Oude Berg Guesthouse - 10 Caledon Street — Hotel in George

Whilst visiting family we had to travel from east london to Cape Town. Along the way we had a few exciting stop offs for the girls to enjoy like zip lining Tsitsikamma and animal parks. We then called the guest lodge to let them know we were running late at 8:30pm and wld be arriving at 9:30pm .... the owners stay on the property so we knew it wldnt inconvenience them too much as they cld have left the keys for us in a safe place for collection as many other guest houses kindly do when u have young kids and try to make the drive exciting along the way ....we knew the previous owners through staying there before .... we weren’t expecting the reaction we got. Being spoken to terribly and told to find alternative accomodation even though we had already paid for the accomodation. To try and put urself in our shoes .... we had a car with young children a 3yr old, 9yr old and two 17yr olds with nowhere to go as everywhere else was fully booked in peak season in George where crime is high .... we basically all sat in the car for hours trying to find other accomodation as they refused to take myself and my kids in.... please let me remind u this accomodation was fully paid for and we wld have arrived at 9:30pm .... I just find this disgusting treatment towards a family trying to enjoy their holiday together! Will never use again!

Response to post below:

We have since made this a legal matter as the new owners, Jan and Bridget Schiebe, relatively new owners of this Guest House, have refused to refund our money (R7,235) and yet they directly caused the “No-Show /Non-arrival” by cancelling our reservation and in our view acting in breach of contract. We will report on the progress thereof. There are lies in their response and the tone of their response speaks volumes in itself. Important to note we and our business associates and family had been visiting this Guest House regularly for 21 years and given them a great deal of support. There would be no reason for us to “slant” these terrible factual circumstances as recorded in documentation or independently witnessed. We have 8 witnesses who will put forward affidavits that Jan had said when he was phoned at 8:36pm (not just before 9pm – lie, and from Brenton on Sea, not Knysna as he suggests), that “It was unacceptable, he was cancelling the reservation, he will refund our money in full, and that we must find alternative accommodation”. He was on air on the cell phone when he made these comments. He made the same comments twice. His voice and tone appeared to express anger and irrational behaviour. Before his response he was told that that we were on our way and could be there by 9:30pm, but mentioned definitely before 10:00pm (his response indicates 10:30pm – this is a lie), and we wanted to make arrangements to collect the keys. We were not given the space to advise that we had a responsible person in George who could pick up the key on our behalf within 10 minutes of our phone call, (and therefore collection before his newly imposed 9pm deadline which we first became aware of during the phone call). Again, we had a 3 year-old, a 9 year-old and 3 teenagers on board, which he was aware of before we booked, with no alternative booking options in a busy festive season. There are no terms and conditions within our booking correspondence that stipulates a check-in time, nor what constitutes a late check-in time. Furthermore, they had not solicited our check in time until that evening, and at a time our phones were not available. He was advised that we had left EL. It is a blatant lie to suggest that phone calls or messages from them “were read and ignored”, a fact which could be established from the service provider. They were available and read by ourselves after the 8:36pm phone call. It’s a matter of subjective convenience to suggest that we would disturb guests given that on many occasions we or associates or other guests have previously returned from dinner, or arrived after 10pm.

We recently had the pleasure of staying at Oude Berg Guesthouse as a stopover on our family holiday from Port Elizabeth to Cape Town, and it was the perfect pit stop!

The rooms were immaculately clean and incredibly spacious, which was a welcome relief after a long day of driving. The beds were comfortable, and the linen was crisp and fresh.

We were also impressed by the quietness of the area, which ensured a restful night's sleep for all of us. The guesthouse is situated in a peaceful neighborhood, away from the hustle and bustle of the main road.

The host was also friendly and welcoming.

Overall, we were thoroughly impressed with Oude Berg Guesthouse and would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a comfortable and relaxing stopover.

We had an excellent stay at 10 Caledon Street Guest House. 6 Evenings of sheer luxury with two lovely and highly professional hosts, the owners, who personally take care of their guests. We could enjoy a great variety for continental breakfast as well as a cooked breakfast of choice, prepared and served by Jan and Bridget (the owners) personally. The decor of the Guest House is throughout classical and tasteful all situated in a beautiful and well kept garden. A very secure and well positioned property, close (walking distance) to excellent restaurants. We highly recommend this "home from home" and excellent value for money in a classy environment.