Cindy-Lulu Balanco

Traumatic experience at Nutbush and no support from Booking.com

Nutbush Boma Lodge/Hekpoort Magalies Must say my last booking through booking.com was an ENORMOUS DISAPPOINTMENT. Will not want to book again through them and will definitely not want my friends or anyone to take this chance. Risk. I had to fall around in the dark on arrival at Nutbush Boma Lodge on Friday night 8th June ’18 to find alternative accommodation at additional cost to me and was late (and very unsettled in myself) to register at seminar because of that. Unacceptable I paid in full per eft in advance, although when entering the website it did say no deposit was required and that I could pay on arrival. Minutes after I’ve send my booking request I have received an email from Nutbush Boma Lodge/Tracy to say I must eft the money asap to secure the booking. How convenient if your place is not on a guesthouse standard never mind Lodge standard. Unsafe feeling all round I’ve experienced there. No staff at reception at 17:30. No clear indication where to park and battle to get to reception up and down very unlevelled surfaces. No lights at my "parking spot" on rough grass back of row with 4 rooms almost back of property on a hill. At the back of those rooms it seems like dormitories for schools but I was on a Friday night the only soul in sight. No other cars. No other guests on a place in the field. Isolated place. I was woman alone. What if it was my daughter there on her own???!! I had to after the struggle up and down to find reception behind a bush ****erally) phoned both the landline and Tracy's cell numerous times without luck. She denied it. Said everyone else (..?) gets through. I have screenshots of the calls made to both the numbers during that time. On top of it did Tracy with whom I communicated during the course of the booking didn't meet me at reception but send her husband (?) with a strong heavy (old) smell of alcohol on his breath. He also knew I would return after 22:00 later and I just couldn’t place myself willingly in such a situation. Red lights that I couldn’t ignore. ............................. Very unprofessional. VERY scary. Total feeling of unsafeness. I was SO DISAPPOINTED Of course they have a “no refund on cancellation” policy. I did not cancel. I travelled 2 hours to get there, arrived and wanted to book in…. Regardless my explanation and that I tried to ask Tracy to place herself in my situation she persist that the nearly R 1400.00 was non-refundable. Lastly I had to ask in advance for a kettle. No coffee (no normal coffee station as for guesthouses and lodges). It was standing on its own on an empty slab in the room. Tracy’s reason for that: it was not a self-catering unit…. So much more reason then for it to have a coffee station?.. Not lodge-standard at all. I really looked forward to my stay there as on the web the pictures looks warm and inviting which was not so. I need to warn people to keep it in mind not to send your daughters, wife on their own. It is secluded. Be aware. During my 2 weeks of trying to get Tracy at NUTBUSSH BOMA LODGE to see the problem and prevent similar situations for future customers, BOOKING.COM gave zero support or acknowledgement of emails send to them etc. That was a big disappointment to realise that they are not interested to hear where problems are encountered and it possibly is only all about money to them?