Tarentilos

Everyone was so kind, and I really enjoyed my stay at this beautiful lodge. My favorite part was the Border collie, who was so well mannered and respectful. I'd definitely stay again.

We spent three nights in a self-catering unit. It was a little old, but reasonable for the price. Sitting on the veranda was lovely, looking out over the very nice, tidy garden with Impalas and Nyalas, while dog Sarah chased the vervet monkeys. The kids enjoyed the clean pool.

My daughters and I had everything we needed in our chalet, even an iron, and we were sorry to leave after three nights. The gardens were beautiful and well tended, and the people were friendly. We loved our early coffee while watching the sunrise, then evenings by the fire listening to frogs. After a hot day, the warm pool was lovely for a swim.

The worst experience ever. We held our children's wedding at Tarentilos Tzaneen venue. When we arrived, the lady was friendly and helpful, but her husband didn't even greet us. We checked in Thursday for a Saturday wedding. The chalet and everything else seemed fine. On the wedding day, they showed us where the items included in the venue price were. After the ceremony and photos, everyone went into the venue for the party. The old man came in about once an hour to check on us, which felt inappropriate at our own party. At midnight he came in and said, "you have to get out because I have to lock up now." When I asked why so early, he said he wasn't allowed to sell alcohol on the premises after midnight. But we had brought our own drinks in cooler boxes and hadn't bought any from him. He also claimed they'd emailed us that the cutoff was midnight, but we checked all our emails and couldn't find that anywhere. We all went back to our rooms. The children went to their rooms, which were all together, and partied there without making noise. Around 4 o'clock the next morning, my two sons and their friend came up to the car for a bag of clothes, so they could go sleep in the other friend's room. The old man chased them off the property like dogs, saying, "get off my Property." I tried to explain that they were going to sleep with their friend, but he wouldn't listen. He opened the gate and made them leave. They had been drinking at the wedding, and he chased them into the street to drive 80km to the nearest family's home for somewhere to sleep. The next day, they told the groom, my other son, that everything was fine and they'd return his deposit. More than a week later, they accused us of taking plates and said the tablecloths were stained. My advice is: don't ever go to this venue. You'll have the worst time ever.