Makiti Wedding Venue Accomodation

I recently went to Makiti for a wedding and stayed at the ‘Bush Cottage accommodation.

We arrived a little bit earlier than check-in and kindly asked if we may check in a little bit earlier, as the wedding begins at 14:00.

The manager seemed extremely annoyed and rude towards us, but agreed to assist at 13:30. She informed us that this was because cleaning needed to be done. Given that we were checking in slightly earlier, we were grateful for the opportunity to be able to change and get ready for the wedding.

We were standing outside the cottage, and were well aware that there was no one inside cleaning the cottage at that moment. 13:30, we still had not been given the room key, but given the annoyance of the manager, we then decided to wait until 14:00.

We arrived inside the cottage and the conditions and value for money is terribly below standard. The furniture is old and dusty. Given that we are in a worldwide pandemic, that has claimed the lives of at least 1-million people worldwide, and at least 16000 South Africans, one would expect the hygiene standards to be at high standard.

The cottage was riddled with dust, the sleeper couches were not cleaned - so much so, that we found leaves and a program card for someone else’s event.

The shower is filled with grime and there are parts of the showerhead lying around. When we turned on the kitchen sink, there was grease all over the sink that flowed down into the bottom of the sink. This is another example of the lack of cleanliness of this venue.

Typically, I would not go to such great lengths to complain, but given the health risk to my already-ailing mother and the pandemic, I felt it was important to express my disappointment and extreme discomfort while staying at the cottage.

In conclusion:

1.Basic customer service courtesy needs to be improved. Customers need to be treated with respect, regardless of how stressed the staff may be. It was very displeasing to deal with the manager of the restaurant/accommodation who was incessantly in courteous and always seemed to be bothered or annoyed at any question. As a paying customer, this should not be the case when asking for basic assistance - such as the door key that didn’t work when we were finally granted entry into the cottage.

Many South Africans and people throughout the world lost their jobs due to illness from COVID-19, and or the effects of the national lockdown on their business. During these unprecedented times, you would assume that you would be treated and spoken to in a professional manner, given that people have chosen to support the business despite the various health risks posed by seeking accommodation outside of our homes, and putting ourselves and those with commodities at risk of contracting illnesses and or the COVID-19 virus.

2. Most importantly, the hygiene protocol needs to be improved significantly - it is close to deplorable. We have a few family members that became ill after eating the food at the venue and given the state and cleanliness of the accommodation provided - one can’t imagine what possible health protocols are neglected in the food preparation. Mainly because of the great health risk their lack of hygiene protocols present.

For the reasons stated above, and most specifically the hygiene and cleanliness of the accommodation, I would never recommend this place to anyone.