Lexden Guest House — Hotel in Msunduzi Local Municipality

We booked the place for 2 nights and paid for it, but due to unforseen circumstances ended up staying for 1 night. The place and the rooms are very well kept and has the Italian type of setting and decor👌🏾💖 only problem is that our rooms didnt have aircons so you'd have a problem on hot days. The garden is amazing and tranquil, looks like it's maintained daily🌻🌷🪻

The day before arrival I informed the female co-owner that we booked the accommodation because we're not from around, and my daughter was going to a Season's Ball at another venue nearby so I requested to kindly use their garden the following day to take pics before she leaves for the event.

I was responded to without even a greeting and a cold "unfortunately we dont allow photographers at Lexden"

Sadly there's no indication of such a fact on their website nor is there emphasis made on their quotation so that you're fully aware when you book. As a business place I didnt think they'd have a problem with taking pictures because I was going to promote the place on social media so this was a shock.

Nevertheless we arrived the next day and persuaded the male co-owner to speak to the the lady co-owner and luckily they agreed.

The photographer and the boy who was going to accompany my daughter to the event came, and unfortunately we could not use the garden because it had started raining so we took pictures in our room and a small section of the common area because there were no other guests around. The chauffeur arrived to pick up the kids and we were asked how many cars we were going to have there because we are now occupying a few parkings 🫥 At this point I will add that there were maybe two other cars (not sure if it was the accommodation guests or not) so it wasnt like it was a busy day or that we were inconveniencing anyone. The owners kept checking on us and telling us that there's quite a bit of noise and a lot moving around going on🤔obviously with taking pictures I thought it was expected that we wouldn't use one spot and with the rain outside the only movement there was, was limited to the indoor space.

We also ordered takeaways and made a note on Mr D that the guy needs to call on arrival. The guy clearly saw the bell and decided to ring it instead of phoning as requested, that also became a problem as it seemed as though we didnt tell the driver to call hence he is ringing the bell.

It became so irritating that we have to keep explaining ourselves to the owners as if we were school kids under guidance yet we are very responsible, fully-matured adults who paid to use their place. On top of that we paid for 2 nights and only slept 1 night and didnt even think of asking for a refund of some sort, which shows that we understand how the business works.

I would recommend that the owners exercise a bit of courtesy and understanding in some situations and be upfront about the things that are not acceptable in their place instead of guests having to beg for them to accommodate certain requests. The daily rate is steep for a place that only provides breakfast so if one books it, they should understand that it's someone mature enough to be trusted with...

I stayed at Lexden for 10 days but it was THE WORST STAY EVER: The breakfast what I paid for could not be delivered to my room as the owner disapproved. 2.On arrivals cupboards was dirty full of dust that I could not unpack until the next morning. Under the bed there was so much dirt and dust and never was removed even after 10 days of my stay. No Aircon at all in this rooms and if you switch on the underfloor heating the owner will leave you a note to don't switch on the heating system as her house is tripping. 5.In my room what was self catering unit, there was no table or chairs to sit and eat. 6.The owner can't comunicate with the staff and she blames everything on her staff incompatibility specially on Jo 7.There is no reception in place or anyone to talk to if you have a problem 8.On Sunday the housekeepers will knock your door very early morning to clean your room as they need to leave early so no late sleep for you sorry 9.A big dog will come and just sit there in the middle of your room and there will be nobody around to help you get him out as he refuses to leave. 10.On departure there is nobody in charge to give the keys and remotes to so we gave it to the housekeeper. Never mind after one hour we was accused by the owner of steeling the remotes. This place is a big joke of no communication whatsoever. Don't waste your money going there. For me was a very terrible stay never again ! I DO NO RECOMMEND TO ANYONE THIS EXPERIENCE OF HELL...MY ADVISE DONT...

Unfortunately, my experience was far from satisfactory and left me feeling frustrated and dissatisfied. Firstly, upon booking I requested 07:30 breakfast with lactose free food. I got neither. I found the staff to be unresponsive and unhelpful in this regard but clearly the issue was that Jo never communicated my request. We were in town for a 09:00 but there was no urgency in serving the breakfast. Instead we were repeatedly reminded that breakfast is only at 08:00 on several occasions. I requested various things such as hot water, coffee, rooibos but my requests were ignored or not adequately or timeously received ||||To make matters worse, the breakfast provided was underwhelming and unappetising, perhaps it may be because even the most basic elements took so long to be cooked.||||Overall, I feel that my experience at your BnB was far below the standard that I have come to expect from such accommodation. As a paying guest, I believe that I deserved better treatment and service. I hope that you will take my feedback seriously. It’s a pity because some owner managed establishments don’t often feel they need to respect the very people that keep them running in business, and Jo’s attitude towards us definitely makes her the worst host...