Shalini Garden Hotel & Apartment

There were no amenities to go with the full kitchen: no utensils, dishes, plates, cooking equipment, microwave, washing liquid, cleaning products, or hair dryer. Staff said we should only drink bottled water. They mentioned there was one shared fridge, but since no other rooms were booked, it ended up in our apartment. The power was out for over an hour, so that wasn't much use anyway. The place was unpleasant and unhygienic. The bathroom had mould, the downstairs shower wouldn't drain, and there was an old used bar of soap with questionable hairs on it. Towels were stained and had holes. Management said they'd put a new bed in one room, but there were live and dead bed bugs under the sheets. I have photos and videos for anyone interested, since I can't upload the videos here. One mattress had blood and brown stains. A staff member asked us, “is it because of the bugs?”, but when we raised the condition of the room, management denied it. They refused a refund at first, then said they could offer a partial refund because we'd paid a deposit and a final payment. They also said their bank apparently wouldn't return the money. I wouldn't recommend staying here. Management denies the problems, doesn't seem to care, and will keep your money.

When I went to reception to raise the problems, nobody was there for about 20 minutes, so I had to knock and wait. The place was very unhygienic, with bed bugs, and the toilets wouldn't flush. I was told bed bugs are common in hotels and that everyone has them. For the toilets, I was told the heavy rain the day before was why they weren't flushing properly. I added pictures of the bugs. When I asked about a refund, the man started asking irrelevant questions about who I'd come with and why I'd booked a hotel.

I got in a little after 9 pm. The room was discounted, and I could rest there safely. There was plenty of guest parking, the room had air con and a comfortable bed, and the facility was clean.

The location is convenient for Sigatoka and close to the road. The rooms felt a bit tired and lacked appointments. We had to ask for towels, and the ones we got had holes. We won't be back, though with some care and attention to detail, the place could be much better. I wish them well.