Driftwood Gardens Guesthouse

The kitchen’s plastic crockery was a major disappointment. Eating from cheap plastic cups and plates gave the guesthouse the feel of an inexpensive hostel, and I’m concerned about plastic touching hot food. When I asked the owner for ceramic bowls so I wouldn’t have plastic in contact with my breakfast oats, he did offer one glass bowl, to be fair. But this was a two bedroom apartment I shared with my mother, so one bowl felt like a pretty poor response. When I raised my dissatisfaction, he said he didn’t want to pay to replace broken ceramics. At $130 a night, I found that reasoning unjustified. Places charging much less, including private accommodations I’d booked for a third of the nightly rate, had real ceramic dishes. I imagine many guests, and perhaps the owners too, aren’t very informed about the toxicity of plastic food contact. Still, you don’t need expertise in environmental toxicity to choose basic aesthetic taste over penny pinching. This wasn’t a horror story, just very disappointing. If they want to avoid breakable dishes, wooden bowls and plates would be an economical alternative and would fit the apartment’s beautiful wooden details. There was plenty to like otherwise: the kitchen was well stocked, and I was happy with the location, design, and wood furnishings and fittings. The free bicycles were a nice extra, and the owners let me use the washer and dryer for laundry at no charge, which was a welcome bonus.