The Reserve

The photos for The Reserve Sandton bore no resemblance to the place. My partner and I lasted an hour before checking out because the apartment was such a mess. There was a terrible smell that lingered, and the couch smelled like someone had had their menstrual cycle on it. The front door wouldn't lock, and the sliding door had to be lifted to open or close. Going out for food meant taking all our belongings, since the door couldn't be locked from outside. It was a nightmare. We told the woman managing the place why we had to leave. Dealing with her has been an ongoing nightmare. She didn't get back to us or come collect the key and apologize. She just said to leave the key in the apartment for someone to pick up. I've been chasing a refund for two weeks. She keeps saying she's waiting for the manager's feedback and doesn't follow up, even though I've asked several times to speak with the owner. They even told me I had to remove my review or they wouldn't pay me. Worst place I've ever booked. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone, not even a dead toe.

We paid to stay somewhere secure, but couldn't lock the apartment door and felt very unsafe. It was just my daughter and me in the room. When I called the woman at 20h00, she said to lock only the security door because the apartment door doesn't lock. When I asked for the property owner's details, she said she needed permission to give them to me.

The apartment smelled bad and was in poor condition, nothing like the pictures. They charged us an extra 500r for cleaning when I booked, but I didn't see any cleaners until the day I checked out. Checkout was supposed to be before 11. At 10:16 I was still checking whether I'd left anything behind, though I was already on my way out, when the woman sent security to remove me. She was talking to the cleaner in my apartment and didn't realize I was still inside. I couldn't hear everything she said, but she was very rude and treated me like a liar. I'm very disappointed.

We booked three apartments for a recent corporate trip and appreciated having full kitchens, including an oven and washing machine, which are hard to find. The Reserve serviced apartments worked very well for us. The building is undergoing a full renovation, and management handled it well. We look forward to seeing it finished on our next trip to JHB.