Mtubatuba Boutique Bed & Breakfast — Hotel in Mtubatuba Local Municipality

Booked this up last Autumn after seeing a wonderful website and having been told anything in Greenwood Guide was excellent by advisors on South Africa Forum.||||All I can say is that it went from bad to worse - one's total holiday nightmare!||||Arrived at Mtubatuba B&B, awaiting the marvelous welcome from informative hosts as advertised on site but nobody but a maid present showed us to room using master key, she then locked up as we went to get our own luggage - no offer of help, and only info was to say dinner 7pm exactly and vanished but gave us wrong key so could not get in room. Husband almost had bad accident as broken and mis-shaped doormat outside room totally dangerous.||||Husband then went to rear of building no-one about to get right key so had to go out electric gate, walk on road with no pavement to front door and ring bell, key changed with no apology nor explanation. Got into room, looked very shabby, dark and grubby compared to Website, only chairs were wooden frames with springs with no cushion just a rough blanket over bottom springs and a tiny cushion at back (see pic) , luggage rack rickety and near to collapse. However property backed onto main road and junction with national road and sounded like it was on the M25 but worse as lorries were blowing air horns continually. Tried to make coffee, milk in fridge was off. Went to use the loo and died of fright as the top of the cistern flew off and crashed to floor as the handle snapped internally - rusted through! ||||This was when we phoned UK Agent and asked for help as we could not stay thete for the 4 nights booked. It was getting dark by then but fortunately at alternative was arranged in St Lucia for us to arrive asap the next day. Went to dinner at 7pm and sat in dining room without lights for over 10 minutes. The so called delicious 3 course meal consisted of a tatty chicken and 2 veg put on a server with T lights on a bureau and wilted salad placed alongside. We had to carve chicken ourselves with only an ordinary dining knife, it was barely warm and all so heavily salted almost inedible, we managed a few mouthfuls as so hungry and no idea of where else to go. No bread or rolls and desert was half a pear with melting ice cream, no offer of tea or coffee. All served by a cook shuffling round in slippers. We complained and asked when someone would be available to speak to and was told 7.30 in the morning. No complimentary Port and chocolates as advertised on website just a shrug of shoulders? ||||Got back to room, turned back the bed covers, grubby sheets and 3 pillows that were disgustingly stained without even pillowcases!!! Then decided to try and drown noise from road with TV - no batteries in remote control - husband went to find cook hoping still there and she found him batteries BUT when we tried to put TV on we were confronted by message on screen saying "You are not authorised to view - Account may be unpaid" we decided on early night but at 9.30 we lost all power and lights with a flash! Nobody around to ask even though rest of property had lights so we lit candles. I decided not to get into bed but slept on top of towel as bed was so grim. Glad I did as within 24 hours of leaving husband had a total of 36 bites all over him which we we told when we sought advice in St Lucia looked like flea or bedbug bites!!!!||||Next morning we found Marlet the administrator and my husband took her on tour of room, she seemed truly totally shocked and very red faced said all the negatives should never have happened and took a pillow over to show maid and said we should not pay and we would not gave to pay for the meal either. She said they had not yet been paid by the african sub agents and she would mail them to say they did not expect payment however this statement seems to be in dispute at present. Agents have told me today progress being made in recovering this however so fingers crossed.||||We were told that the owner was currently away and that the garden lights had tripped in the night and had been the cause of us being without power but we had no idea how to fix as nobody had shown us where fuse box was for our cottage and you don't expect to be without competent staff at a property overnight anyway. In fact surely there should be some kind of regulation re Health and Safety etc in force as in UK?||||Greenwood guide are now launching a full investigation into the situation as they say a property like this should not be included as their reputation depends on their integrity.||||||||||She could not apologise enough and went to get us a large bottle of bubbly to help compensate us. When it came to leaving we had to wait for 10 minutes to even find someone to open the gates for us!!!||||||||||I have since contacted Portfolio Collection who said the owner had not been listed by them since 2008 and should not be saying she had a portfolio award and they will look into. I have also contacted Greenwood Guide whilst away to ask how they could recommend such a property but no reply as yet.||||||||||All we can say is go by advice and not by a top rated guidebook as obviously not...

I was sorry to read such a bad review of a guest house I'm very fond of, and have had such good experiences at over the years. I live in Cape Town, but frequently consult in the St Lucia area, and have stayed at Mtuba B&B on various occasions over the last eight years. This sounds like a Perfect Storm of bad stuff happening. When I have stayed there I have always enjoyed the simple yet luxurious accommodation (and yes, I've stayed in the Executive Suite), the wonderful bath with the garden view, and the huge and comfortable double bed. I have found the staff extremely friendly and helpful (the owner has been involved with training staff for the catering and tourism business for many years, and it is always good to see young local people being given a chance to move on and up, in an area where there is little formal employment). When I've stayed there the food has been delicious. I have also recommended Mtuba B&B to family and friends visiting the area. (And by the way, I have also stayed at the Avalone in St Lucia, which is pleasant, but not quite in the same class). From a location point of view Mtuba is more convenient than St Lucia if you're visiting the other game parks in the area, but St Lucia has more restaurants if you're staying a few days. (And for this poor visitor, and others from Britain - your bites are mosquito bites - sadly, an affliction of northern KZN in the warmer months. Sprays and electrical anti-mosquito pads will deal with this annoyance. The area has been malaria free for...

I have had the opportunity to stay at this B&B for a few evenings while living in the area temporarily for work, and have found it an absolute delight. The hosts are warm and welcoming, and the place is beautiful. Each room is tastefully decorated in its own unique style, and the extensive gardens are magical. My two favorites are the red room upstairs in the main house and the executive suite in the side building. In the hot northern KwaZulu-Natal summer, a day spent relaxing near their cool pool under the palm trees is idyllic. I've had dinner on a couple of my stays, and the food was delicious My nights there always felt like a perfect, peaceful escape. I would definitely highly recommend the Mtuba...