Qwantani exerts duress to make guests pay

I spent 4 days at Qwantani last week and whilst it has a lot going for it, including the fact that its pet friendly, I Ieft with a bad taste in my mouth following an interaction with the assistant manager Johan. Firstly, when we arrived on Monday we were placed in a chalet which was right next to one which was being renovated in haste to get it completed and ready for guests on Friday. The renovation was not mentioned in the booking process or by the reception staff. The builders used jack hammers and grinders throughout the day and constantly came over to our chalet to measure the braai dimensions and use the tap outside the kitchen window. After 2 days we asked to be moved and were given a chalet some distance away which had been vacant the whole week. If the staff were aware of other vacant chalets, surely logic would dictate that guests would prefer to be away from building activities, and not be placed in their direct path. At the very least they should be advised of the activities and given a choice. What left the bad taste in my mouth was when we checked out. We were informed that there was a fee of R100 per day for our dogs. This was mentioned when we checked in and we advised the receptionist that we were unaware of the fee and had paid the invoice received from Dream Vacations in full when confirming the booking and as such would not be paying any additional charges. Assistant Manager Johan was called and he checked the email received by my friend (who had made the booking) and confirmed that no fee for dogs had been mentioned and that no fee for dogs had been included in their invoice. We expected that to settle the matter but were mistaken. Surprisingly, he insisted that the fee MUST be paid as it was stated in their pet policy on the Qwantani website. He stated that we would not be allowed to leave the property if the fee was not paid. In other words, we would be held at Qwantani against our will if we did not fork out R1200 despite not having agreed to it. Johan conceded that error was not on our part but was an omission of Dream Vacations but continued with his stance that it was 'in the Pet Policy' that was on the Qwantani website and that 'most people' book via the website. The fact that we are not 'most people' and that the booking was not made via the website appeared to be irrelevant and he insisted that payment had to be made if we wanted to leave the resort. In the face of this DURESS we agreed to pay half the fee and once again braved 23Kms of gravel road to return home, saddened by a totally illogical approach.