I stayed at the property for 2 nights as I had to be in Camps Bay on a short business trip during lockdown. I booked the accommodation the night before I was meant to arrive which, in hindsight, was probably a silly move on my part as I hadn’t really considered other properties on offer before opting for this one. It was a business trip so all I needed was accessibility to public transport, security (I was traveling on my own) and wifi. I had been communicating with the host (Samantha) for a later checkout as I had initially booked for one night only and my flight was meant to leave at 15h30 the next day so I wanted to check out at 2pm rather than the normal 10:00. For the price I paid per night (R1,162.00) I could see no issues with a later checkout and they had no other bookings after me so a later check out was granted. Upon my arrival into the unit I was met by the hosts, Samantha and another male, not sure of his name as he never introduced himself and came across very unfriendly.
Upon entering the unit, the view was breathtaking absolutely scenic and possibly the only reason I agreed to spend another at R1,162.00 for another night. However, the smell upon entry was absolutely horrendous it was a foul odour as if someone had not flushed the toilet (rotten smell). The smell protruded from the bathroom for my entire stay (2 nights) and I could soon see that it was from the shower drain and the mould on the bathroom tiles. The smell was so bad that no candle or air freshener or even the extractor fan could terminate. Since it was studio apartment it infiltrated the entire apartment and I found myself sitting on the balcony for most of my stay to escape the offensive smell (it kept me up) and came out from under the door even when I closed the door. There is also water damage above the bed which could also be the route cause of the smell (this was obviously not shown in pictures). Whilst the furniture, finishes and design of the unit was quaint and cozy the water damage overhead directly above the side of the bed where I slept so not very pleasant to see in relation to the price I was paying per night together with the constant stink. Further, upon my arrival the hosts asked if I needed wifi and surely as I marked the trip for business and at level 3 in SA all travel was strictly permitted for business only I found this question quite absurd. Further to the fact that the unit was advertised to have wifi and, again, with the price paid per night it should have been sorted out as my booking was confirmed at 19:30 the night before and I only checked in at 14h00. Anyways hosts informed me that the wifi was not working and said they’d “make a plan for a dongle”. About 2 hours after my check in they brought through a dongle which was helpful but inconvenient as I had urgent work to attend to upon arrival. Again I was met by the unfriendly male host who tended to scan the room whilst connecting the dongle to the wall which I found evasive and uncomfortable.
I had to, out of convenience, extend my stay as I could not easily move my large suitcase and heavy bags to another accommodation with no transport so I stayed an extra night due to a meeting that was to take place early the next morning.
It’s mid August so heaters are quite a necessity for any guest during winter. The one I was provided didn’t work and I did not get instructions on how to work the airconditioner either. Further, the door had to basically be slammed hard in order to open and close which was quite annoying. I had read the house rules upon entry as I am mindful and respectful of another’s home, so I was alerted to the fact that there was a prepaid meter for electricity at the unit (the hosts didn’t brief me on what to do in the event that it ran out). So on my second day at about 14h00 the prepaid meter went off and I thought it was just loadshedding as it was still light outside but my phone died and laptop so I had no way of knowing. The neighbor next to me has also gone out. After much distress and searching for the rechargeable light in the unit I managed to get my phone up and message Samantha. There was no loadshedding - the electricity meter had run out and I had barely used any lights, tv, heater nothing. Samantha was nice enough in assuring me that they would be “2mins” in coming to assist but when the male entered he was quite annoyed for the call out and for not “alerting them sooner”. I conveyed that I had no means of a phone or laptop as everything died but he still seemed to be quite irate and abruptly entered the new prepaid purchase and said it was “absurd he put R1000.00 (one thousand Rand) in yesterday. I found that statement, in itself absurd, as I checked in, the day before, at 2 and was out of the unit until about 18:30 watched tv for approx 2 hours and went to bed. No laptop charging or heater nothing. Also found it surprising that it was R1162 to book but he paid R1k for electricity for one day?? Whatever the story there - it was just a large distress and inconvenience to have only been informed about the prepaid upon arrival and having to board a 8:00 am flight the next morning with a dead phone and no alarm. Anyways they put in more electricity but the male host was definitely not happy with this