Clifford's Rufaro Hotel, Conference & Spa

The gym was the one thing I liked. The rooms weren't bad, but they need some work. We only got one bath towel instead of two, and the showers have no doors, so the floor floods after use. Some taps aren't installed properly, the toilets don't flush smoothly, and the plumbing needs improvement. The bathroom door doesn't close properly, leaving people seated in the room able to see you using the toilet. The bathroom windows don't open or close properly either, and ours had no handle. The most off-putting thing was finding flies in some of the chafing dishes in the dining area, on two occasions.

I usually don't bother writing reviews, but this stay was bad enough that I feel I should warn people. The hotel gives a fairly upmarket impression on its website, but the reality didn't match. It wasn't close to a 3- or 4-star standard, and I wonder whether it deserves even 1 star. It felt overpriced for what we got, and I wouldn't recommend it. The room design was shoddy and much of it was broken or poorly maintained. The door handle was loose, the bedside plugs were broken, and the light switches were on the far side of the room, so I had to feel around in the dark. There were no bedside lamps. The toilet was open beside the bed, and the shower glass and fittings were loose and skewed. The bed, shower, and toilet were all raised on steps. Was that meant for unusually tall people, or to keep out the Tokholoshe? There was a kettle and cups but no tea or coffee sachets, and no towels on arrival. A servant brought towels after about ten minutes, but the large one was wet. The room smelled of cigarette smoke, had no Wi-Fi, and was beside a store or staff room where personnel gathered and talked loudly. When I went to shower, there was no water, and the basin had none either. Breakfast the next morning was poorly arranged. The dining room was undersized, with only three round tables, all occupied, so the other guests and I who arrived at about 7h40 had nowhere to sit. The coffee and cups were at the far end, while the hot water urn was near the start of the table row, so getting coffee meant squeezing past guests serving themselves at the buffet. It was awkward and inconvenient. The breakfast food was suited to an African diet rather than a European or Western one.

The place was very bad, and I couldn't sleep because the toilet was leaking. The rooms were dirty and the food was bad. Even student accommodation is far better. This place doesn't deserve even one star.

This room shouldn’t be rented out. The bathroom floor is so uneven I tripped twice, and the door nearly caught my fingers. The TV is tiny and very old. The table and chair... The room was cleaned properly.