KIARA LODGE - Pathetic Hospitality

We were booked into Kiara Lodge in Clarens, on the 8th June 2019 and checked out on the 9th June 2019 as it was our anniversary and your resort had come highly recommended on Booking.com (where the actual booking was made)

It was the most AGONIZING AND ATROCIOUS experience I have ever had at any resort, in travelling both, locally and internationally.

When we arrived on Saturday 8th June 2019 and found Saul the security guard/fill in receptionist, signed the necessary check-in documents and was shown on the map where our room was located.

Seeing that we travelled from Johannesburg to the resort which is about a 3 and half hour journey with my daughter, who was hungry and very irritable as any child in her age group would be after a long journey.

When we arrived at Room 78 and noticed a few things amiss. There was no microwave to make any food hot, no plates in the room let alone a small braai stand. However, there were 2 tall glasses, etc..... whats the point in having them if there are no plates to eat your food on. My husband decided that we should go back to reception and ask if this is correct.

We had raised our concerns to Saul who was still at reception that there was no microwave, braai stand or any plates in the room, to eat from.

He had addressed me in a very annoyed and abrupt manner, that I should have read the terms and conditions on Booking.com before making the booking. I had told him that I did read the T’s & C’s before making the booking and it had not stated anything. He was very dismissive of what I had to say and said that there was no way he could organise a microwave or braai stand for us and we should have booked a room which had all these necessities.

My husband then asked him if there was any way we could braai our meat as we tired and hungry. Saul then directed us to “The Trout and Mallard” and said they should be able to sort us out. We were met by 2 ladies and told them our dilemma and what we were told at reception by Saul and they were very shocked and quite surprised that we were directed to the restaurant to braai our meat. We were then told that there are braai facilities at the dam, bear in mind that there was no one you could ask for assistance and the receptionist was of no help what so ever.

Too hungry and with a nagging child we decided the have an early supper at the restaurant.

We went back to our room, got ready to go to the pool. Expecting that once we got to the pool complex, we were going into hot water as the facilities stated on Booking.com was that the indoor pool and Jacuzzi’s were heated were all the working order, set to the temperatures between 27 – 34 degrees.

To our shock and disgust the water was extremely cold, the showers didn’t even have hot water to have a quick shower and then walk back to our room.

My daughter was extremely cold and had to walk in the cold back to the room. When we got to the room, my daughter wanted to have a hot shower as she was very cold and disappointed. I opened the hot water and noticed that there was no hot water coming out in the shower. I called my husband to have a look and he drove back to reception to complain about there being no hot water coming out of the shower. They sent Tommy, who was from the maintenance department to try and sort out our water issue. After a lot of back and forth and trying his best to sort out the issue he came to the conclusion that the gas geyser in our room was not working and that we might have to move rooms but will check with reception if there were any rooms available.

He came back to inform us that there was a room available and we would need to move rooms. WE MOVED ROOMS AT 10PM IN THE EVENING, IN THE COLD WINDY EVENING, WITH AN ALREADY SLEEPING CHILD. We had to wrap my daughter up in a thick blanket that was in the room and carry her up to our new room 11B. There was no one to assist us with the moving of rooms, we had to do everything ourselves, IN THE COLD.

The next day we decided to go back to the pool, with the hope of the water temperature being hot and unfortunately it was ice cold, again. We went back to reception and was told by the lady at reception that she will ask the maintenance department to have a look at it in a very dismissive manner. Needless to say, nothing was done, and NO maintenance people were onsite sorting out the problem.

THE POINT IS! Why advertise your facilities as being, for example, “heated”, if it isn’t, and your guests cannot use the facility(s) especially in the Winter and give the impression that it is a well-maintained resort when it is indeed the lack thereof.

The service we received from your so-called fine establishment was absolutely pathetic, the hospitality we received from your staff was downright disgusting, as we were pushed from pillar to post, not to mention that OUR ANNIVERSARY WAS COMPLETELY RUINED!

I have emailed Anytime Holiday's and the manager of Kiara Lodge to tell them about everything that had happened to us and there is still no response. I will not recommend them at all. It was the worse experience we have ever encountered in all the years of travelling in SA and abroad.