Comp Beach Road 55 - FAMILY ONLY

The location makes it easy to get to the beach, where there are lifeguards, and it’s close to a supermarket, malls, and other facilities. Parking is secure in lock-up garages, with remote access in and out of the property. It’s a spacious, family-friendly resort with just six units. The apartments are self-catering and have well-equipped kitchens, though there’s no air conditioning.

It’s great to be staying at Labori again. The rooms are spacious, with three bedrooms for six people, two bathrooms, a fully equipped kitchen, dining room, lounge with TV, and huge outside verandas. There are also lock-up garages and electric fencing, and it’s easy to walk straight to the beach, with restaurants nearby. The buildings have had extensive repairs, including replacement of most sea-facing windows, repaired plasterwork, and painting inside and out. There’s been a lot of maintenance, and we’re told there’s more still to come.

The braai area is at the back of the building, two floors down by stairs and then around the building. Renovations on two other apartments made things noisy and extremely frustrating during our stay. Three days in, the geyser stopped working, and we as guests had to help fix it. There’s no air con or DStv, and the place needs a revamp that should have happened 20 years ago. It felt nothing like a break away from our comfortable home, just frustrating. I’ll never recommend Labori or come back. Shame on Flexiclub for presenting this as a well-deserved breakaway.

The location really is the best in Ballito, two minutes on foot from the main swimming beach and five minutes from shops and nightlife. But Labori hasn’t been upgraded in 40 years. There’s no air con, the pool is cold, there’s no DStv, and the old, old, old everything makes it feel stuck in the 80s. We only got the slowest wifi today. The hosts are friendly enough, but it’s not worth the money. Painting the shell and calling it a welcome package doesn’t change how outdated everything is. This is 2021.