Beware of the Barefoot Breaks owners

I have been a loyal client of Barefoot Breaks travel agency in Cape Town for many years and have used an agent for multiple international holidays over 8 years, without ever making a complaint.

However, when I booked a recent trip to Madagascar through them, things went horribly wrong.

The agent who advised me on the best lodge for me, my wife, our 17-year-old daughter, and 10-year-old boys got it terribly wrong, especially since I was very specific about our personal needs and preferences, and what we were looking to experience as a family.

Some of the issues included: - Hundreds of tiny flies inside all the bed mosquito nets meant that none of us slept at all on the first night. - Strong currents on both sides of the island ruined any chance of snorkeling or diving for my kids, as it was too difficult for them to fight the currents. - Communal dining (including with the owner/manager), which we specifically said we did not want. - None of the staff spoke any English at all, meaning that the owner/manager had to be with us in order to request anything (including every meal). - Because of the limited electricity, there were no fans in our rooms, making the heat intolerable. - Some of the facilities were badly maintained. A staircase handrail that I used on a high staircase collapsed, as the wood was completely rotten. I'm lucky I didn't fall off the staircase.

The lodge was so unbearable for us that I had to move my family to another lodge, at great financial expense. On the second morning, my exhausted, disappointed, and somewhat traumatized family and I left the lodge for another lodge on another island.

On our return to Cape Town, I approached the agent regarding all the problems we encountered with the lodge, requesting some kind of compensation for our financial loss from Barefoot Breaks or the lodge itself. The agent discussed with the owners of Barefoot Breaks and responded with an email offering little sympathy, ignoring our major issues, and offering only very insignificant compensation. The email also made it clear that they didn't hold the lodge accountable at all.

I then requested a meeting with the owners to discuss our experience, as I felt that a face-to-face meeting would give them the best insight, and we would be able to come to an amicable conclusion.

After initially appearing open to meeting, the owners quickly changed tack and refused to meet with us to discuss our experience, even after multiple requests in writing. They preferred to send me a rude, accusatory email, trivializing, glossing over, and ignoring all of our issues altogether.

I reached out one more time in an attempt to illustrate the extent of our horrible experience, again suggesting a meeting. They ignored this request once again.

Ultimately, the owners of Barefoot Breaks refused to engage with us, and we have been left with a tiny compensatory payment from them, which doesn't come anywhere close to covering our costs and losses.

Unfortunately, it took us eight years to see how the owners of Barefoot Breaks treat their clients when things go wrong. They simply do not care.

I do not recommend using Barefoot Breaks at all.