Gumtree Lodge — Hotel in KwaZulu-Natal

In September I called to enquire about the rates at Gumtree. They quoted R650 per night. I called the next morning to book accommodation for December 2014 & less than a day later was then informed the price was now R750 per night. I then obliged and paid the R1000 non-refundable deposit immediately to secure my booking. Upon arriving at the lodge on the 5th of December we entered an extremely untidy courtyard and found workers spraying car rims at the side entrance to the rooms. At reception we could get a terrible odour and the main house had dogs running around in it. We was told we need to pay the balance of the amount owing which we did. We then went to our allocated room - where the bathrooms were filthy, toilet had a terrible odour, the sheets were dirty. The sheets had stains on numerous different areas and hair on it. The shower had stains on the walls. We asked for another room and was told none was available. Since we had no other choice at the time we then left our luggage and continued with our plans. When we returned the next morning and we found our room was open after the cleaners had been in- even though my luggage and possessions was in the room. The sheets etc had still not been changed and the same dirty sheets remained and the shower was still dirty, cupboards still covered in dust and dead insects. We then explained the situation to Lindah about the condition of the room and showed her the pictures. After zero apology she simply said NO REFUND and sent us on our way. We then checked out since we could not stay in filthy room while on holiday. After fetching our luggage she called us to view a different room in the main house which was just as filthy! We contacted the owner who said he would refund the days that we did not stay at the lodge however he only refunded half. We moved to a very neat and clean lodge very close to Gumtree called Kingfisher Conference and Lodge which also has a 4 star rating like Gumtree but is 10 times better for the same price!!!

Gumtree lodge shouldn't be rated as a 4 star!!!

Thank you for your response Gumtree Lodge. Unfortunately, it seems you must have received numerous complaints as you have confused my complaint with another unhappy client.

Pictures of your disgusting Lodge is available on Trip Advisor for the people to be aware and not to be fooled by the "4 star" rating.

All the other information or should I say "lies" provided by the owner mentioned above from the Request for early check-in ( I have the receipt of the credit card payment clearly stating the date and time that I paid the balance which was 05 December 2014 at 14h41 when I arrived. This was before seeing the disgusting room), to the parking issues and the room by the pool request as well as the recount of the hours we kept was not part of our SITUATION - it must have been other complaints you had.

Just to clarify, your staff were shown the disgusting photographs (Available on Trip Advisor) and they did not offer any help other than to say "NO REFUND" and let us walk out without any apology. Only when we returned to collect out keys which we forgotten at reception during the discussion did Lindah half-heartedly offer another room in the smelly main-house.

To all the people who's looking for accommodation please do proper research before booking, you will find numerous complaints about Gumtree Lodge. Unfortunately I was looking for convenience and made a mistake.

Its obvious that a guest would not forfeit 2 nights paid and non refundable accommodation if the room was in good condition.

I moved to Kingfisher lodge which is 2 minutes away from Gumtree Lodge and is immaculate and...

We first visited Gumtree lodge a few years ago and have been going back ever since. The rooms are spacious and well fitted-out, there is a pool for hot summer days, a pool table, free wifi, a very hearty cooked breakfast, lovely grounds and even an beauty therapist on the property. There is also a very reasonably priced and generously portioned home-cooked dinner available. We also find that there are always plenty of friendly people from all over the world staying at the Lodge and we often find ourselves meeting interesting people over breakfast or dinner.

However, what really sets Gumtree lodge apart from other B&Bs we have stayed at is the staff. Peter (the Owner) and his staff truly go out of their way to make not only your stay, but also your trip, as convenient and pleasurable as possible. The staff have always gone above and beyond the realm of service that you expect from a B&B; they've dropped us off and picked us up from the beach, spent the afternoon showing us around the Gateway Shopping Centre (which is enormous and only 5min drive away), taken us into the city and one of the guests was telling us that Peter personally took them to the Game Reserve when they had a few spare nights. On finding this out we asked Peter and he immediately promised to arrange a trip for us on our next visit.

All of this aside, Gumtree Lodge has felt like a home away from home since our very first visit and we can't wait to...

Firstly on our arrival the whole of Mount Edgecombe had no electricity , then the generator was put on only to work the lights no geysers so we all had to have cold showers, the TV hair dryers etc. were of no use, It was so noisy no one could sleep on our return from Xmas dinner plus it was raining and chilly. Only to be woken up the next morning by the kitchen staff underneath us, at 4.30am banging pots etc. and then there was the owner above us, with a dog running up and down, and the thudding of foot steps. We had breakfast which was cold, the waitress then brought us jam and butter after we had eaten our toast, not trained staff at all. Then to cap it all we went back to Lodge in the afternoon for a nap and placed the DO NOT DISTURB sign on the door, only for the staff to enter the room wake us up to turn the beds down, honestly. Then that night there were two ladies sitting on their patio having a few drinks and speaking so loud once again could not slepp. Our others guests had the bar outside their door, playing loud muisic . You can evaluate our stay from...