Dunkeld Country & Equestrian Estate — Hotel in Emakhazeni Local Municipality

Dunkeld Farmhouse Accommodation (Country): Completely Misleading Description and Shocking Service

I decided to book a weekend away for my 40th and “treat” my friends to what was described as a, charming luxury farmhouse setting in the Dunkeld Equestrian/Country Estate, and boy was it anything but… What was supposed to be a celebratory and special time away with my friends landed up being a time spent apologizing to my friends for the awful accommodation, the unit has been completely neglected. My heart sank upon arriving at the Farmhouse, the start of my birthday celebrations was completely tainted. I was so embarrassed, and I wish I could say it started and stopped there…

Friday was freezing and after a long day a shower was in order...but unfortunately, we only had 5 towels so not everyone could shower, the bathroom floors were dirty, and a previous guest’s false eye-lashes were left on the floor, it was clear the house had not been cleaned or properly prepared for our stay. The bathrooms are old and mouldy, we all had the heebie-jeebies, one of my friends even refused to shower and used the basin instead.

I inspected the house further and apart from the beds which were very clean and comfortable, it was dirty, the side tables were sticky, the floors were dirty, the braai was absolutely disgusting and there were no braai utensils, it was by no means charming, The unit has been neglected and while it was obvious from the description that the house was old, a place can be old and well maintained, clean and LUXURY (As per the description) all at the same time.

I woke up very early on Saturday in an attempt to get my head around my disappointment and decided that I had to try not let it ruin my birthday weekend, a cup of coffee and some fresh air was in order, only to find that we didn’t even have a kettle. I searched the entire house and all the cupboards and the only thing I found was more filth and disappointment. I boiled some water on the stove and went to sit outside, the outside furniture had not been cleaned in what seemed like months… there were spiderwebs, dust and dirt everywhere. I called reception and voiced my frustrations, asked them to bring us towels and a kettle, again no apology. A lady named Mary-Anne arrived and although she tried her best to appease this situation, it actually just wasn’t good enough and by this time, I had lost my sense of humour, she explained that she would get us some towels but that we would have to wait for a kettle. We got our towels and we waited on the kettle, then we sat down for breakfast only to find we didn’t have enough folks for everyone to eat their breakfast and once again I was back on the phone to reception. (Again, no apology)

The receptions staff have no idea how to handle complaints, nor do they care, the website is misleading, out-dated and false, the accommodation is not up to scratch and the service is shocking. The countryside of the estate is nowhere near being a 4star resort. The Farmhouse needs to be renovated and should not be rented out again until such a time it is. It is disgraceful to charge what they are charging for that accommodation and perhaps if it had been described as; old, rustic, basic at less than half the price it would manage expectations a bit better. To be clear, I still wouldn’t stay there on this basis due to the filth and neglect.

Do not be misled and do not waste your money.

#googlereview #tripadvisor #travelgram...

Travel date: 3.10.2025 - 5.10.2025||Travelling with: Pregnant wife & toddler||||We booked a weekend at Dunkeld Country Estate through Booking.com, with Touch Down Africa handling the reservation. What should’ve been a peaceful anniversary break turned into one of the most stressful and expensive weekends we’ve had.||||Misleading & Deceptive from the Start||||The online listing showed beautiful photos: a bath, putt-putt course, and a cozy family setting. But it turns out those images were not specific to the unit we booked — they were part of a bulk gallery of 72 photos, drawn from various units and shared amenities.||||The bath was the main reason we booked this property — our baby only bathes in a tub, and we do not use showers for him. Upon arrival, we discovered:||||No bath, only a shower||||No upstairs toilet, meaning my pregnant wife had to go up and down stairs throughout the night||||No heaters in the bedrooms (we searched the cupboards)||||Only a fireplace downstairs, and no safety guard for child safety||||A cold, damp interior — made worse by heavy pine tree shade and a dam right in front of the unit||||Cold, Inhumane Handling – No Accountability||||The Dunkeld staff were polite, but completely powerless. Everything was pushed to Touch Down Africa, the agent. I spoke to Ester, who kept saying she’d consult her manager and get back to me.||||Meanwhile, my pregnant wife started experiencing flu-like symptoms, and we were stuck in limbo with a restless baby in the car, no help, and no certainty about what to do.||||Eventually, we were told:||||We could pay more to upgrade to a bigger unit||||We could take a smaller unit, but no refund on the difference||||Both options were manipulative and profit-driven. I shared screenshots of the photos I saw when booking — clearly showing a bath. I was told “you clicked wrong,” and that they could track what I selected. Even after explaining that the gallery is misleading (with images not filtered by unit), they took no accountability.||||A Completely Avoidable Loss||||We eventually left the premises out of frustration. When we drove into town, our plan was to buy a heater, medication, and weekend supplies — and we later had to book a different unit for far more than what we originally planned to spend.||||This could’ve been avoided if any of the three parties — Booking.com, Touch Down Africa, or Dunkeld — had shown even a shred of basic human decency.||||Instead, we got:||Stalling tactics||Emotional pressure||Blame-shifting||||And a complete lack of empathy for a young family||||Warning to Other Travellers||||Booking.com – continues hosting misleading listings and offers no real support||Touch Down Africa – dodges accountability and hides behind technicalities||Dunkeld Country Estate – beautiful setting, but will not help you if something goes wrong||||This was not a case of “being fussy.” It was a clear example of misleading advertising, followed by inhumane, profit-first handling of a legitimate complaint.||||What Was Acceptable||||The estate grounds are scenic||||Reception staff were courteous (but unable to assist)||||My advice? Screenshot everything. Ask specific questions about your unit. And most importantly — don’t assume these companies will help when things go...

We stayed in a lake view self-catering cottage (one bedroom unit). The unit was well equipped and well contained. The staff were friendly, there were large wide-open spaces with wild buck roaming free.

The surrounds are beautiful. We much preferred being outdoors exploring the estate than in our chalet. We loved the adventure running / mountain bike trails through the estate and neighbouring Equestrian estate. There were 3 tracks - framland, forest or mountainous; all beautiful. There are a large array of dams for eager fishermen.

We stayed during the heart of winter - it was freezing. There is no firewood provided, you need to bring your own. Firewood is not even left in the room at an additional cost if used. We arrived late - after dark - when reception was already closed. Thankfully the night manager was able to make a plan for us with firewood, otherwise we would have FROZEN!

Although the units have what you need, I feel they could have been designed a bit better. It is not possible to lie in bed and admire the lake view. The lake view was only visible from the living areas (patio, kitchen, lounge). There is a tiny wall panel heater in the bedroom (either on or off - no temperature control), and a fireplace in the living area. These are the options available to heat the unit. It is a challenge to keep a fire alight in this fireplace, ones true Boy Scout / Girl Guide skills are put to the test.

The kitchen stove is an external twin plate on the kitchen counter.

There were a number of maintenance items that needed to be attended to, which seem to have been forgotten about. e.g. bedroom TV mount with no TV; bedside lamp loose from the wall and with the old broken fixture still connected to the new make-shift (but operational) fixture; an old light fitting above the stove remains on the wall with no bulb.

I tried to book a spa appointment, and eventually went to the spa to try book after reception had no luck getting through on the phone while trying to assist me. The only time available was at 1pm. This was her lunch hour so she was not interested in assisting me or in my business.

We had a lovely time, but paid a reduced rate due to COVID-19 lockdown travel limitations. I would have been rather disappointed if we would have had to pay the usual full rate for this stay due to items...