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Reviews of The Royal Hotel

3 out of 5
The Royal Hotel
267 Smith Street, Durban, KwaZulu-Natal

Reviews

7.2

Good

Rating 10 - Excellent. 56 out of 226 reviews" "
Rating 8 - Good. 73 out of 226 reviews" "
Rating 6 - Okay. 54 out of 226 reviews" "
Rating 4 - Poor. 20 out of 226 reviews" "
Rating 2 - Terrible. 23 out of 226 reviews" "

7.8/10

Cleanliness

7.2/10

Staff & service

6.8/10

Amenities

7.0/10

Property conditions & facilities

6.4/10

Eco-friendliness

Reviews

8/10 Good

James

Liked: Staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Stayed 3 nights in Mar 2024

10/10 Excellent

Maud

Liked: Staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Hood
Stayed 1 night in Jan 2024

8/10 Good

Russell

Stayed 1 night in Dec 2023

10/10 Excellent

Mildred Nomvana

Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 2 nights in Nov 2023

2/10 Terrible

Isaac

Stayed 2 nights in Oct 2023

2/10 Terrible

Ferdinand

Stayed 1 night in Aug 2023

8/10 Good

Pearl

Stayed 1 night in Aug 2023

10/10 Excellent

Maud

Stayed 1 night in Jul 2023

10/10 Excellent

Pedro Manuel Pereira, Concord

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Above and beyond great experience , staff is fantastic.
Stayed 8 nights in Jun 2023

2/10 Terrible

Verified traveller

Liked: Room comfort
Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Stayed 3 nights in Jun 2023

10/10 Excellent

Travelstart online

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 5 nights in Apr 2022

8/10 Good

Danai

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Clean rooms and wide selection for breakfast items
Stayed 1 night in May 2022

6/10 Okay

Mvuyiso

Stayed 1 night in Oct 2021

2/10 Terrible

Verified traveller

Travelled with group
Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Hotel of F***** Horror.
Upon arriving at the hotel bookings were not correct but after some time it was resolved. We got to the rooms and their room appears clean but when looking at the curtains or even the carpets it was filthy. The lift buttons are dirty and do not appear to be polished. The service we got was shocking, reception staff does not give a toss about guests, and if things are asked they take their own time or do not get back to you about it. They have hot water issues and when asking about it we were told that they would get back to us, which they never did. When they heard that we knew media personnel they then only offered to find us a room with hot water. The reception staff is the worst I have ever seen or even had to deal with, for the place they are working at it is rather sad. There were even chicken bones laying on the stairways and cockroaches in front and in rooms.
Stayed 2 nights in Oct 2021
Response from Marketing and Sales Manager on 25 Oct 2021
Dear Anonymous Thank you for your recent review. We have escalated your comment and we have investigated the matter, and could not find any of these statements made to be correct. We would have appreciated it if you could have used your name and surname in your review, instead of Anonymous as this would have assisted us in retrieving your contact information from our reservation system, and we would have been on contact to discuss the above matter with you. We apologise if you had an unpleasant experience and we would have like to be in contact to discuss the matter. We look forward to welcome you again in future.

10/10 Excellent

Sandile

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Definitely coming back
I don't understand why it's a 3 star cause everything is 5star and the staff is amazing
Stayed 1 night in Nov 2019

10/10 Excellent

Nomonde

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 4 nights in Dec 2019

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Disliked: Cleanliness
Vintage style
We had to pay R75 per day for parking and I was not told in advance. The carpet in my room(642) was dirty or stained. Otherwise I like the vintage and elegant decor. The porters were helpful. Great service at the restaurant.
Stayed 3 nights in Jan 2020

10/10 Excellent

Jeffrey

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
My family and I had a wonderful time at the Royal. Reception was great; capacious rooms; ample parking; nice breakfast. Overall stay was excellent.
Stayed 1 night in Dec 2019

8/10 Good

Alice

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
The stay was fine but need to look at fixing their furniture in time before guests arrive.
Stayed 5 nights in Dec 2019

6/10 Okay

Irene

Travelled with family
Disliked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities
Dissapointed
It was fair but most amazing was scarcity of drinking water just a mere tap water n i had to complain first before they can cnhange our bedding....they just made the bed without changing sheets ,pillow cases n towels let alone refilling tea/coffee stuff n toiletries in the bathrooms n end up buying toilet paper .... remember we stayed 5 nights there but at after a reguested to speak to the manager everything was taken care of.Remember i syeyed in this hotel in 2015 but this year i dnt know what happened. During breakfast they end up counting food .i wonder why they accomodaye so many guest they cannot afford to feed them breakfast .
Stayed 5 nights in Dec 2019

4/10 Poor

Verified traveller

Travelled with family
Disliked: Property conditions & facilities
Pics online deceiving.Pool water was green & disgusting.Room wasn't set up as requested originally.Wifi in the room kept loosing signal.Tv in RM 643 wasn't clear but snowy.Breakfast at the cafe wasn't great.Hotel could do with an upgrade as it's definitely dated. Great location as it's close to transport an good surrounding shops/mall. Restoration definitely required in the city too.
Stayed 2 nights in Dec 2019

10/10 Excellent

bonisiwe

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Amazing service , most friendly staff,spotless cleaning Royal hotel is our second home We have great time with my partner Keep up on your super service
Stayed 2 nights in Dec 2019

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Business traveller
Liked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 1 night in Nov 2019

10/10 Excellent

Vinit Prakash

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
stay was good for its price. Breakfast was very good. We are vegetarians, they accomodated vegetarian food also.
Stayed 3 nights in Oct 2019

10/10 Excellent

Masechaba

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 3 nights in Oct 2019

4/10 Poor

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Disliked: Amenities
Hotel staff were friendly, however CDB Durban isn't really a place for foreign tourists, especially at night. Locals advised me to move to the outer neighborhoods such as Morningside and Windermere. This really was my biggest issue. WiFi at the Royal was odd - best connection speeds are down in the lobby area which I didn't care for, though that is a minor thing, honestly. I can, however, tell that at one time The Royal was probably a very nice hotel, back when times in Durban were perhaps a bit better. The actual quality of the rooms were good and I thought the bathroom and showers were attractive and nice. However, when I voiced my concerns to the manager, he refused to acknowledge that CBD Durban is unsafe, despite MANY locals telling me the opposite, and would not refund the money i'd paid for two remaining days I had booked. While I respect the manager for holding his position and again i'd like to emphasize that the hotel staff were friendly, The Royal just wasn't the right place for me.
Stayed 3 nights in Oct 2019

10/10 Excellent

Dzunani

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Room service must improve on customer requests
I stayed 3 nights with my friend the place is very clean and interesting. The bar and food also good with reasonable price.Their breakfast is the best.The only problem we had its a iron we did a request and they didn't bring it we called them again the phone was ringing with no respond until we went out. Rather than that i really enjoyed our stay and definitely i will visit again.
Stayed 3 nights in Oct 2019

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Business traveller, Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
It was overall good and clean. Looking forward to the next visit
Stayed 4 nights in Oct 2019

10/10 Excellent

Kgomotso

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Perfect
Place should be 5 star. Very professional and friendly staff well spoken. The rooms and building is very clean and safe every was working and in perfect oder. I loved it
Stayed 2 nights in Oct 2019

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, amenities
The windows are dirty ,so i couldn't view the City from my room of which that was the reason for my booking
Stayed 1 night in Oct 2019

6/10 Okay

Verified traveller

Stayed 2 nights in Sep 2019

2/10 Terrible

Mzwakhe

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Service is very bad
Not good at all, I was never offered accommodation there at The Royal Hotel, hence I've made the booking online and was confirmed.
Stayed 1 night in Sep 2019

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Disliked: Staff & service
Stayed 1 night in Sep 2019

10/10 Excellent

Nomsa

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Amazing!
Stayed 1 night in Sep 2019

4/10 Poor

Verified traveller

Disliked: Property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 1 night in Sep 2019

2/10 Terrible

Verified traveller

Disliked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
The carpet was wet, smelled like puke, seems like someone has thrown up in the room and was just cleaned, no aircon.
Stayed 1 night in Sep 2019

8/10 Good

LULAMA

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 1 night in Aug 2019

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
The hotel is beautiful, although it is slightly shabby on further inspection. My room on the 19th floor had amazing views, however, one of the windows did not close completely. The staff were incredibly helpful, and it would be on this basis that I recommend this hotel. I've not received service like it in years, the staff are a credit to the hotel.
Stayed 2 nights in Jun 2019
Response from Andre-B van Wyk on 26 Aug 2019
Thank you for staying at THE ROYAL HOTEL. We value your feedback and we are pleased that you received service of a high standard from our staff. We look forward to many more visits.

10/10 Excellent

Sanjeev

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
A very well maintained Hotel with friendly staff
Stayed 1 night in Jun 2019
Response from Group Marketing and Sales Manager on 18 Jun 2019
Thank you for staying at THE ROYAL HOTEL. We value your feedback and we are pleased that we were able to offer you well maintained facilities and friendly service. We look forward to your next visit.

6/10 Okay

Hans

Liked: Room comfort
Disliked: Staff & service, property conditions & facilities
I have been staying here for over 30 years but every time i stay here it is worse than the previous stay. The room is very large clean and comfortable. Parking is a major problem as you have to get you ticket stamped at reception every time you leave even for a short period, then it has to be taken to the parking office outside in the parking garage to be activated. This was time consuming and frustrating.
Stayed 1 night in May 2019
Response from Andre-B van Wyk on 10 Jun 2019
Thank you for staying at THE ROYAL HOTEL. We are pleased that we are able to accommodate you in our clean and comfortable rooms. Apologies for the parking inconvenience as the parkade does not belong to THE ROYAL HOTEL and is a separate company whom owns and manages the parking facility and a daily charge is levied as indicated on our listing. We look forward to welcome you again soon.

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Royal Hotel
The breakfast was supurb as well as hte on site a la carte restuarant. The parking was convenient with direct access to the hotel although you have to pay for it even as a guest.
Stayed 1 night in May 2019
Response from Andre-B van Wyk (Marketing and Sales Manager) on 10 Jun 2019
Thank you for staying at THE ROYAL HOTEL. We value your feedback and we are pleased that you were satisfied with our breakfast. Unfortunately, the parking is owned and managed by a separate company and does not belong to THE ROYAL HOTEL. A daily parking fee is levied by this separate entity as indicated on our listing. We look forward to welcome you again soon.

10/10 Excellent

Carmen

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Weekend Stay at the Royal
Breakfast was amazing.. Friendly staff... Felt at home... Happy
Stayed 1 night in May 2019
Response from Marketing and Sales Manager on 3 Jun 2019
Thank you for staying at The Royal Hotel. We value your feedback and we are pleased that we were impressed by our breakfast and service received by our staff. We look forward to welcome you again soon.

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Stayed 3 nights in Apr 2019
Response from Andre-B van Wyk on 24 Apr 2019
Thank you for staying at The Royal Hotel. We value your feedback and appreciate your 5 our of 5 rating.

8/10 Good

Nosipho

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
I loved the room. Windows were a bit dirty but that wasn't a huge issue. I loved the security of the hotel.
Stayed 1 night in Apr 2019
Response from Andre-B van Wyk on 16 Apr 2019
Thank you for staying at our hotel. We value your feedback and look forward to welcome you back again soon.

8/10 Good

Khe

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 1 night in Mar 2019
Response from Andre-B van Wyk on 15 Apr 2019
Thank you for staying at our hotel and for the 8 out of 10 review score. We value your feedback and we look forward to welcome you again soon,

8/10 Good

Duncan

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, room comfort
great place and well located
Rustic old place with an exceptional staff and old school classic feel to the place.
Stayed 1 night in Mar 2019
Response from Marketing Manager on 28 Mar 2019
Thank you for staying at The Royal Hotel. We value your feedback and appreciate your positive feedback regarding our service and facilities. We look forward to your next visit.

6/10 Okay

Mapontso

Liked: Staff & service
Disliked: Cleanliness
Stayed 4 nights in Mar 2019
Response from Marketing Manager on 11 Mar 2019
Thank you for staying at THE ROYAL HOTEL. We value your feedback and we are pleased that you had a pleasant and memorable stay. We look forward to see you again in the near future.

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Fantastic staff :-)
Great staff & wonderful attitude & smiles to ensure a great stayover!!
Stayed 1 night in Mar 2019
Response from Marketing Manager on 11 Mar 2019
Thank you for staying at THE ROYAL HOTEL. We value your feedback and we are pleased that you had a pleasant and memorable stay. We look forward to see you again in the near future.

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Awesome Staff :-)
Wonderfully surprised with room upgrade & excellent staff at the royal hotel that go out of their way to ensure your comfort & convenience for a pleasurable & memorable stayover!!
Stayed 1 night in Mar 2019
Response from Marketing Manager on 11 Mar 2019
Thank you for staying at THE ROYAL HOTEL. We value your feedback and we are pleased that you had a pleasant and memorable stay. We look forward to see you again in the near future.

6/10 Okay

Verified traveller

Stayed 3 nights in Mar 2019
Response from Andre-B van Wyk on 15 Apr 2019
Thank you for staying at our hotel and for the 3 out of 5 review score. We value your feedback and we look forward to welcome you again soon,