JBayholiday

We paid and booked four nights, but left after the first because of the problems we encountered. It was hard to find somewhere else right away, but we eventually moved to Port Elizabeth, where the accommodation was far better. We were deeply disappointed. We’ve travelled extensively around South Africa and have consistently found clean, private, good quality places, unlike JBay Accommodation. The room’s sheets were stained and smelled strongly of smoke. I slept on top of the duvet with a towel between us, and covered the pillows with my clothes. Smoking in the main house, where the linen is kept, seems to have affected its cleanliness. I was also woken several times by banging doors and barking dogs, which made it hard to get the comfort and quiet expected from a luxury place. The advertised private balcony didn’t feel private. It faces large glass doors that all the other guests pass through, so you’d have to keep the curtains closed all the time. The cleaner and owners can also enter the guest accommodation through an internal door, which undercuts the privacy promised. The bathroom was dated, with a poor showerhead and very low water pressure. In the lounge, the small bar fridge held items for sale at restaurant prices, and it wasn’t clear whether selling alcohol on the premises was legal. There wasn’t enough room for our own food and drinks, so we had to move things out. The coffee was poor, with old, hard granules, and there was no fresh milk. The animal prints and horns made for distinctive décor, but didn’t make up for the lack of basic standards expected of a “luxury” establishment.