Extremely Disappointing and Unacceptable Experience – Langkloof Roses

Extremely Disappointing and Unacceptable Experience – Langkloof Roses

Langkloof Roses was booked months in advance for my friend’s wedding, with full payment made to secure exclusive use of the venue and accommodation for the entire weekend. What was meant to be a once in a lifetime celebration turned into a weekend of stress, chaos, and utter disappointment due to gross mismanagement and a complete lack of professionalism.

Despite having a clear contract and full payment, the venue was double booked not once, but twice. • Friday: At 12:00 midday, just one hour before our scheduled 13:00 check-in, we were informed that the venue had been double booked. This was despite the fact that check out is at 10:00, meaning management was fully aware well in advance that the previous guests were not leaving. It later became clear that the venue had accepted late payment from the previous wedding guests AFTER my friend had already paid months earlier to secure the venue for the entire weekend. That payment should never have been accepted. We then subsequently arrived at the venue at 13:00 expecting the situation to be managed and to check in, only to be told we would need to move to another venue. We rightfully refused to move to another venue as we had guests travelling from far, vendors paid to set up and a Friday night celebration duly paid for in advance. We were then repeatedly assured the previous guests would be leaving - they never did. After postponing check-in for other guests twice, we were ultimately forced to relocate to an alternative venue. A venue I may add which could not accommodate all the guests. This was not what was paid for, not what was contractually agreed to, and entirely unacceptable for a wedding weekend planned and paid for months in advance. • Sunday: The venue was once again double booked, this time for a baby shower, which should never have been allowed given that the bride and groom had paid for exclusive use of the venue for the entire weekend. There were insufficient staff to cater for both events, and as a result no staff were present during breakfast. The **** of honour and her mother had to prepare breakfast, and the bride and groom themselves essentially served the guests.

This level of mismanagement is inexcusable. Management should never have allowed the venue to be double booked even once, let alone twice. It raises serious questions: When did money begin to outweigh legal obligations and basic ethics? When did accepting additional bookings become more important than honouring a wedding weekend you were ALREADY paid for?

The service throughout the weekend was far below acceptable standards: • Staff were frequently unlocatable, and when they were present, they failed to perform their duties. • The bridal party’s food was not delivered on time. We had to repeatedly beg for it, and when it finally arrived, it consisted of a few small sandwiches, completely inadequate considering the enormous price paid. • There was no sense of urgency, accountability, or care. It genuinely felt as though asking staff to do their jobs was an inconvenience.

What makes this even more distressing is that nothing that was paid for was properly delivered, yet no compensation or refund has been forthcoming. While no amount of money can ever make up for a wedding weekend that was effectively ruined, the bare minimum would be to refund the bride and groom for services and exclusivity that were clearly not provided. Y ou cannot accept payment for a service, fail to deliver on almost every aspect of it, and then believe you are still entitled to that money. This was not just poor service - it was a failure to meet contractual, ethical, and professional obligations.

I would strongly caution any future couples to think very carefully before booking Langkloof Roses. A wedding is one of the most important weekends of a couple’s life, and unfortunately, this venue demonstrated that it cannot be trusted to honour its commitments or treat such an occasion with the respect it deserves.