Hotel berhampiran Umgeni River Bird Park, Durban North

The hotel is beautiful and its location is very convenient because it’s walking distance to the beach, restaurants and entertainment. I mostly enjoyed the breakfast buffet. I kept going back for me. Great service.

I'm sorry but this place may look nice on pictures and superficially nice but everything is cheap and service is quite poor. The plastic wood everywhere is tacky, windows are so thin you hear all the traffic on the roadside while on the yard side there is LOUD partying til very late. The staff assured me it would stop at 23, but this was not true, it continued til 2 am. The staff in reception seems truly clueless at most things, this is probably because they have no training and hardly any salary. The poor manager on duty seems to constantly have to rush and make right the various mistakes made, she seems to do nothing but apologise all day to costumers. The owners of the hotel clearly prioritise their own pockets over providing service. A few examples of cheapness: 1.No folder with information in the room - I am referred to the website. The tebsite says iron and ironing board in your room. I looked and looked, couldn't find it. I called reception and they said I can fetch it from the lobby (another hotel would have brought it to my room...). I went down to lobby, carried the ironing board up in the elevator etc. to my room and then found the iron to be old and dirty, it dirtied my blouse and the steam function didn't work properly there was just a lot of water coming out, leaving water stains on my other top.... Just replace the iron when it is old? If a guest calls, deliver the iron and board to the room? Change the information on the web... not so difficult things if you want to make a good impression.. 2.My collegue had a paid and booked transport to the airport that had been forgotten by the staff despite that he reminded them a few hours before and they ensured him it was settled. Once it was due - no transport. He nearly missed his flight. The poor manager lady had to book an uber for him and give him cash... 3. I gave them laundry one morning, thinking it would be finished by the evening or the next day, like all other hotels. By next evening it was not finished (it was 3 small items, no dry cleaning). They seemed to be looking for it as if they had lost it. When I was checking out 2 days after handing in the laundry, the woman in reception admitted one of my tops had been lost... When I complained about this and point 4 below, they did offer compensation, but I had to send a recepit of a new top and fill in forms etc. hassle. 4. After a long week of work staying at this hotel I was looking forward to sleeping 8 hours until leaving on Saturday. The Friday partying however started already at 4 pm with a DJ. I had the room facing the courtyard and asked the manager how long the partying would continue. Oh we have a curfew at eleven in Durban, she said, it will definitely be quiet after that! I’m not from South Africa so I believed her and felt OK I can sleep from 11 to 8 am, that’s OK. My room turned out to be just above the party and it felt like it was IN my room. I was trying to finalise my work from 21.00 to 23.00 with the boomi

This boutique hotel is remarkable but so is the unparalleled service and exceptional hospitality. When you have this winning combination, it lends itself to quality and care that the staff have for their customers. It all started when I unsuccessfully tried to book a weekend stay for my parents from Australia, and none of the other five star hotels bothered to respond to me. A friend of mine suggested I might look towards boutique or private stays, and so a quick google revealed this absolute gem. I left a Facebook message which was promptly responded to by Catherine who reached out immediately to the hotel to help arrange my parents stay on my behalf. She was my point of contact and I do not have words for how professional and warm she was. After being away from South Africa for nearly a decade, she represented the very best of South African culture and hospitality. Nothing was too hard for her to help me with, when I couldn't reach them she assisted, she thought about ideas and made suggestions to make my parents stay incredible. From there on the front desk was amazing, suggesting food and menu options (for my fussy parents), offering ideas about what could make their stay special and genuinely within a day, everything was organised and sorted. They even mocked up a voucher for me! When I called my parents on their last day, they simply didn't want to leave. They commented not only on the personalised experience and service, but genuinely expressed their sadness at having to leave. They wished their stay would have been endless. The facilities were par excellence, every single meal was delivered and plated to an exceptional quality, the spa treatment was relaxing and the property is aptly named as it does offer endless views. Every single evening the property made my parents time special - it was to celebrate my mums birthday and her retirement from teaching at a public school. They went out of their way with generosity, kindness and personalisation. My mum loved that they found time to sing her a happy birthday song! I have no hesitation in recommending this property to anyone looking for world class service combined with an exceptional property. I am incredibly well travelled and from what I have experienced and from my parents utter joy, this property ranks up with the very best of properties. Well done to the entire team and when I visit South Africa, you can be guaranteed a visit from me.

The hotel is in a great location and the staff were helpful and friendly. I didn't particularly like the restaurant/ room service menu as it ONLY had milkshakes on their drinks menu. You have to inquire about other drinks like wine, juices, coffee etc. It would be nicer if all the drinks prices were listed. The kettle in my room was dirty but housekeeping and the front desk were apologetic and replaced it with a clean kettle quickly. Every cafe or restaurant around the hotel opens at 9a.m, so I recommend paying for the hotel breakfast buffet if you're an early bird like me. I learnt about loadshedding after coming back from a day out and finding no power except a light and the tv in my room. For foreign guests who don't know about it, it might be a nice touch if the hotel could place the loadshedding schedule in guest rooms so it doesn't come as an unwelcome surprise. The bed was comfy and the wifi was usually fast. Overall, I had a good stay at the hotel.