Fairmont Zimbali Coastal Resort - Huge disappointment!

I had stayed at Fairmont Zimbali Hotel on honeymoon in 2013 and I had holidayed in a private villa on the property for a long weekend in 2014. On both occasions, I was quite pleased with my stay, resort facilities and the attitude of staff at the resort. However, as recently as June this year, I happened to stay at Zimbali Suites 611 Penthouse unit and was very disappointed overall. The three-night weekend stay (Friday, 4th June to Mon, 7th June) was a huge disappointment in the way of amenities paid for, but never enjoyed. The attitude of the individual at reception that weeekend was not up to standard either.

My brother had kindly booked a weekend away for my parents. Since it was a 4-sleeper, my parents had asked either my brother and family or myself, my husband and son to join them for the weekend. Since my brother was unable to make it, my family and I happily joined them expecting to enjoy the luxury amenities my brother had paid extra rands for (most notably, the hot tub jacuzzi). However, from the time my parents checked in, they were faced with numeroud challenges and no help from reception. It was only once they were able to get in touch with the in-house agent for the unit, a lady named Nosipho, that they were able to achieve small victories such as new replacement batteries for the aircon/heater remote. It was an abysmally cold weekend in the middle of winter and I had kuckily informed them that blackets would not be provided with the unit, so they were able to bring along their own warm blankets and throws. If they hadn't, between the cold weather and the aircon remote batteries being low, we all would have had to bundle up in jackets and sit around freezing.

My parents checked in on Friday afternoon. On Saturday, my dad contacted me with a few complaints, asking if I vould get in touch with someone to help them as these were the issues faced:

1. Jacuzzi was not working (this was the main drawcard for booking the Penthouse suite at a higher price than the regular suites) 2. Nespresso machine did not work properly (the frothing function did not work). We own a Nesprrsso machine at home and are familiar eith how to use one. The one in our unit was definitely faulty. 3. The light in the main bedroom or bathroom (I can't remember which one exactly) was not working. 4. There was only one blanket in the 4-sleeper unit, in the middle of winter 5. There was no heater available to borr9w from reception (we received a curt response from the receptionist when I personally enquired about this upon my arrival) 6. Batteries were low in the aircon remote. Nosipho kindly tried assisting my dad with this on Friday - her kindness is the only reason this review gets more than a 1 star rating. However, we later realised that the remote was still not working and the replacement batteries may have been the wrong ones. 7. There were no replacement toiletries provided all weekend in a unit qith 4 adults and a toddler. We expected at least one refill for the price paid. 8. Tea and cappuccino sachets were not refilled. When we asked housekeeping staff about this, the lady stated that she had run out of these items before arriving at out unit. What a convenient excuse! But not good enough for the high price tag attached to our stay. 9. We had paid for 3 nights and were due to check out on Monday morning, 7 June 2021. However, agent Nosipho had incorrectly (and mistakenly, I'm surr) checked us out on Sunday. And so we lost access to our room on Sunday. We had to report to reception and make them check our reservation and booking details to re-activate our room key card.

The above listed 9 issues we faced over the cousrse of our 3 night weekend stay are, to me, inexcusable, especially given that the Fairmont group is an internationally recognised name and Zimbali is one of the biggest coastal resorts in South Africa, with wide international acclaim. Ot, therefore, baffles me how it is possible for such a vast reputation to be left in the hands of what can only be described as sour-faced, surly, unhelpful and arrogant staff (with the exception of Nosipho - who I never met, but possibly may have spoken to on the phone prior to my arrival on Saturday when I was still hours away and trying to help my dad remotely). Honestly, this thirr of stay of mine at Zimbali was a huge disappointment and ruined the omage of the resort on my mind. I can understand that the atmosphere may not be the same with strict COVID regulations in place, but that is no excuse for the clear drop in standards that I witnessed during my stay.

What infuriates me even further, and will forever marr my impression of the establishment, is that the weekend spent with my parents at Zimbali in June 2021 was the last holiday I will ever be able to take with my parents as a family. That weekend was the last holiday my dad took before he passed away. We lost my dad to COVID on the 6th October 2021. My mum and I were reminiscing about our last two local trips with him in the past year and she lamented the fact that we received such poor service that caused him such great frustration, when all he wanted to do was enjoy a break away from the everyday frustrations of life. And your resort couldn't even provide him with that, even after the hefty price had been paid for his stay. Throughout that weekend, we felt left alone and unattended to by staff and we just had to keep quiet, accept the poor service we got and quietly return home on Monday being grateful for whatever little joy we could squeeze out of the weekend.

The next time Zimbali embarks on a marketing campaign for its resort and facilities, perhaps they should consider whether what is happening on the ground actually reflects the promises they make to potential clients. If a holiday at their resort is going to be the last holiday a person takes before they leave this earth, I think they have a huge responsibility on their shoulders to ensure it's a ****** good one!