Hotel Secunda

I booked what was called a “luxury” room for R1,290 a night, for two nights. At reception, I found they’d only booked one night and had to get them to correct it. Then the door wouldn’t open unless I forced it with my shoulder. The curtains looked straight onto a brick wall behind burglar bars. The room was in awful shape. There was water damage on the ceiling, damp peeling flooring, a dirty bathroom basin, no air-con remote, and fish moths in the bed with dark marks on the bedding. Disgusting. I asked to move, but the second room had visible mold in the bathroom. While I was checking it, they said I couldn’t change rooms because I’d “used” the bed, though I’d only opened it to check for bugs. They also had no cleaning staff available. Getting the refund sorted was another mess. They first took off two extra nights, then fixed it. This was the worst accommodation experience I’ve had. Calling it “luxury” is laughable. Don’t stay here.

The rooms were neat and clean, but I won’t return. Loud groups were making noise in the morning and woke up everyone trying to sleep in. They didn’t seem to consider the other guests, and no one from the hotel tried to quiet them down.

I came back from work at 3pm and the cleaners only showed up at 4pm, which was inconvenient. The bathroom also has no door, and breakfast at the restaurant wasn’t the best.

The room had plenty of space, with both a shower and a bath, plus tea and coffee. I did miss having a microwave in there.