Capital B&B

Good B&B near Pretoria

I went to the 2010 World Cup and stayed at the Capital B&B for my 10 day stay in the country. I chose this place because after literally months of searching for a place to stay, this was the only one I came across that had not raised their rates for the World Cup. I got the standard rate of R280 per night, which is around $40 USD I believe (google currently says it is about $42 but I'm pretty sure at the time of my trip it was equal to about $37). A lot of other places were asking R1000 or more per night for this time period!

Capital B&B is owned and operated by a family. A woman and her husband run it with the help of one of their sons. They are some of the nicest people you will ever meet - they were very accommodating of me, making sure that I had everything I needed and even giving me a ride for a small fee to Johannesburg for some of the games I went to. They also picked me up from and dropped me off at the Johannesburg Airport when I was arriving to/leaving the country.

The place itself has, I believe, 4-5 rooms. There are a few single bed rooms, a few doubles, and a "cabin" in the back which houses more. There are locks on the gates so that you are completely safe at night. The location is not quite ideal, it's not really close to much, although if you don't mind walking you can get to pretty much anywhere that you want to go in Capital Park or Pretoria by doing that. I even walked all the way to the Brooklyn Mall from here, although it took a couple hours. I also walked to Loftus (the stadium) several times for the World Cup games, and that took around 45 minutes I think. The Pretoria Zoo is close by on the map, but it takes a good half hour or so to walk to because you have to go all the way around to the other side for the entrance. I'm sure cabs are readily available - and actually the staff will call them for you if you'd like, but I was just trying to save money so I walked everywhere.

They are not on hand 24/7, though they do leave you their phone number to get ahold of. They will generally come some time in the morning every day to clean up from breakfast (and set up everything for the next day's), make the beds, etc. They may come by later on in the day occasionally to check up on everything, but again, unless you catch them in the morning you will probably have to call if you need anything.

Breakfast was decent - there were a few options: mostly apples, cereal, and toast, along with a few different drink choices as well.

There is also no heating in this place. I was there in June, which is the middle of winter there, so it was really cold in my room. They did provide plenty of blankets though, so I kept warm and slept comfortably, but it was very cold and I noticed some of the other guests were complaining about it.

Overall I enjoyed my stay here, although I would probably try to find somewhere else to stay, in a better location, if I ever go back to Pretoria.

Unique Quality: Pick up from and drop off to the airport for a small fee (I believe it was R300 - remember, Johannesburg is a long drive from Pretoria)

Breakfast provided every morning.

Locks on the outside gates.

Two driveways for parking if you have a rental car.

Very friendly and helpful staff (although they are not there most of the time).

• Opinion of Price: less expensive than average
• Written January 5, 2011

Capital B&B Photo: The room I stayed in (Copper Room)

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