No electricity, no water, no warning, no refund

Having spent a wonderful weekend at Antbear Eco Lodge in July 2021, we booked another visit in September 2024 expecting a similar experience. We were bitterly disappointed and left after one night out of the three we had booked.

A significant amount of snow had fallen during the weekend prior to our visit. When we phoned on the Sunday prior to our arrival on the Tuesday, we were told to bring our own drinks and drinking water as supplies had been interrupted.

What we were not informed about was that the electricity supply had been cut off since Saturday and that there was consequently no water supply at all. This, we were left to discover for ourselves after our 171 kilometer journey.

We had no source of water in our accommodation that night. We woke up to a member of staff offering the pair of us a half-full small, improvised bucket of warm water before 07:00. We were asked to decant the water immediately so that the bucket could be used to supply the three other guests staying in the lodge. We therefore poured the water into the bathroom basin, only to find that the plug doesn’t work properly, and the water disappeared. Half a small bucket of warm water is not sufficient to properly wash two people, that much should be obvious.

When we requested to speak to the owner, Andile, the manager, agreed that we should terminate our stay and assured us that she would speak to the owner on our behalf and request a refund of the deposit that we had already paid. We had paid 50% of the total charge upfront.

Unfortunately, we have not heard anything from Antbear’s owner, Mr Andrew Attwood, in the ensuing weeks since our departure. We have received marketing correspondence, but no replies to our several emails listing the problems we experienced and requesting a refund.

We had booked what is advertised as a ‘Mountain View Suite’. The problem was that saplings had been planted such that they entirely obscured the view of any mountain at all. Describing the suite we were assigned as a ‘Mountain View Suite’ is false advertising and we were disappointed to have no view.

We were also disappointed with the food, the standards of which seemed to have dropped considerably. Perhaps this was due to the lack of water and electricity, although cooking is done on gas.

Weeks later, we’re still waiting for an apology, an explanation as to how they can possibly call themselves an ‘Eco’ lodge, and a refund.

If, despite this review, you do decide to visit Antbear Eco Lodge, you would be well advised to book the ‘Luxury Cave’ as the ‘Mountain View Suites’ are disappointing rooms with a bed and couch and sometimes not even a view of the distant mountains. But the best advice we can offer is, unless you absolutely require pet-friendly accommodation, look elsewhere.