Outdoor pool, pool umbrellas, pool loungers

Reviews of La Galinière Guest Cottages

3 out of 5
La Galinière Guest Cottages
Main Road, Franschhoek, Western Cape

Reviews

8.2

Very good

Rating 10 - Excellent. 11 out of 28 reviews" "
Rating 8 - Good. 10 out of 28 reviews" "
Rating 6 - Okay. 5 out of 28 reviews" "
Rating 4 - Poor. 1 out of 28 reviews" "
Rating 2 - Terrible. 1 out of 28 reviews" "

8.8/10

Cleanliness

8.2/10

Staff & service

8.0/10

Amenities

8.4/10

Property conditions & facilities

8.0/10

Eco-friendliness

Reviews

10/10 Excellent

CLAUDINE, Frisco

Travelled with family and small children
Liked: Cleanliness, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Charming location. Friendly staff. Beautiful property.
Stayed 1 night in Nov 2023

6/10 Okay

Fay

Travelled with family and small children
Liked: Cleanliness
Disliked: Property conditions & facilities
There were simple comforts which were missing that could have made this a far more comfortable stay. I am by no means a high maintenance guest but I do believe in the philosophy of nothing ever being too much trouble and giving your guests a warm welcome into their temporary home. This just didn’t feel the case here; a couple of requests were brushed aside and ignored (more candles for load shedding, fuel for the fire on a wet miserable evening - granted it was summer but it was 16 degrees, load shedding was happening and it was pouring with rain so if we want a fire we can have a fire…right?). The furniture was quite old fashioned and mismatched, the “complimentary” milk and coffee equated to enough for a cup, there wasn’t a shower curtain…small bits add up. On the last night when we saw the manager it wasn’t a question of “have you enjoyed your stay” but more “what time are you leaving”. And despite paying in full weeks in advance and showing proof of that, I’m still being questioned about the outstanding balance. It just didn’t feel remotely like we were welcomed as guests but were more like an inconvenience. Equally don’t be fooled by the pics, it’s pretty but you are on a main road sandwiched between traffic and the tram, not peaceful at all. And if you’re scared of dogs just avoid - four very vocal and aggressive dogs which were fine in the end but the kids were scared of them. I won’t stay here again, sorry hosts but for Franschoek you have to up your game.
Response from Alan on 22 Feb 2023
'There are two sides to every story' as the saying goes and unfortunately Fay's review is an incorrect portrayal of the facts. On the very important issue of payment, Fay was requested to pay the 50% balance of her stay upon departure. It is La Galiniere's policy to take a 50% deposit at the time of booking and 50% on arrival. She showed us a screenshot on her phone from the Expedia website that indeed inferred that she had paid in full. However, payments to La Galiniere are not transacted through Expedia and there is no way that Expedia is aware of payments that are made. I believe Fay knew this to be the case and wanted to take advantage of us. On arrival, she signed a credit card payment acknowledgment form that showed that she had only paid a 50% deposit, so must have clearly understood there was a balance to pay. We also emailed her the confirmations we received that showed that she had paid only a 50% deposit, but she chose to ignore these facts.In relation to her comments about simple comforts, La Galiniere provides some of the most affordable accommodation in Franschhoek aside from dormitory-style accommodation. We are a three-star self-catering facility, offer three-star facilities and services, and charge three-star prices. We would all like to have five-star service wherever we stay, but unfortunately the simple comforts as Fay calls them cost money, which have to be paid by someone. If guests want four or five star services then we recommend they look to four or five-star establishments. If guests don't wish to cater for themselves, then we recommend that they don't book self-catering accommodation. Regarding the dogs, we make it very clear on the website that we have dogs roaming the farm, which provide our and guest security. Unfortunately, it is sometimes the case that people don't clearly look at what they are booking and then complain afterwards. This is one of those cases.Similarly, we are on the main road, and anyone who looks at our location on a map will see this (clearly Fay chose not to look carefully before she made the booking, but felt she had the right to complain afterwards). The majority of our guests are very satisfied with their stay as indicated by reviews. Unfortunately, there are always a few that expect far more than they pay for.

10/10 Excellent

irene

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Fabulous Franschhoek
Delightful for the night with a young family- wished we could have stayed longer.
Stayed 1 night in Apr 2019

10/10 Excellent

MICHELE

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

10/10 Excellent

Mark

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Brillant
Fantastic! Not everybody would be comfortable with the Dogs!
Response from Alan on 17 Apr 2018
Many thanks for your positive review Mark. We look forward to welcoming you back soon.

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 1 night in Nov 2017

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Property conditions & facilities
A winter's break
We had a one night stay with friends. Lovely setting and very comfortable cottages. For a winters break, it was quite cosy with the fireplace.

8/10 Good

Susan, UK

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Good location to Franshoek and the area.
Great to have self catering so close to town, the staff were brilliant, asked for a BBQ and it was all laid out waiting for you when you return from the day out etc.

10/10 Excellent

Mary, Massachusetts

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Great value, welcoming
This is an adorable cottage with a ton of space and a ton of nice details like a bottle of welcome wine, converters for electronics, towel warmers, and more. The pool is tiny and not that clean but other than that we thought this was an incredible value.

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Vineyard Delight
Beautiful, romantic setting for a lovely stay.

8/10 Good

Gabriel, Cape Town

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Franschoek
Perfect for a quick get away to Franschoek

6/10 Okay

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Comfortable and affordable close to Franschhoek
The unit was spacious, clean, comfortable and private. The main road is quite busy and when sitting outside traffic could be heard all the time. The room had a very small old CRT TV, not a flat screen as advertised. Nice stay overall, but not perfect.

2/10 Terrible

Verified traveller

Disliked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Would definitely not recommend
It did not look like the photos and the room was full of millipedes crawling up the walls, carpet and shower. Pretty disgusting!

8/10 Good

Joe, Free State

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Great underfloor heating in bedroom and bathroom.

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities
Nice relaxed guest cottages
Nice homely place. Shiraz cottage could do with a small couch to make it more comfortable. And some outside furniture.

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Good value in great location
A spacious, self-catering accommodation at a reasonable price in a great location on Franschoek's main road. We'd use it again without hesitation.

6/10 Okay

McLeod, St Andrews Scotland

Liked: Cleanliness
Good location but can be noisy
Quite comfortable but no more than the 3 stars rated.

10/10 Excellent

Stuart, Oxford UK and Angola Africa

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stuart and Mary visit
Great location and very nice private, secure area. Very comfortable and spacious accommodation tastefully decorated in modern "French" style Complimentary bottle of very good home-produced red wine waiting for us on arrival (it was so good we bought a case to take away with us). Wonderful place to stay as it is quiet and peaceful, but close to town. Owner and staff very friendly and helpful. We will definitely try to stay at La Galiniere next time we are in Franschhoek. Has to be the best value for money in the area!

10/10 Excellent

Jenny and Alan, Johannesburg

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Convenient guest house close to Franschhoek
The cottage we booked on this restful little wine estate had a very comfortable double bed / good size bedroom / well-equipped kitchen / lovely lounge and outdoor patio area looking onto the swimming pool. Only complaint - very limited bouquet DSTV... but we werent there to watch tv anyway. Wendy and Rencia made sure we were comfortable and then left us alone. Bliss.

8/10 Good

Retha

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
A breath taking view!
Our stay was very pleasant. The room was comfortable, the linen of a high quality and it was clean. The view was true to the pictures, which were posted on the site. The complimentary wine was much needed after our endless search to find the cottage. I would like to recommend that a VISIBLE name board be placed at the entrance seeing that it is on the main road into Franschoek.

10/10 Excellent

Diane, New York, NY

Liked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Disliked: Staff & service
Charming Stay in the Winelands
The Galiniere Guest Cottages are the perfect place to stay while in Franschhoek. We stayed only two nights but the cottage is fully equipped for a much longer stay. We had a car while we were there and it is a short drive into town and to surrounding wineries- it is basically situated in between the downtown area and the winery area, so it is very convenient. The cottage was clean and comfortable. The one thing you should know is that there is little to no service- we did not see our hosts between checking in and checking out. There is no phone in the cottage so you should make any arrangements (dinner reservations, tours, etc) prior to arriving. Also, there is not air con in the room which was not an issue for us, but something you should be aware of.

10/10 Excellent

Keir, London

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Comfortable cottage near centre of Franscchoek
This is a cottage attached to the owner's residence. It comprises bedroom, bathroom and kitchen. The cottage is comfortable and has a great location: just past the main drag of the main road going towards Paarl. There is a good Italian restaurant next door and, a nice touch, a complimentary bottle of wine produced on the estate is offered. There is no facility for breakfast unless you make it yourself, but there are loads of cafes within walking distance.

10/10 Excellent

Louise

Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 2 nights in Oct 2019

6/10 Okay

Marjolijn

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Prima, niet bijzonder
Verbleven hier met onze 2 kinderen van 6&7. Prima niet overdreven luxe huisje. Klein zwembadje buiten. Voor t huisje bistrostoeltjes die niet lekker zitten. Er lopen 4 grote Duitse herders rond die het terrein bewaken: 1 hapte naar mijn jongste, niet echt fijn maar gelukkig geen verwonding. Het huisje ligt vlakbij een drukke weg. Er is geen airco. Budgettechnisch gezien voor Franschhoek een prima keuze, maar het had niet de charme, ligging of luxe die we zijn tegengekomen bij andere overnachtingsplekken tijdens onze rondreis.
Stayed 3 nights in Feb 2019

10/10 Excellent

ROSANA

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Wi-Fi muito bom!
Viagem com hospedagem em 11 hotéis - melhor Wi-Fi! Lugar aconchegante; espaçoso, calmo e limpo! Voltaria com certeza.
Response from Alan on 9 May 2018
Many thanks for your positive review Rosana. Much appreciated

4/10 Poor

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness
Disliked: Staff & service
Kein Wifi während unseres Aufenthalts. Das Cottage liegt an der Haupststraße.
Stayed 2 nights in Feb 2018
Response from Alan on 19 Apr 2018
We apologize the wifi was not working when you stayed with us. We, like a number of properties in Franschhoek, have to deal with unreliable internet on a daily basis. We look forward to the installation of more reliable fibre optic cables sometime in 2019. As regards to our location, the map shown on all the websites clearly shows our location close to the main road.

6/10 Okay

Cassio

Liked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Disliked: Staff & service
Guest house confortável e bem localizada
Por ser uma guest house não há nenhum serviço oferecido, uma garrafa de vinho local nos foi dada, mas uma pena não ter uma área externa mais estruturada para que possamos degustar nosso vinho. A área externa em volta da piscina não estava com almofadas nas cadeiras, e a mesa estava empoeirada. a vista do hotel é linda para as montanhas e o ambiente externo devia ser melhor disponibilizado.

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Dans un cadre agréable
L'établissement est situe au milieu d'une vigne, mais on entend un peu le bruit de la circulation sur la route. Piscine, hôtesse très sympathique et accueillante avec dégustation du vin de la propriété. La kichnette est très bien équipée. Séjour très agréable dans la région des vignobles.