Couple's luxury spa date turns into 'brothel' nightmare at Cape hotel

A romantic couple’s massage turned into a nightmare for a man looking to treat his wife to a luxurious birthday treat. 

After booking a package at the Casuarina Wellness Centre, located in the lavish Cape Royale Luxury Hotel in Greenpoint, the hubby was hoping for some brownie points. 

But according to him, the place looked like “a brothel”. 

The disappointed customer, who chose to remain anonymous, said he booked a massage for him and his wife to celebrate her birthday on September 17.

The complainant said that sitting in the waiting room was as good as it got and claimed that Casuarina Wellness Centre are misleading the public with false advertising. 

He complained: “The pictures on Wikideals are nowhere close to what that actual place is. If you try and complain nobody answers. We took some videos and photos and the place looks pathetic.

“The pictures advertised look amazing. But when you come there, it's towels with holes in them. I was so disgusted because we saw this after our massage.”

The man said the place was anything but luxurious and compared it to a dungeon.

He added: “We came there with a blow fan heater keeping the room warm firstly and I told my wife let’s leave and she said no, don't waste your money. When we were done it looked like bodily fluids on the blanket.

“It looks filthy, it looks like a dungeon even the reviews online everybody has bad comments reviews. I don’t know how they are still operational. 

“To be honest, to me it looks like a brothel. Do people just go there and maybe they get happy endings.”

Many customers have expressed their disappointment in the centre, with the majority of the reviews being 1 stars on Google Reviews and Hello Peter.

But the centre’s owner Anthony Abrahams defended his business, telling the Cape Argus sister newspaper, the Daily Voice, that the centre has been in the industry for 18 years.

Abrahams said: “In respect of the complaint there were renovations of the landlord and what they are busy with now is the airflow so if there was any inconvenience caused we would gladly apologies from our side or recall them back to do the treatment.”

When probed on why the spa was not temporarily closed due to safety concerns Abrahams said they were closed for a week after the complainant was at the spa.

Abrahams dismissed the reviews, saying that review sites were always full of complaints.

He added: “If you are a business of colour, you will also see all the issues you will get. 

“For 18 years. people didn’t expect us to survive and I am 58 years old and I learnt that if you go to all the top brands, there will always be problems. We are living in a world now where people will always complain.”

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Cape Argus