HOUSE AND HEART GUEST HOUSE — Hotel in Emfuleni Local Municipality

My partner and I were attending a concert at Emerald Resort and Casino and needed a decent place to stay over at which was close to the venue and this place was one of the available ones. This place is situated about a 4 minutes drive away from Emerald. ||Rated a 4 star so from that alone, we had some high expectations of the place. It was very easy to navigate to but the checking-in process was quite awful. ||We waited outside the reception gate for some time before someone attended to us by opening the gate. Then, as we were ready to book in, the lady told me, in fact reminded me about the outstanding balance I had to pay for my stay - This, after I had settled the balance hours before getting to the place & was sent a confirmation email about the finalized transaction. And we had to wait until she called the manager - who we did not see at all during our stay at the place, to confirm if she had received my balance before she could show us our room. Mind you, I had to speak to the manager myself over the kind lady's cellphone about the matter. That process alone, before we even checked in, after having settled the deposit for the place weeks in advance was a terrible first impression for the place. Then I had to also forward a proof of payment to her. Honestly after a 2 hours drive, that was the last thing we wanted to deal with at that point in time. We eventually got to the point where we were shown our room. ||Parking is available, remote controlled, though a bit constrained. The room was the overall highlight for our stay. We booked into Suite 9 which was reasonably sized, very clean, neat, had all the necessities we were in search for. LCD TV with selected DSTV channels on offer, a fridge, fairly comfortable bed with an electric blanket (that was a plus)desk, chair, free wifi & couch. No airconditioner but there was a gas heater to keep warm, I would have preferred an aircon but the gas heater did the part.||The room had a beautifully-designed shower, basin and toilet area. Though the shower tap was not the most user-friendly. The room overall got high marks. The place also boasted some beautiful artefacts around the guest lodge with beautiful handwritten messages in chalkboard ideally located around - these added the extra feel and personal touch to the area which was beautiful to observe. ||The entrance steps and sliding door towards the porch of the rooms was a hazard and no warning sign was placed anywhere of the danger. I don't know how many times I tripped and nearly fell over it! The thatch patio just outside was beautiful, but it's roof is too low to an extent that a person traveling through it towards the dining area or reception needs to always watch their head. No warning sign of that either.||Breakfast was also offered but very average, nothing to write home about. Service was very limited to minimum, if at all.||The room and neat, presentable surroundings, safety around the guesthouse were a highlight but the awful checking-in process, with the lack of communication from the manager regarding the balance payment that was erroneously picked up, really let the guesthouse experience...

I will start of with the positive. The room was lovely, clean and modern. I stayed 4 nights and 2 of the 4 nights where he'll on earth. There was a group of guests who made life unbearable in the sanctuary of my bedroom. Eventually at midnight I phoned an after hours number to ask for someone to stop the excessive noise and partying in the room next to mine. The music was turned down, I could still hear it, but the partying continued until 2.30am on Sunday morning. My disgust is that no one from the establishment stopped this excessive noise on the Friday but more so on the Saturday. I left my number for the owner to contact me on the Sunday and still have not received a call. I booked out on Monday at 8am and still no sign of the owner. Never in all my years have I paid for accommodation and had such a bad experience. I chose there for the serenity that the establishment LOOKED like it had but clearly there is no control of their...

First of all this place is said be a 4 star guesthouse, that's the frame that greets you when you enter this place. I don't know how this place was rated but it doesn't derseve a 4 star. The place is not business friendly, the rooms don't have a simple study table; furthermore, their TVs don't play any news channels like eNCA or even CNN. Lastly, I was very disappointed with the cleanliness of the room, the pillows were dirty (a white pillow looking brown). Fortunately for them it was my company that paid, otherwise I would have claimed my money back. The Department of Tourism should come back to review this place and give them a 3 star or less.

On a positive note, their landscape is fantastic and their...