Protea Hotel by Marriott Karridene Beach

The whole family is treated like one big family here, and all the staff were accommodating and made us feel welcome. The WiFi was always working. Nkgono, the manager, spread so much love around the hotel that we didn’t want to leave. At reception, manager Sbonisiso was always smiling and kind. Senzo was humble, passionate about serving guests, and went the extra mile. Sis Happy in the dining area was so kind and made the best breakfast omelets. We had an amazing family visit. The hotel is private, clean and safe, with exceptional food, a private gym, rooms and entertainment facilities.

After staying on and off at Karridene for nearly 18 months, I no longer feel safe there. This once-amazing Caravan Park has become a liability. There have been numerous break-ins in recent months, and three theft incidents just in the last month. I personally lost possessions worth 30 000.00 rands to thieves who entered the camp. The few long-stay campers feel unsafe, and the camp is basically empty, around 90% of the time. Management doesn’t take guests’ concerns seriously. They calm you down with promises of improvement, but actions speak louder than words. The camp manager isn’t a man of his word, seems to sit in his office all day, and doesn’t know what’s happening in the camp. Security is practically nonexistent because of how they do the job. On several occasions when we arrived late at night, they were all asleep. Such a pity, because this place has so much potential.

The second room smelled much better and had a clean toilet, though there were cockroaches and a very stale smell in the closet near the door. At least the hot water worked and the toilet flushed fine. I appreciated the reception gentleman helping change rooms after I showed him a picture of the first one, and the plate of cheese, dried fruit, peanuts and Nik Naks was a kind gesture. But that first room smelled stale and of cigarette smoke, and the toilet had faeces in it. There was no microwave, and the kettle had tiny black specks that went into the boiled water. The TV signal was pathetic, so I didn’t use it, and the Wi-Fi in the room was very weak and kept disconnecting. The games area had some nice artwork, but the putt-putt was in bad shape, with a decomposing rat on the 15TH hole. I’d paid extra to use it, so that was shocking. The breakfast buffet was decent, though I found a piece of eggshell in my omelette and the selection was very limited compared with other Protea Hotels. The restaurant staff were friendly and kind. Still, the first room had already ruined the stay, and I’d been in two minds about asking for a refund and leaving. I feel I got poor value for my hard-earned money. I wouldn’t likely recommend Protea Karridene to anyone. I highly recommend Fire & Ice Umhlanga instead, which has far superior standards.

Breakfast was good, and the bathroom was clean and comfortable. The rest of the room was a letdown. The carpets were dirty and smelled strongly, the blinds and curtains were dusty and dirty, and the pillow slips hadn’t been changed. We were shocked there weren’t even spare pillow slips. The lighting was dim, and the fridge water had been refilled with tap water. There was no shower gel or hand soap either. When we asked for room service, staff shortages meant we were told to collect our items from the bar and kitchen. Staff were incredibly unfriendly and loud in the passages. The hotel felt like a dormitory, and I checked out two days early.