Fawlty Towers Experience 1/2* rating

We arrived at this establishment which we discovered is located in a former coloured location at 4pm,the only time that you are allowed to check in,(all other establishments allows you to check in at 2pm) we drove up and down as the place is unmarked as they are not registered with the Tourism Board according to the owner. When we expressed our disappointment as it did not meet with the booking.com advertising rate of 4.5/7. The owner's husband?/ Partner/ assistant 's initial response after listening to my friends complaint was ' the gate is still open,you can leave' I arrived and approached this man, Andreas who was sitting outside in his car,only to discover the owner, Gaynor, sitting in the car beside him. A heated interaction ensured and she said that we could do whatever we wanted go to the media, write our reviews etc but there would be no refund. Andreas wanted to find a compromise and they had a discussion and agreed to refund us for one day only!!! My friends accepted this although I was not in agreement. This however was BEFORE we settled in to our rooms. They went off and we wanted to drop off our luggage and go for drinks. We are four adults who hired two double rooms were not next to one another. We tried to lock up but Room no 2s door could not lock......nevertheless,we took our valuables and we went off to the Protea Hotel to have drinks and spend the evening there as we realised that this was not the type of establishment that we had expected but a backpackers lodge! Following is a rundown of our experience of both rooms and I have photographic proof to back this up. Firstly it doesn't confirm to health x safety standards and secondly what you see online is not what you get! First room- Twin beds with a fridge placed right next to one bed Night lightstands that are not connected Kettle with no plug so you must put it on top of the fridge or on the floor to boil An extractor fan in shower that is completely rusted and does not work. A braai opposite room,that is placed in a paved area that is the driveway too. We made a fire in our return and because it does not have a chimney all the smoke blew into the room even though the door was closed and we could not get the extractor to absorb the heavy smoke smell. That would also explain why the room smelled musty. We opened a window and part of the frame fell out! Opened the cupboard door,the one door was dangling from one hinge! Needless to say we did not use it! Huge print in wall kept falling off everytime you moved around on bed DStv did not work on first evening either Second room The patio door handle was broken! Making it difficult to open and close There was a cable coming out through the wall and if it is dark you can very easily trip over it No plug for kettle,have to put it on the floor to boil Got stuck in bathroom on numerous occasions as the sliding door sticks and if one lifts it to move it along it comes off the hinges! Handbasin tap loose Plumbing pipes sticking out of the wall into bedroom from shower cubicle. Disaster plan not displayed but sitting in the desk drawer. They advertise the 'perk' is maid's cleaning service,no one cleaned or replaced towels,we had to ask and we bought our own toilet rolls Communal kitchen,the oven was not working. On top of the room is a long overflower pipe just above one room This property has two awful noisy sliding gates which wakes everyone up when someone comes in late and if people use the incorrect remote,one of the gates remains open leaving access for any passerby to gain access to your room or the cars Parking is an absolute nightmare! The driveway is the braai area and the parking area If we did not arrive so late on Friday and if we did not have a full day planned on Saturday,we would not have stayed. Several other guests complained bitterly and also had problems with key sticking in doors,clearly a maintenance problem.

I feel that we should be refunded and that this place must take down their false advertising and make it a backpackers establishment as it does not offer anything else but a room and a communal lounge which is not suitable if you are looking for a relaxing place away from home. The only positive which I have to hand to her was that the rooms were clean.Seriously disappointing experience and the owner has a very bad attitude, could not care about her guests and us happy just to take your money. When we expressed our dissatisfaction,she shrugged and said that's business! Business yes but not good business practice! Several guests we noticed left soon after and said the same thing,this is not what we expected.I fully support and endorse black female entrepreneurs but this one does not get my vote!