Ntoliwa B&B

The rooms were spotless and the house is in a quiet area. Ntombenhle was great staff, making sure all our requests were handled without delay. We would have liked to swim, but the pool wasn’t clean.

The dirty pool was a letdown. My sister and her husband had visited on 1 December and were told it would be cleaned and ready for us on 10 December. When we arrived, it was still dirty. We were given different explanations: one person said a previous guest had thrown cigarettes in, while the housekeeper blamed the rain. We booked self-catering, but the fridge and cupboards still had old food in them. There was no soap, shower gel or shower cap either. The room with two single beds had dirty linen, and the bathroom light in room 2 was out. We asked the ladies about it, and they replied, “wahamba ijuba la nowa.” My sisters arrived at 3:15, although check-in was at 2pm, and the rooms weren’t ready. We also weren’t given an inventory or rules when booking, and nobody explained anything at check-in. We were told we hadn’t mentioned hosting a party, but it wasn’t a party, just ladies who’d worked hard all year getting together to enjoy themselves. Unless using the pool means it’s a party, ke. The housekeeper came into the house without knocking or asking whether she could do anything in the rooms. As guests, we didn’t understand that; I thought you asked before cleaning, since things could go missing or get broken. The security guard spent an hour in the house we’d booked, standing and listening to music without telling us the noise rules. In the morning, the housekeeper said music could be played until any time, so we were left unsure which rule applied or how the place was run. I had a terrible experience and felt I’d let my family down on this trip. PS: Thandeka Msezane

The place is clean, the staff are really friendly, and it’s good value for money.

The rooms were awful, with bed bugs and grimy showers, and I couldn’t sleep at all. I’d never go back. I’d rather sleep in my car.