The Beach House

I was disappointed to find it was a house to let. The gate wasn't locked, but nobody was there. We knocked and tried to find reception, but there was no sign. That's all I can say. I ended up outside instead of viewing the house before our holiday, and cancelled everything.

We wanted to leave Bills Best Beachhouse almost as soon as we arrived, but the service manager assured us there was no way to get other accommodation. Several items had been stolen from the front of the house, and security was non-existent. At the back, the house opens onto veld, with no fence separating it from a broken-down house just a few metres away. The disgusting state of the house was another reason we desperately wanted to leave, but we were told nothing else was available. Internet didn't work, and office staff were rude when we were told theirs wasn't working either. The office manager implied we were lucky to have water as a bonus and should be grateful, since most holiday homes in Ramsgate didn't have water. I don't know the name of the person who called himself the office manager. We'll never use Bills Best again, and I've informed all my friends and colleagues.

The house had everything we needed and was spacious and neat. It felt safe and secure, and we thoroughly enjoyed spending time there with family.

Winny the cleaner was the highlight. She kept the place clean, but the rest was a shocker: the oven and dishwasher were broken, a drain was blocked, the fridges needed replacing or re-gassing, and the pool needed water. The dishwasher and fridges were still unfixed when we checked out. We were there with friends and family to celebrate milestone birthdays and Mother's Day, and to scatter my late sister's ashes. Some had travelled from overseas and Cape Town. The check-in letter asked us to post about the place on their Facebook page, so we did. Their reply was that it was a pity we hadn't given them a chance to repair things first. It was a pity they were renting out the property in disrepair while displaying what seemed to be very old 3 stars from the tourism grading council, and still hadn't fixed the fridges or dishwasher.