ATKV Hartenbos

The waterfront is beautiful, with lovely shops and restaurants that make for a great atmosphere. The resort itself is beautiful and in a fantastic location. We were greeted warmly at reception, and the staff were friendly and helpful the whole visit. We loved our stay and can't wait to return.

The kids especially loved the fun park, and we all fell asleep to the sound of the ocean. It was our first time camping, and we had a wonderful time. The bathroom facilities were exceptionally clean, and the cheerful cleaning staff were so friendly. Our neighbours were helpful and welcoming too. There was one upsetting moment when a mature white woman made a racist comment in the bathroom. It's shocking and sad that this still happens in South Africa. Aside from that, the trip was amazing, and we'll be back, God willing. Thank you, ATKV Hartenbos 🙏🏼

We were uncomfortable in both the unit and the pool area, so although we'd paid for a night, we chose not to stay. The experience fell well short of what we expected from ATKV, and I wouldn't recommend spending money here. The rondawel was reasonably clean, but the unit itself was in generally poor condition. Driving past the preschool in the same area as the units was concerning and did not make us feel comfortable or safe. Staff gave us little useful direction to the pool. Getting there means walking through the mall, which felt unsafe, especially with young children. It didn't feel like the kind of place where children could safely walk around or ride their bicycles. The sea-view units seem a better choice. The other units are in very poor condition, with no safe, practical walking route to the pool. Day visitors left a lot of rubbish, were very loud, and made the place uncomfortable by showing little regard for personal space.

Over the last month or so, I've noticed ATKV Hartenbos responding on Google Maps to every good rating of four stars or more, but not once to a rating of three stars or less. We arrived on 7 December to find the ablutions in terrible shape. Groups of half-drunk matric boys and girls were still encamped, making a mess and walking through the camp with boom boxes. When people asked them to turn it down, they went around the camp playing it loudly to be spiteful. Camp security did nothing to stop it, which surely could be managed better in future. We were also surprised that the resort's 'certified' assistants for pitching caravans and tents were youngsters with no experience doing it. We had to explain every step and help them, then fix the mistakes after they'd gone. That 'assistance' cost R500. I don't mind the resort using this for training points, but each young team should have an experienced leader who knows how to pitch caravans and tents. Other ATKV and non-ATKV campsites around South Africa have given us much better expert help for half of Hartenbos's price. Then came the 'appliance dance'. The campsites have only 10A breakers, so we could run just one appliance at a time. When I complained and asked why this wasn't made clear at booking, the rather rude resort manager asked if we'd camped there before, saying we'd know if we had. When I asked how that was relevant and why other ATKV resorts like Buffelspoort and Klein Kariba hadn't caused this problem, he first called those resorts to check their breaker ratings. It felt like he wanted to win an argument instead of fix the issue. It had already taken many calls to report the problem, since the resort numbers, including emergency numbers, went unanswered. Once our call was logged, the resort electrician took most of a day to respond. I've been a paid-up ATKV member since 2012. Surely the organization can do better with its facilities, with managing matric jols so they don't overlap other bookings, and with how resort staff treat and serve campers and ATKV members.