Shocking. Disgusting. Don't stay here.

We were excited for a glamping experience in the Pilansberg. It turned out to be the worst stay experience we have ever had! Do not book here!

The accommodation was advertised as family friendly which it absolutely was not. The tent was surrounded by sand which didn't suit my 13 month old who coughed from the dust. There was no play area. The pool on a high deck with a railing with wide openings where children can fall through. The space around the pool only a meter or so wide so you can't keep children who can't swim away from the pool and enjoy the deck. The room itself had a wall over a meter high with three wide steps to get to the bathroom with no railing at all where my kids could fall down. The deck on our tent had no gate by the steps and wide openings in the railing. When we asked for something to block the steps we were shrugged off as if we are high strung and given a table to block it. We had to watch our baby constantly and couldn't relax. Having just started walking she slipped and fell through the railing. I was so traumatised by watching her fall and worrying if she was okay. When seeing the manager that evening he asked how the day was and I said there was an incident that I will talk to him about in the morning as I am very upset. He immediately got defensive and pushed for information. I mentioned that my daughter fell through the railing and I am concerned for her. He didn't ask how she was. He became aggressive. He stated that the rail is to legal standard and all Bush lodges in South Africa are built this way. Having time share at Mabalingwe and Ngwenya Lodge, and general common sense, I knew this not to be true. He continued to verbally attack me to the extent that my husband rushed over. He threatened to kick us out then and there at 9pm at night, joked about my child's injury stating am I supposed to take you to a hospital now, kids will fall it's part of childhood. Yes kids fall and sc**** their knees, but falling 1.5 to 2m when you are 70cm tall from an innaproprite railing is not part of childhood. The rivaling should have been secured and despite our best efforts she fell. He then threatened my husband with physical violence. We wondered if he had been drinking. We hardly slept worrying over our little girl and if the manager would return to remove us from the accommodation or attach us. We left as soon as our kids woke in the morning. When collecting our food from the lodge fridge the manager was not there to discuss the matter. His wife and the assistant did not greet my husband or ask if our child was okay. No one saw us out or followed up with is until now 3 weeks later.

Beyond this shocking incident the accommodation itself needed maintenance. Our tent was torn in more than one place. This meant that the cold and insects could come in. My kids and myself left with a cough. My baby was covered in mosquito bites. The tent female wa sruatingvik places. The drain for the shower blocked. The shower head filled with line scale and not allowing water out. The kettle in the room was filled with limescale so I couldn't use it. There was nowhere to wash dishes, no cutlery or crockery, no fridge. We had to go to the lodge kitchen for all of this. We were told there was a communal area for this. It was the lodge kitchen. The deck needed varnishing and was filthy. The lodge reception floor and carpets filthy too.

The breakfast was gross. Cooked the night before and heated in the microwave. We saw this using the kitchen during the night washing bottles.

On top of this no one wore masks and sanitizing and social distancing was not happening. I was upset that the manager on more than one occasion wanted to hold my baby given Covid-19.

Overall we were uncomfortable and unwelcome.