Ocean Rocks Villa, Umhlanga — Hotel in KwaZulu-Natal

Why you should not book here: We booked the Ocean Rocks Villa Unit with Luke for 25 February to 2 March 2025. The unit was not as it seems on the website. You have a huge residential demolition site just meters from your room, being awakened by drills, grinders, falling bricks and tiles. A concrete table and two benches right in front of this site right by the driveway with no sea view...Your unit has an interleading door to the main house which is used as an office, resulting in you jolting up as people open the door on the other side that serves as their toilet. Not mentioning the sweeping and banging against this same door in the mornings. There is a foul smell that they try to mask with a very strong room deodorizer of sorts. We spoke to Luke on the 26th complaining of the lack of privacy, the fact that we were not informed of the builders right next door looking onto your comings and goings or that the property is actually used as an office. We even sent him recordings via wattsapp of the noise! He was going to come back to us.. he never did. On Friday 28 February, all we wanted was to rest, but this was not possible due to the construction noise and the staff in the house as this property is used as an office too. On phoning him again, we were told there was nothing they could do. This is totally unacceptable. They take your money in advance, but when you are not happy, there is nothing they can do. They could have offered a refund which would have allowed us to go somewhere else. I can understand why people say on the reviews that it is a scam. Whether you stay or go, you will be out of pocket. The sea view is there if you are happy to look onto an overgrown property being renovated with builders around looking into your bedroom. We did not attempt using the pool at this complete lack of privacy. We have now added our voice to the bad reviews you find, in the hope that we can save someone else from this experience. It is just frustrating to know that looking at the different timelines of the negative reviews, the owners don’t care. The bathroom blind is broken, with a clear glass pane in full view of construction. The kitchenette door hinges are askew… all things that a caring owner would have sorted out. Judging on their responses to reviews, one realises that this is a fact. On our return, we requested a 50% refund of our money to compensate us for the most uncomfortable, unpleasant stay ever. We have been ignored. Please do not...

This property has both pros and cons. Starting with the positives, it has beautiful sea views. We had the master bedroom, and it was tastefully decorated and comfortable with a nice ensuite bathroom (bath only). The lounge had a comfortable couch, also with wonderful sea views. There is an upstairs balcony with again lovely views and a perfect place for entertaining. The cons are that it is very difficult to get hold of the owner/manager. It looks as if the property is undergoing renovations as there are areas where the paint is peeling, and there are broken kitchen cupboards. There is also a major construction in progress in front of the property. It's not a problem if you are staying over a weekend, but if you have booked in during the week, you will wake up to the sound of hammering. Hopefully, once renovations are completed and the development of the property in front has finished, it will be a good place to stay. As long as the property in front doesn't ruin...

Absolutely dodge!!! Please be informed. We booked the ocean cottage unit (aka the dungeon) for a three day stay during the Christmas period. The unit was stuffy, and had a damp odor. There was mold on the bathroom ceiling, on the blinds and on sections of the bedroom curtains. The cupboards had dust and large clumps of lint. The couch was damp and cold. No sea view from the unit itself. The front door is glass offering zero privacy. Wifi was non-existent in the lounge, even after reporting the issue to the agent on mulitple occasions. Very limited parking and zero security presence. This place is not value for money and is by far the worst place I've stayed...