Review of Hlalanathi Drakensberg Resort 1*

Dirty, smelly and very dissapointing. Upon arrival our chalet was dirty and smelt badly. The upstairs bathroom smelled particularly bad, the floor was dirty, a blanket of dust covered the toilet, basin and the toilet roll holder (which was in any event loose and grimey). The fridge smelt like rotting meat even though it was empty. The outside patio was dirty and seemingly hadn't been cleaned for quite some time. The chairs to the outside patio were stacked inside the chalet, presumably to keep them clean, but they were all dirty and covered in bird droppings anyway. After complaining about the chalet the first time, a lady came to clean which made it a bit better, but we still felt uncomfortable — the chalet remained dirty, grimey, full of dust and the same mouldy smell lingered even after being "cleaned". The floors are washed daily with what seemed like dirty water, which adds to the terrible smell. After the cleaning staff wash the dishes, they place the wet dishes back in the cupboard, presumably in an attempt to rush the cleaning job. This "cleaning" of our chalet continued throughout our stay. On our first day we realised that the fridge wasnt working (the freezer worked fine though) and after complaining about the fridge for the first time, we were told it just needs some more time to get to a cool temperature. On our third day after we had to throw food out and after having to convince two people of the issue, the staff finally took us seriously and checked the fridge, whereafter we were provided with a different fridge which was old and delapidated, but at least it worked. This whilst the broken fridge was left in our kitchen for a day and night because there apparently wasn't enough staff to remove the broken fridge. The broken fridge continued smelling badly and started defrosting during the night, causing water to seep all over the kitchen and living room floor. Everything smelled like mould, including our towels and linen. After complaining on multiple occasions and on our very last day, we were finally provided with clean linen and clean towels. The mattresses in all the rooms were hard and uncomfortable. Our entire party struggled sleeping and had back and neck pain every morning. The chalets do not seem like they have been maintained at all — there are large and deep cracks in the walls and the paint is chipping away in many places outside. The childrens play areas are dirty, barren, disappointing and require serious maintenance. One toy in particular may even cause a serious safety hazard to children (metal horse which is not bolted to the floor). There is no cellphone signal and the Wi-Fi in our chalet didn't work for the first three days of our stay. After complaining for the third time, the Wi-Fi was finally repaired on the fourth day of our five day stay. The restaurant has excellent food, but the service is terrible — expect to wait two hours for drinks and food and expect at least one person's order to be incorrect. The view is truly spectacular, but for much cheaper than the price we paid per day we could have gotten much better maintained, cleaner, and all round better accommodation for five people — also with a great view.