Okay but definitely not great - we were expecting luxury based on the photos.
The answer to the above question is yes; however, I will inform them about the issues experienced.
The communication received from the website confirmed that we could check in from 2pm onwards. We arrived at 2:30pm and cleaning was still being done on the outside of the house, with the property manager, Emmanuel, telling us that we were early. He showed us around and explained about keeping the doors closed and lights turned off after 6pm due to “flies” from the dam. He also said that somebody would still come around to clean the pool (it wasn’t extremely dirty, but had a lot of debris from the cleaning that happened around the house). Nobody arrived to clean the pool. We could not find a pool net to scoop out the bits and pieces and ended up using the sieve from the kitchen to do so.
The weather over the weekend was extremely hot. We were shown the aircons and remotes and switched them on. About an hour or two after arrival, I sent him a WhatsApp message to say that the aircons in the 2 rooms facing the dam were not pushing out cold air. After confirming the settings with him and sending a photo as proof, he said that he was on his way to Johannesburg and would pass by, but asked us to “leave it on”. He did not come back to check.
The next morning at around 8am he sent a WhatsApp message to say that we should ask Tebogo (the cleaning lady) to help with the air conditioning. She could not fix it and, honestly, we didn’t think that it was her responsibility to do so. Then, on the Sunday evening just after 8pm, all the aircons shut off. We checked the power box but nothing had tripped, so we are not sure what happened, but it was particularly hard to sleep that night because of the heat.
Now to the “flies” Emmanuel mentioned — these were actually small, tiny bugs that are there to help control the water hyacinths on the dam. There were millions of them. We all understood why they were there and did not have an issue with that; however, you should still be able to go inside the house, close the doors and windows, and enjoy your evening with the lights on in the main area of the house. This was not possible because the seals on the glass doors and windows facing the deck (that are meant to keep the house free from insects or wind, for that matter) were not in working condition. They were all discoloured and brittle to the touch; some were partially broken (only covering part of the gap), and others were completely missing (leaving the entire gap open).
This is the reason why Emmanuel told us to keep the lights off, but he did not explain that properly. We found out the hard way because all these little insects were bombarding the place and coming in through the gaps. After the first night, we tried using cling wrap from the kitchen to seal the gaps (which took a long time), but that did not work well either because it wasn’t a proper seal. Also, at the window facing the pool (where the window meets the wall), the bugs were getting through a gap, which means the window is not sealed to the wall properly. So every morning we had to sweep the entire living and kitchen area to be able to walk without bugs under our feet.
Having seen the photos on the website, we were expecting luxury. Although the house is stunning, with a beautiful kitchen and bathrooms and beautiful décor in general, it was the little things that were disappointing. Having paid as much as we did for our stay, it was frustrating that the smaller details lacked attention:
In the main bedroom, the en-suite bathroom area had the toilet roll holder and guest towel holder hanging/bent downwards, and the small waste bin was rusty.
In the main bathroom, the toilet brush holder was even more rusty.
In the kitchen, the chandelier above the workbench/stove had numerous glass coverings that were broken, and quite a few lights were completely missing a covering.
The plastic table placemats had tears in them and some had the corners broken off.
The dirt bin “drawer” was not on a rail and, if you pulled it out too far, it tipped onto the floor, causing the 70- and 80-year-olds to struggle more than we did.
The bathroom door and the door to the yellow room were unable to close properly — you had to lock them in order to close them. Again, a small thing that could have been picked up and fixed.
Different from the photos seen on the website, the deck now has an awning, but half of the roof of the awning was missing/damaged.
In the main bedroom, one bedside lamp did not have a bulb in it. The other bedside lamp had a two-point plug attachment, but behind the bedside table there was only a standard three-point plug.
Not all the mechanisms of the blinds in the main area were working.
As you can see from the above, there is a lot to be looked at.
One positive for us was the cleaning done by Tebogo — she was amazing and cleaned every day. She was friendly, happy, and a pleasure to deal with. We do want to bring it to your attention that she kept apologising for the aircons and the insect problem. We felt that she should not have been put in that position because of the lack of management/caretaking.
Lastly, on arrival we had to pay R1000 as a breakage deposit. Emmanuel said that this is kept as a deposit for breakages, but also for speeding in the estate, and that after departure, on either the Tuesday or Wednesday, he should have the report from the security room and then be able to refund us. I sent him my FNB banking details. Keep in mind that we departed on 9 February.
On Monday, 16 February, he sent a WhatsApp to say he was still waiting for the security records and promised to finalise the return of the deposit as soon as it came through. I then asked what the hold-up was. He still has not responded to that message, and neither have we received our breakage deposit back. We did not break anything, and none of us sped — we obeyed the limit as set inside the estate.
We would therefore appreciate assistance in getting them to action this, as it is now 12 days since our departure. For this reason, I am answering the question about being charged for unexpected amounts as “no” because, to date, we have not heard from them.
Word in die oorspronklike taal vertoon.
