Chandelier Game Lodge & Ostrich Show Farm

Accomodation was outstanding. Pity this was let down by poor service on a very expensive night drive and braai, and very slow breakfast service. This could be easily sorted by a little training.

We had a wonderful stay, and loved the outdoor shower and bubble bath in honeymoon tent. It was very relaxing. The only disappointment was that we did not see enough animals on safari.

Sadly this venue needs to loose most of its 4 star status. We stayed here for one night over dec 2102 thank goodness. We booked the honey moon suite and another 4 star tent, we had no hot water and when at 8 pm tried to get hold of someone from the hotel - no one was around, even the cell number left pinned to the door for emeergencies was off. (This the manager confronted the desk clerk and found to be correct) for a 4 star establishment I really do not think that this is adequate. after an 8 hour trip to this hotel this was all we needed. We had supper here and the rump steak was so tough we could not eat it, unfortunately the next day we all had diarrhea and tummy cramps, from off food. Which as one can imagine on a road trip to P.E was very difficult. The honey moon suite which one pays more for is no different to the other suite we had also booked except for a grass heart shape ornament hanging from the roof. It is also situated near the water pump so if you what peace and quiet don't book this suite we decided to leave early the next morning and went to the manager and stated our unhappiness. He was very aggressive and eventually stated that yes the water pump was broken and the hot water was not as readily available, at which point he still demanded full payment, of which we finally settled at half and left without eating the breakfast which was meant to be included, thank goodness as our stomachs probably could not have handled another dose of off food. Will never return here.

Establishment's response

Thank you for your review on Safari Now.

We do apologize for the lack of hot water and the inconvenience that was caused to the guest in this regard. Unfortunately, there was a power failure earlier and we were not aware that the pump did not reset automatically. The owner was on duty himself and completely disagree to the remarks that he was aggressive and that the pump was broken (how could the pump work and disturb the guests at night, if it was broken?).

Furthermore, we take strong exception to the complaint that the food was off. We had other guests that also had dinner at Chandelier on the same night and they were all perfectly happy with their meals. We have received compliments from these guests and none of them fell ill. The guest never complained to the Owner on departure about the quality of the dinner, as well as the written allegation, in their review, that they felt ill after dinner. As a matter of fact, the guest paid for the dinner before departure in full, without complaining.

Full payment for accommodation was never demanded and the Owner did ask the guest what would make him happy, since they did not have hot water. The guest stated that he was happy with the 50% deposit being paid and no other fees for the accommodation were charged. In other words, the guest only paid 50% of the normal accommodation rate, due to the fact that they did not have hot water. The only payment made before departure was for the dinner and takings from the mini-bar, which indicates to us that there was no issue with the dinner provided.

In regards to breakfast, the guest stated that he did not want to have breakfast as they would like to check out early. They were traveling to Port Elizabeth and very high temperatures were forecast for the day's travel. The Honeymoon suite is a Luxury Suite with Queen-size bed, an air-conditioning unit and spa-corner bath, also know as a Jacuzzi . The other Luxury Tented Chalets only have standard twin or double beds and no air conditioning or Jacuzzi's.

As far as Chandelier Game Lodge is concerned, we again would like to apologize to the guests for the lack of hot water. In our opinion most of the unhappiness is due to the fact that the guest's wife wrote the review, while she was not present at check-out and thus not fully aware of how the situation was handled.

We go all the way to ensure that guests are happy and we truly regret that they had an unfortunate incident at Chandelier. We have already offered the guests a complimentary night at Chandelier, free of charge and would like to extend this invitation again.