The Secret Garden Guesthouse

The garden is pleasant, with local birds singing, but guests’ dogs also use it as a toilet area, so don’t walk there barefoot. There were other problems throughout the stay. The rooms smelled musty, and on arrival I had to air mine out for an hour because of a bad breath-like smell. The furniture was old and stained, and there was mold in the bathroom, so the windows need to stay open. Dogs barked enough that earplugs were necessary. I was unwell the next day and napping after breakfast when housekeeping forced their way into my room. It was locked from inside, with the key in the lock, and I had earplugs in. I asked them to skip housekeeping that day because it was an unpleasant experience, but they came the following day anyway to straighten the towels, saying otherwise they get musty too. I can’t praise the breakfast. Unused bread buns were brought out again the next day, including one with a strange stain that I’d removed from the basket and left stain-side up on the table. My scrambled egg portions got smaller each day. There wasn’t much variety, and the food wasn’t fresh. One night someone walked me to the hotel. The security guard opened the door for him, not me, even though I was the guest, and then told him my room number. The guard understood who was staying there and who wasn’t. I can’t recommend this for solo female travellers. They also forgot to invoice the $10 laundry and asked me to return to pay at reception, knowing I’d already left town. A very strange stay, and I can’t recommend it.