The worst place

Dear Amy,

I trust this email finds you well. However, I cannot say the same and would like to demand a full refund!

I checked in yesterday evening for a booking made via Booking.com from 28 June to 1 July, 2023.

Imagine my surprise when I arrived to the gate to find what looked like an abandoned construction site - that was the first red flag! However I soldiered on and descended to the parking lot to be dropped off by my Uber and went to your front desk/reception.

I was then checked in and taken to room number 2 which looks nothing like the pictures advertised. It is extremely small with barely room to move around. The first thing I noticed was spiders scurrying on the floor and a pungent smell upon entry. Then due to a complete lack of sound proofing I could here the TV in the next door and everything the couple next door said and did, including their ***ual escapades and what sounded like erotic movies in the background.

I went outside to have a cigarette with the sliding doors open in order to try get fresh air in that smelly room. and informed the lady at front desk. She wanted to disturb the couple next door to ask them to keep things down but it's not their fault! They weren't purposely being loud, unlike the Afrikaners in the room opposite mine. They were having what sounded like a domestic dispute with a lot of verbal diarrhoea being shouted for the better part of an hour.

Imagine my disappointment when I went back in to try sleep when I saw stained white pillow cases and discovered one of the sources of the smell within the room. It was the pillows for sure and possibly the bed - I was too tired to do anything further so I sprayed my perfume on there to try mask the pungent smell emanating from there and threw towels on top to try mask it.

To make matters worse I opened one of your drawers only to see a bunch of large ****roaches scurry out. Again, completely unacceptable! This shows gross negligence on Essenwood House's management and cleaning staff. After seeing cobwebs, rust stains and mould in the bathroom plus clear evidence of water damage with cracks all over the room that was the final straw for me.

Unfortunately I couldn't find any alternative accommodation available in Durban due to lack of vacancies caused by the upcoming Durban July event. So I checked out this morning after a horrible night's attempt at sleep.

This by far the worst experience I've ever had and I have travelled the all over the world, not just in South Africa.

Essenwood House is running what I can only consider a **** at this point. No one should have to pay to live under such conditions!