Island Way Villa — Hotel in Eastern Cape

I do not usually post bad reviews. This experience and the scathing emails received from the owner made me decide to warn other travelers. ||||I arrived at a dirty room. The box covers were severely stained, the footstool was even stained worse with long black hair on it. Even the armchairs had stains on them. The glasses were dirty and the staff member got upset with me when I asked her if she could please swap them out for clean glasses and take away the ashtray full of cigarettes. ||||The shower did not have toietries allthough the website states that it has. It had handwash in the shower which the owner told me is the toiletries- although the bottle read handwash. Luckily I always travel with my own toiletries.||||It took me an hour to get the room cleaned. I then phoned the owner who gave me an earful of how I did not use true caller, that she is too far away to oversee her staff and it's out of her hands.||||The next morning the owner messaged me to tell me that the girl making breakfast is running late because she was being attacked. I received a short answer back asking if the girl was okay. When asking the girl about the attack she first did not know what I was talking about, and then told me it happend a while ago.||||Further more I received a nasty email from the owner saying that I made her staff cry after shouting at them - a severe lie, I did not even raise my voice once towards the staff member and she had so much attitude. She went on to say that it was an inconvenience that I updated the room from a single person to a couple sharing. She then further accused me of not paying after I already paid more than 2 thirds and continuously asked her to email me the outstanding feed. I tried to settle the account by card the next day (yesterday) but the staff did not know how to work the card machine due to a lack of training. I then phoned the owner and she told me she will email me the invoice and right after she accused me of not paying and that I was having an off day and that it is the only reason I could possibly have to complain.||||Honestly, the view is great, but there are better views in PE, in better areas at a fraction of the cost and...

Arrival: ||We arrived after hours and had to wait 45 min before anyone opened for us. We called all the numbers provided on the gate without answers. A really frustrating situation. Scary as the town is unsecure and has a lot of criminals.||||Room: ||Small (150 cm) bed for 2 persons. Bathroom in the hallway. No ensuite. Minibar is a plus.||||Environment:||Gated community. The pool was closed and under maintenance. A big disappointment. We didn´t get to know about this before we arrived. The managerś excuse - "You can relax at the beach-itˋs close by. The weather isn´t that great anyway".||||Food:||Breakfast was below average. It didn´t taste well. Good coffee.||||Staff: ||Nice cleaning ladies. Manager was arrogant.||||View: ||Nice view over the city. ||||Good to know:||Port Elizabeth has a high crime rate. Beware!||||Cockroaches in the kitchen. Leaking fridge with full of water...

We spent our last day of our Garden Route leg in Port Elizabeth at the contemporary-styled Island Way Villa, The guesthouse is set on the highest ridge in Port Elizabeth with 180 degree sea-view and spectacular night tranquility. The hotel’s facilities include a swimming pool, Jacuzzi and an undercover braai (barbecue) area. The ceilings are about four meters high, the floors are marble and the full-glass walls of the house look over the city. The breakfast is served with the panache and flourish of a grand hotel and the service delivered by the staff is impeccable. This modern-palatial facility is protected in what I’d call South African “fortress” style – with high walls topped with electric fences, solid electric rolling gates and an alarm system, so you can be assured of complete safety. We stayed in room #5 and it was very spacious. It’s a shame we can’t...