Knysna Backpackers — Hotel in George

The hostel itself is nice and the people were friendly. It was very cold at the time we visited and the house was as well! The hostel was not quite full and understandably we we offered a private room instead of a dorm we originally booked. The room turned out to be a part of the winter garden where it was FREEZING cold. The room had a terrible mouldy smell was also humid/wet and despite four (dirty) blankets we froze very much. On top of that the door to the main house was closed! After asking why he would close the door as we are freezing we were told: So it will stay warm and cozy in the house and dorms! (Where nobody actually stayed!)||Understanding saving the enviroment and saving water concerning the draught is really important BUT I really don´t see the need that guests are asked not to always flush after they only urinate. Catching the water from the shower in buckets and use them for flushing is a much more hygenic option.||If complimentary coffee and tea is offered it should also be provided. We stayed three days and even with the price-included breakfast we only had coffee once. ||Concering our overall experience we would´t...

BEWARE and DON'T BOOK HERE... We had a reservation and the host cancelled us 1.5 weeks before arrival. The communication with Julian is terrible as he blames you for everything (even though it might be his fault and weakness of the reservation system they have). I highly do not recommend booking here at this place if you are looking for something more reliable. This is just a hassle at this place!!! One last thing that is unacceptable: if you make a booking and he cancels your reservation, he will keep the deposit with the following argument: "we would be entitled to keep it in respect of the late cancellation under terms and conditions that you had access to and signed up to when making your booking." So, his understanding is that even though the property cancelled and not us, he still is entitled to keep the deposit....

I tend to just turn up at hostels during the off-season as I much prefer to give my money to the hostel rather than Hostelworld/booking.com etc. + I like the flexibility. Not once in 5 years has this been a problem but I arrived here at 3.30pm and had to wait 1.5 hours for someone to turn up. There was a number to ring but, without an SA SIM and no WiFi, this was pretty useless. Not a great start...||Also, 220r p/n was the most expensive I paid in a month in SA. Having said that, the bedrooms were comfortable and the breakfast was good (breads, jams, hard boiled eggs, tea, coffee, yoghurt). There is a nice terrace outside with good views over Knysna.||Overall, not a bad place but didn't really feel like a hostel for travellers - more suited for those on the...