Afriski Mountain Resort — Attraction in undefined

If ever you were considering going to Afri-ski and after all these bad reviews you still have hope that you will have a better experience and things will be different . This is me telling you don't do it! It's not worth it and all these bad reviews are an accurate reflection of the type of service and standards they got. So I read all these reviews and just thought there's no way it can still be so bad, I mean they under went a change in management and after a year of limited service they back better than ever and motivated. Boy was I wrong. We arrived on Friday the 28th June around 9 pm after a long drive from JHB - SA . We were told our room was unconfirmed, this was after I enquired on the 24th of march and given 72 hours to make 50% deposit or forfeit my booking. I made full payment and received confirmation and indication of the unit I will be staying in on the 25th of march. Upon arrival we were informed our room is unavailable and the resort is fully booked. we were then told a room has been organised for us and apologies for the inconvenience cause the issue was on their side and they fully acknowledge that and I thought that was the worst of it. Sunday morning, the day before we were meant to check out the cleaning ladies come to our room to let us know that they need to clean the room cause new people are coming in. Now I'm angry and confused. We head to reception and they tell us that they put us in a room and now the people who booked the room are coming and we need to move. And I'm like hold up. I have a booking until Monday you messed up my booking and you put me in this room as an attempt to remedy the problem you caused, I didn't know i would be moving around at your will while I'm on holiday because someone has booked the room. I was like can the same arrangement that was made for me, not be made for them. Put them in an alternative room cause you messed up my booking. They said they have a strictly no policy in terms of those arrangements and if I want to stay in that room I need to pay extra. I'm like I would have loved to be in my room but it wasn't available now you telling me I'm yet again being inconvenienced by the establishment. They said I must pay extra or move out or they will physically remove us! The reception lady ignores me, tells me to move out . And starts talking to someone else literally while I'm talking to her. I start screaming and shouting and no one addresses the issue. I literally was the crazy bag lady in their reception cause everyone ignored me. We concluded that if they won't engage us, then that's that, we won't move out and they must make a plan for the other people like they did for us cause they messed up our booking. We went ahead attempting to enjoy our last day on the slopes. They announced that we must move out and that we should go engage with the manager she wants to see us. We drove to reception. She isn't there. Said she's busy and won't be coming for us but we must move out. And well now the sun is setting and we technically homeless in a foreign country without network. Panic sets in. It isn't worth engaging with them cause they really don't care, and the longer we try fight we just putting our lives in danger. So had to drive around to find alternative accommodation as it's too far and too late to drive back home. As if that isn't enough, I get home and realise in the hastiness of packing and everything in I've lost one of my AirPods and my apple watch charger . the lack of client centricity and to make me feel like me being at their resort was because I was passing by and asked for a favour and therefore had to be at their mercy all weekend was rubbish! They have no remorse to how they treat people and literally did not care that they messed our booking. It's quite sad that management sits somewhere in their offices and refuse to take accountability and front office staff have to deal with angry customers for mistakes they didn't do. Joyce was amazing and the organisation really needs to do better by her. The management there...

THE ONLY REVIEW YOU NEED FOR ALL INFORMATION REGARDING AFRISKI. (Day Visitor edition)

Pro’s *Great slopes *Food are fairly priced *rentals are in a good condition *Lesson instructors are knowledgeable *Great atmosphere *Everyone seems very friendly *Afriski currency is in ZAR (Rand)

Con’s *Communication is terrible. I tried contacting for 2 days straight. Thursday and Friday. Calling, emailing, website enquiry, Facebook message. Just nothing. We drove through and hope we could rent on arrival. I inly received an email on Monday, which was too late. *Restaurant closes at 4. And then the restaurant a bit further away from the slopes, you have to pre-book and doesnt do take-aways. No take-aways? Really does not want to be accommodating towards people who are hungry. We couldnt find a proper restaurant on our way home so had to eat in Bethlehem.

Information

*Ski rentals : R1200 for lesson and full day skiing. You dont have to prebook and can pitch up and pay. I was here on a busy weekend so you dont have to pre-book. Luckily. You dont need to stay over to be able to ski. The email I received eventually, seemed like you have to have accommodation and then you can prebook with them. Well, you can if you stay over. But you can just arrive and at they gate say you are a day visitor (R50 entry per person) Arrive around 9AM so that you have time to get in, pay, get correct sizes, etc so that you can be at the ski lesson at 10AM. *You can wear a jean and top. But it’s advisable to have a weather proof jacket & pants. Ski ones seems to be higher, I fell on the snow and have a mark on my lower-back - so any type of high-waist protection would be good like a ski-pant underneath. Or long-johns or so. *Put on suncream. I got burnt. *put on shoes that might have grip like tekkies. If you walk on snow with skis in hand. You want some grip. *Ski rental includes a few bumboard rides and tube rides. *I fell 2-3 times and wasn’t bad. More fun to fall and know your limits and learn from that. Safety is high, so dont worry about crashing. Safety nets stop you from crashing into hazardous objects. *you can swipe food with South African cards /money without calling the bank and say you will be swiping internationally. (I’m Absa) *South African drivers licenses are accepted. No need for passes. If from another country, I dont know about them. But SA licenses are 100%. *Crossing the Lesotho border we only needed : Passports, License, Covid vaccine / Negative PCR test. Remember to stamp your passport at Boarding South Africa and Entering Lesotho. The leaving South Africa is at a gate and they tell you what to do, but the entering part is easy to miss as you drive through and nobody stops you. Same when you come back. Leaving Lesotho is at a gate. But entering South Africa you need to stop and get your stamp (no stop) just park and get your stamp at the window. You can get a fine if you don’t do this. R200 per passport and only on weekdays, I believe. *Come with a full tank and snacks. I did not see one fuel station and legitimate shop for snacks on our way. I saw rural snack shops. But they looked closed when we drove and not sure if they have card facilities *Beware potholes, I drive a low car and was easy manageable. But you have to drive a bit slower. If Google maps show that it’s a 3hr drive. Add 20 minutes for the potholes and windy roads. Potholes are part of the 1st part of the road. Windy road the final part. If you drive early like we did, it’s not busy at all.

Please like this comment if it helps? I’m not sure who will see this, but I really needed this information and could not get it. I will update the info if anything else comes to mind which you...

The only reason I give this resort 2 stars instead of 1 is because there was still a decent amount of snow, which is rare given the warm weather.

The room was clean but very small. It was enough for my young family, but that’s about the only positive. The resort does have facilities for children, but these are designed for parents to dump their kids in a tiny play area while adults enjoy the slopes. There are no true family-focused activities, no options to experience the resort together as a family. We were left with the choice of either leaving our kids with strangers who barely supervise them, or sacrificing the expensive experience to ensure our children had at least some fun.

The staff were consistently unfriendly and unhelpful. From call centre staff who don’t know the services they’re selling, to on-site staff who seriously suggested our young children stay alone in a small cottage, to instructors who were unwilling to make any accommodations—it was a theme throughout.

When I asked about a private lesson for my family of four, I was passed from person to person and finally told they don’t offer anything for children “too young.” We were instead pushed to do bumboarding and tubing, both of which turned into another disappointment. Our bumboarding session, paid for one hour, was cut short at 35 minutes. Tubing was limited to 4 runs each, but after only 3 runs we were told to give up our tubes and go to the back of the queue because of “too many people.” Outrageous considering the price paid.

The food options were equally poor, especially for kids. The restaurant initially refused to serve us because we “hadn’t booked a table,” yet inside we found at least 20 open tables.

Yes, it was the end of their season, but that’s no excuse for poor service at premium prices. Staff were clearly more focused on packing up than looking after guests.

The bottom line: this resort is not child-friendly. It’s unsafe, unaccommodating, and only worth visiting if you’re a group of adults who don’t mind being treated with indifference.

I even had to be forceful with staff just to get my kids allowed into the tiny kiddies area. At least they had a small amount of snow fun, but overall the experience was stressful and disappointing.

Final verdict: Don’t go with small kids....