Warning!!!!! , don't use booking .com

Absolutely terrible experience with Booking.com. -***

I am beyond frustrated and disappointed with how this situation has been handled. On the day of arrival, the property owner of The Grove in Ballito (92B Compensation Road) abruptly cancelled the booking after apparently closing the property — leaving me stranded with no accommodation and no proper support.

To make matters worse, Booking.com allows the property owner up to 30 days to issue a refund, even in cases where the guest is clearly not at fault. This is completely unacceptable. Why should customers suffer and wait for their money when the service was never delivered?

The property owner has been completely unresponsive, ignoring emails and calls, and has still not refunded me for accommodation I never used. It feels like there is zero accountability.

What is even more disappointing is Booking.com’s lack of urgency and responsibility in resolving this matter. Instead of stepping in and protecting their customer, they hide behind policies and leave you to deal with unreliable property owners on your own.

I trusted Booking.com to provide a secure and reliable booking experience — but this situation has proven otherwise. Customers should not be left chasing refunds or dealing with negligent hosts.

Booking.com needs to take responsibility, hold property owners accountable, and stop allowing situations like this to drag on at the expense of paying customers.

I would not recommend using this platform unless you are prepared to deal with poor support and the risk of losing your money.