Madiba Bay Guesthouse — Hotel in Eastern Cape

I booked here because I had waited to book our December holiday too late with very little accommodation available. The place is 4 star and I had paid approx R900/night for two people sharing. We arrived around 12 and our room was not yet ready. The reception took us to room number 13 in any case and it was a mess. It also looked nothing like the room in the picture on the website I booked from. This wouldn't have bothered me as I know most places use generic pictures but their generic picture shows a king size bed with a couch in front of it giving the idea of a spacious room. Rm 13 only had an ottoman in front of the bed. The room was dark and gloomy and one of the windows faced the bottom kitchen area of the house with a very thin curtain. In other words, if all the lights aren't switched off at night, the room was too bright to sleep in at night. Not a huge issue, we switched off the lights outside to allow for a dark enough room. There was no fridge and the coffee station only has creamer, no milk. The tv is ok and the select dstv channels are only a few. All the furniture in the room is dark and they only supplied us with one towel, even thought we were two. Fortunately they have someone available 24/7 to request additional towels from. The bathroom was ok, it had a shower, toilet and a basin. It's a functional bathroom, not the best place to relax. Water pressure was good. At breakfast the next morning, I asked if I could put my almond milk in their fridge as there was no fridge in our room and Amanda, the lady managing the place during this time, advised that she had a cancellation and she will move us to a room with a fridge in it. Amanda was fantastic by the way, a bubbly personality and full of energy. She moved us into room 15. This room also had very dark furniture and one of the windows was facing the balcony of the guests in the adjacent room, this window had no burglar bars. The bathroom looked a bit better than the other except that the shower head is old and terrible and we couldn't get the water pressure right here. The plugs are also in strange places, there isn't one that is at the dressing table. I had to pull the extension chord on the other side of the room to plug in my dryer at the dressing table. The plug was dodgy and definitely is a fire hazard. Also, even though there are two bedside lamps, only one can be switched on at a time because of the plug issue. There was aircons in both rooms. The aircon in room 15 however leaks quite a lot of water and we only realised this after my jacket was almost soaked overnight. There is a table underneath the aircon on which my suitcase and jacket were. Another issue were the canvas curtains fitted on the outside of the main bedroom window and the bathroom window. They tend to make a huge racket when the wind in PE picks up. Not a problem if this happened on occasion but PE is known as the windy city, our last two nights we barely had any sleep. The food was great, all homemade and Amanda truly was a breath of fresh air. The parking was a bit cramped yet somehow we never had a problem entering or exiting. The wifi is also fantastic, great speed.||All in all, the place has huge potential as the rooms are a nice size, but we won't return until they sort the little...

The people at Madiba Bay is very friendly and helpful and will go out of their way to accommodate you. Unfortunately it is not enough to elevate the experience for me to recommend the place. It is conveniently close to the airport, but far away from other amenities closer to the beach. Check in was quick and effective. The room I stayed in in the "Annex" is however not on par with the 4 star rating the guest house has. Generally, its clean, but very small with old and dilapidated furniture. The bed is comfortable but the sheets and duvet thin. Good television with limited access to online channels. The bathroom show lots of wear, but was clean. Good towels. The wooden floors of the roof rooms are very creaky and noisy and the comings and goings of guests do become a disturbance. It needs a bit of an upgrade to justify...

It is a nice hotel, value for money, great service, co operative and smiling staff. I had very good breakfast, lunch and dinner as well. One of the very few hotels which asked if I am vegetarian? And yes served veg, delightful food. I appreciate the manager and cook here especially for cordial service. The topmost room in this guest house has great view. All small shops are walkable from here, however to reach to big mall and shopping centre one yet hire a taxi or bus services. Few tourist spots are possible to visit by hired car for which the hotel will help. For forex you can get help...