The Ekhaya Guest House Ballito

We stayed in the family room. Dr Richard was a good host, and breakfast was good too. A very nice place to stay.

Breakfast was the one good part of our stay. The rooms don’t match the pictures, apart from one that was nice, and the price buys you better options elsewhere. I wouldn’t book this for a holiday or for more than one night. One room meant sharing a bathroom with the host, despite all rooms being advertised as en suite, and another had a much smaller bathroom than shown. The lapa was being used for outside functions for most of our stay, and they were very noisy. We never felt comfortable or had privacy: the host’s room is next to the guest rooms, except for the upstairs family room. There’s only one fridge in the kitchen, and the host uses it, so there’s no space for guests. We also couldn’t use the lounge and TV room because the host was always there.

Ekhaya is a fitting name. Dr. Finch and his staff gave us a friendly welcome, and we felt at home as soon as we arrived.

We left within ten minutes because we were too put off to stay. The family room is basically one large bed with two single beds beside it, reached by a very steep staircase, and the listing photos are misleading. There was a strong bleach smell as soon as we went in. Downstairs looked worn and run-down, and the kitchen counter was cluttered, particularly with alcohol bottles. It seemed someone was living in the downstairs room, and the owner also appears to live on site. This didn’t feel family-friendly. I wish I’d taken photos, but we couldn’t bear to stay long enough.