14, 2018
Good Day Anonymous, much appreciated for feed back that will really help us to go into details for our growth to go beyond our guest expectation. Regards, Cadet Mulemera. Assistant Manager

10/10 Excellent

Dave, OAKDALE, Ca

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Great staff, very accommodating and saw to every need
Stayed 1 night in Aug 2018
Response from Cadett Mulemera / night manager on Sep 18, 2018
My apologies for late response! Thank you very much for sharing your experience you had at the hotel. waiting to go beyond your expectation next visit. Thank you,

10/10 Excellent

Derek

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Fantastic Time
This was actually a last minute booking because the previous placed I booked was not adequate nor matched everything that I saw online. I wasn't looking for anything fancy but this place was one of the only ones still available that offered free breakfast and WiFi in my room with a good location. Everything about the stay was great. They were all incredibly accommodating and did a wonderful job of welcoming me and making me feel at home. Specifically Shannon, the general manger, knows how to treat her guest and provides individual attention to help ensure you have a great stay. I'd return in a heartbeat and plan on it the next time I visit Durban.
Stayed 3 nights in Jun 2018
Response from Shannon Naidoo on Jun 22, 2018
Dear Mr Robinson, Thank you for your wonderful feedback. We are glad to hear you received the service we endevour to deliver. It was an absolute pleasure to host you and we do hope to welcome you back in the near future. KInd Regards The Audacia Team

10/10 Excellent

Gabriel D'Oliveira, Durban

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Old school charm with superb hospitality
This is a charming converted Baron's house, hight ceilings, dark wood and period furniture. What really sets it apart is the charm and hospitality of the staff, especially Jean Francois! The standards are high here, food is top class, hotel is beautiful and I highly recommend it. WiFi a bit slow.
Stayed 2 nights in Jul 2017

6/10 Okay

John

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
none
the shower floor needs to be cleaned and the general upkeep needs attention eg cant lock the room door from inside -- not good experience

10/10 Excellent

craig

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort

8/10 Good

H N, BRIGHTON, ENGLAND

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
A Manor House, surrounded by garden.
We greatly enjoyed our stay. Very quiet, pleasant and safe surroundings. Excellent breakfast and delicious dinner. Warm swimming pool.

8/10 Good

TOLLO

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort

6/10 Okay

festus, Cape Verde

Friendly staff, great food and service; but shy blankets (nowhere to be found). Cable TV options not ideal for young family.

8/10 Good

Jenni, Adelaide

Liked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Old world charm
The place is lovely, the house is great as was the food. My only issues were they could do with a reception bell as it was very hard sometimes to get staff attention quickly - but when you did get their attention, service was great. The location is best suited to people who have their own car, as is quite residential. But there is still a lovely view of the ocean.

6/10 Okay

Verified traveler

Beautiful building, but need more attention.
lovely building, but need to be refurbished. The door of the room didn't shut without locking, which was not mended during out 3 nights stay. There was a wedding going on on Saturday, which made quite noisy, disturbing our sleep a bit. We should be notifed about this event in advance.

8/10 Good

Verified traveler

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
A lovely quiet respite from the hustle and bustle of the city center. It was a bit difficult to find, so be sure to get directions before arriving! I greatly enjoyed my stay and will definitely return on future visits to Durban.

8/10 Good

Verified traveler

Liked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Our visit at African Pride will be one to remember. The superior King room is really amazing, with the highlights for us being the outdoor spa bath and outdoor shower. It is very romantic, and my boyfriend proposed to me while we were there :) We definitely hope to be viting again soon!

8/10 Good

Subhash, Bangalore

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
A Great Boutique Hotel in Durban
Very large, well appointed rooms with period decor is the main thing about this place. Highly recommend.

10/10 Excellent

Angi, Nairobi, Kenya

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Lovely weekend in Durban
We had a great weekend at the African Pride Audacia Hotel. The food was wonderful, the room welcoming and comfortable, and the staff exceptionally warm. We hope to visit Durban and the Audacia Hotel again in the future. The only small glitch was the lack of internet for the weekend.

6/10 Okay

Verified traveler

Liked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Disliked: Staff & service
beautiful, but better management needed
No one seemed to be in charge when we arrived - Wifi was down for the first night, no one could answer questions, and service at the restaurant was frustratingly slow. Things seemed to run a lot smoother when the owner was there the next 2 days, but we wish there had been a manager there on the 1st night... Otherwise, beautiful hotel and amazing room.

10/10 Excellent

ahmed, Yanbu

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Highly Recommended!
Outstanding hotel, Great friendly staff, Excellent location and breakfast

10/10 Excellent

David's Eagle's, Berchtesgaden, Germany

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
The grand old 1920s
Audacia Manor is a colonial-style 1920s home transformed into a boutique 5-star guesthouse. Claw-foot oval bathtubs, spacious rooms and all the modern comforts you could wish for (air-conditioning, fridge in room, large TV, etc) define the hotel. A good-sized pool, as well as a spacious terrace overlooking the sea in the distance, where breakfast (or dinner) is served, adds to the facilities. The hotel is located in a high-security, residential area and most of the Durban taxi drivers didn't know how to find the place so it's a good idea to have the hotel's phone number on you when out and about. Service staff is very friendly and the breakfast is copious and excellent. The only down-side was our dinner there. Perhaps due to the fact that several private events were taking place at the same time as our dinner, we had to wait forever and several of the dishes we had ordered were switched for others we hadn't ordered. Having waited so long for each course, we simply setllted for whatever was served. There again, a bit of a disappointment: the beef was chewy and not cooked rare, the way we had ordered it. Nonetheless I would return anytime to the oasis of quiet and the lovely garden that this place offers.

10/10 Excellent

Stephen, Kent , CT

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Durban?
We spent two nights here on the way from a safari camp to Cape Town. It was our first visit to Africa. We didn't know how to choose a Durban hotel. We didn't know what part of town to look in. We didn't want to make a mistake. Anyway this is a very fabulous place! A beautiful 1926 villa converted to a small boutique hotel with charm, rooms out of a movie, a beautiful pool, in a really tony neighborhood. (Neighbourhood for the Brits.) An English Arts and Crafts gem. Melanie in the kitchen created really, really creative dinners and breakfasts. I was pretty surprised to be in such luxury at the price. Now there was not a lift to the second floor (one above ground floor for you Americans), but a terrific young staff who were delighted to lug my suitcases. Clean. Aesthetically superior in ambiance. Very safe. Seriously plush in an old-time way. I would always stay here.

10/10 Excellent

Ned, Oxford, England

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Clean, comfortable, welcoming and excellent food
The hotel is situated in one of the more desirable areas of Durban just down the road from the Presidential Palace. The premises are secure, but it also has private security as an added measure. The rooms are spacious and well furnished, the staff friendly and hospitable and the menu just excellent as is the food. The head waiter, Jean Francois, is an excellent source of knowledge and advice to any tourist. His advice and general guidance was greatly appreciated over the following weeks of our stay. This was the perfect start to our holiday in KZN and I highly recommended it to others. Needless to say, it is also excellent value for money. Jean Francois appreciated real coffee and kindly obliged my request for fresh coffee to be brought to our room before breakfast.

8/10 Good

Evan

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveler

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Wonderful and Beautiful!
It was a difficult time as I had travelled from the U.K. to attend a family funeral. I wanted a place that would look after us during this difficult time. I am happy to say that on all levels : the grand beauty of the colonial hotel, pool, ambience, dining on the outside terrace over looking Durban, 5 star food and amazing service from the staff. Jean - Francois and his team were exceptional in meeting our needs and requests. I am very grateful for their understanding, professionalism and superb service. Our family would like to say a Big thank you to all the staff and hope to return under better circumstances in the future.

6/10 Okay

Bruce, Clearwater

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Nice neighborhood
The hotel is nice. An old estate that was converted to hotel. Rooms are big. The staff very nice and helpful. Only problem was the hotel did not find my booking and could only put me up for one night despite that I had booked and paid for two. They said they would work it out so I would not be charged for two nights and were very willing to find accommodation for my second night as they had two parties going on and were fully booked. Over all a good experience despite that.

8/10 Good

MWB, London UK

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Met our needs
Thick duvet in hot weather, needed very thin one. Lighting in bedroom was far too dim - bathroom was fine. Dinner menu was too limited in scope, though food was good. Breakfast coffee from percolator was like mud and undrinkable - we always had to ask for instant coffee. Toast and jam should not require a request, they should be routinely provided. Good setting in Durban, a few minutes drive from a very pleasant beach and up a hill, so fine view. Gardens in good shape and swimming pool good. Built in 1928 so rooms and furniture have character. We had a spacious room with its own secluded patio with jacuzzi. Overall I recommend this hotel and would return to it.

6/10 Okay

Chesca, Mid Wales

Liked: Cleanliness, room comfort
Mixed feelings about our stay. Sombre colours everywhere and poorly ventilated so cooking smells were everywhere. No introduction to hotel facilities and where meals were served. Very poor dinner there. Staff tried to be helpful and were friendly. Appears to suit business men so lots of phone calls etc. during dinner and breakfast. Beautiful building and some lovely touches such as the lovely macaroons and fruit which was left in the room.

10/10 Excellent

jane, london

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Nice hotel
Good hotel in a quieter part of town but very close to beach, Moses Madhiba stadium and not far to other attractions that Durban has. The hotel staff were great as we had loads of luggage and bikes but storing them for us was no issue.

10/10 Excellent

Bianca, Singapore

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Perfect for a long stay
I had a great time during a two week stay and the staff were exceptionally accommodating of any requests (including letting me order in pizza for kids whose parents had popped in for a drink on the gorgeous verandah). It's a shame more Durbanites don't use it for its hospitality and location.

10/10 Excellent

Davo, Australia

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Wonderfully welcoming
Staff were very welcoming and helpful. Food in the restaurant was very good. The room amenities had to be seen to be believed just fabulous, outdoor spa and shower included. Sitting on the verandah looking out over Durban city at night was wonderful.

10/10 Excellent

Phumeles, Johannesburg

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Fantastic service
The most rewarding experience

8/10 Good

nicolas

Liked: Cleanliness, room comfort
ottimo soggiorno stile vecchia durban
bellissima casa, personale gentile, ottima air condition e wifi , il tutto avrebbe bisogno di una rinfrescata e di personale piu' esperto
Stayed 3 nights in Mar 2019

10/10 Excellent

Wagner

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Great location
Great hotel with an amazing room in an amazing old duch house!! Friendly staff and great location! Great to stay!
Stayed 2 nights in Jul 2018
Response from Audacia Hotel on Aug 9, 2018
Dear Valued Guest, Thank you for your valued feedback. We hope to welcome you back to our Old Grande Dame. Take care, The Audacia TEAM

10/10 Excellent

Andreas, Umeå

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Historiskt vackert och lugnt hotell
Fantastiskt litet hotell i lugnt område och vacker utsikt över Durban. Bra service och trevlig personal. Mycket god mat från restaurangen.

10/10 Excellent

Andreas, Zug , Schweiz

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Topadresse
Extrem zuvorkommendes Personal . Gast stand immer im Mittelpunkt , Sonderwünsche wurden gerne erfüllt . Gute Speisekarte u Qualität ! Exklusives Ambiente eines alten manors Würde jederzeit wieder buchen

6/10 Okay

Cris, Nederland

Liked: Cleanliness, room comfort
Disliked: Staff & service
Nice hotel with dissapointing service
The hotel itself met my expectations: nice, spacy and confortable rooms with classis furniture. Secure location, being about 2 minutes of the state house - venue where the president stays during his vsits to Durban. Cozy restaurant with a nice, sunny terras looking over the swimmingpool. All well until service. Most of the hotel guests are there for business, so they need a fast and efficient breakfast service. If you arrive at the restaurant in the monring, you will find no staff anywhere. Plan about 45 minutes for the breakfast, as the speed of service is quite different that what you could expect. If you liked a dish on the menu, do not make the mistake to oredr same dish another day. You will be surprised, but your dish could look and even taste quite different from the previous time. save yourself and stay with the good experience! It is of major importance that you learn the layout of the hotel and you discover all the service rooms, as you will need to go and find the staff in case you need something - order food or beverages, or even check out. The staff is friendly and helpful, but first you need to find them. Wifi free of charge, but do not count on it. Mostly so instable, that your device will not be able to cope. Do not count on Wifi.

8/10 Good

Sabrina, Köln

Liked: Property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Disliked: Staff & service
Das Hotel an sich war sehr schön und hatte einen tollen Stil. Es liegt in einer eher ruhigen guten Gegend, aber dafür auch relativ weit entfernt vom Strand. Zu Fuß ist leider zu weit zum Strand, und jedes mal ein Taxi bestellen kann schon recht teuer werden. Wir waren im Großen und Ganzen eigentlich zufrieden, vor allem auch weil das Essen hervorragend war. Also ein Kompliment an die Köchin! :) Der Service war leider sehr schwankend, und das war ein sehr großer Minuspunkt für uns. An manchen Tagen war der Service ganz ok, und an anderen wiederum katastrophal, was sehr schade war, da man bei einem 5-Sterne-Hotel eigentlich eine Konstante erwarten sollte, aber irgendwie wusste da manchmal keiner so wirklich welche Aufgabe ihm zufällt und keiner war nur für einen Bereich eingeplant und so lief manchmal alles etwas durcheinander. Aber wie gesagt ansonsten war es wirklich ok!

8/10 Good

ALICE, Berlin

Liked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Disliked: Staff & service
Schönes Hotel in guter Lage
Ein sehr schönes Hotel, mit exklusiver Einrichtung, den 20er Jahren nachempfunden, ein sehr schöner Garten, sehr sauber, ein hervorragendes Essen! Eigentlich ein Kleinod! Leider scheint das leitende Personal total überfordert zu sein und selbst auf kleine Anfragen wurde wegen "Überlastung" nicht eingegangen. Wifi funktionierte nicht. Schade! Welches Potential hat dieses wunderschöne Hotel! Trotz der Erfahrung mit dem Personal möchten wir den Aufenthalt dort nicht missen!

8/10 Good

Verified traveler

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
leuk en verzorgd typisch zuid Afrikaans
Hotel was goed,jammer dat er geen restaurant bij zit. Ontbijt is wel aanwezig. Op loop afstand zijn er restaurants,maar alleen doen als het licht is. Evt. kan er wel 's ochtends maaltijden voor 's avonds besteld worden. Het meest ideale is een auto te hebben. Je zit in ongeveer 10 minuten bij het strand. Met een taxi kost dit ongeveer R100

10/10 Excellent

sylvain, Québec

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Excellent choix dans un quartier près de la ville
Je n ai rien a redire sur cet établissement. Tout était parfait. Bien situé et a 30 minutes a pied du centre ville. Bon accueil et la nourriture très bonne ! Nous aurions dû sejourner 1 nuit de plus.