Worst Hotel experience

Good Day

East London Weekend 04th to 06th of November 2023. Complaint of treatment at Garden Hotel East London.

On Saturday morning in Johannesburg we tried to make a booking on the website of the hotel. Although there were rooms available we could not do the booking because it would accept the "country" field when completing the booking form on the website.

We decided to make the booking when we get to the hotel after the air flight. When we got to the security gate that's when the unhelpfulness and rudeness started. Eventually we were allowed in with a security gate to reception.

When got to reception, there was a lady who was pretty decent and tried to assist us but once again we could do the booking online because of the "country" field. She then called a male member of the hotel staff who was exceptionally rude and unhelpful. He told us there is no rooms and the hotel is fully booked. I then asked him if I can go into the restaurant area and check if one of the Springboks family was there. Whom I had arranged to meet at the hotel prior to making my flight to East London of which blatantly refused.

My partner then requested that in the event of a cancellation we be informed and proceeded to obtain the gentleman's direct contact number. After a while we sent a whatsapp message with the reminder for the gentleman to let us know if there is an opening.

He responded and inquired if we had left the building then informed us that he will make a plan. Hence we waited and a few moments later he sent us a message and instructed us to proceed to reception and speak to a particular person at reception who then Eventually booked us in. On the booking site the price wasR1750 yet we had to pay over R1900 for one night.

For a 3 star mediocre hotel this is daylight *******. Why did we have to pay more? Then during that night, when we where in restaurant they would not let us sign the bills on our room number (this is an accepted practice worldwide and you should know that) I am totally of the belief that your staff can not handle pressure. What would have happened if we did not have cash? Later that night when I wanted to bath I found out that there was no plug in the bath.

The next morning the nastiness really got out of hand. Me and my friend went down early to the players team room to put up a congratulations poster to the team and to give Kenan Moddie a Happy 21st Birthday card. I relayed this to one of the staff who called Diedre who seems to be senior staff member. She was with a man whom I do not know who he was, he was fat and wore glasses. From the moment she approached me she was exceptionally rude, when we told her our intentions and why we where there she told me it can not be done under any circumstances. She took the papers from me and I do not know what she has done with it. She asked us what we were doing there.

We paid for a room and a hotel and we were entitled to make use of the facilities of the hotel especially as this was at the pool area. The conversation got heated and the man in glasses pointed his fingers at me and he did it again later in that morning. Me and my friend then went for a walk on the beach and when we came back she was waiting for us at the entrance of the hotel. She rudely asked me who we were and if we where booked there etc and had a list in her hand supposedly of booked customers.

We then went up to our room after she found our name on the guest list. At this stage there was no apology whatsoever just rudeness. Then came back later downstairs to have breakfast as we sat down she came and confronted us again and asked "where is our armbands", her rudeness just did not stop. I told her that we were never presented with any armbands she then put two armbands on our table and I refused to wear mine and told her that what type of hotel is this. When we checked around most of the guests around had no armbands on.

The previous night there where losts of people in that area that were not booked in the hotel. She eventually apologized and I rejected her apology for what we had gone through. Before this incident, on the way to breakfast I had asked a security guard if this was the right place for breakfast and he looked at me up and down as if something was wrong with me and sacarstly asked "and who are you?".

We stayed in East London another night but we moved to another hotel were we where treated with respect. This is totally unacceptable and we are not just going let it go by. We await your reply and we will decide what to do including informing SA Rugby. From now on I will avoid Southern Sun Hotels wherever I can.