La Fiato luxury lodge and spa — Hotel in Polokwane Local Municipality

I'm highly disappointed especially considering how excited I was that myself and my guests would all be staying at your property.

I feel it is important that I address your response to @Vuyo Tofile, here are my questions and comments for you Adelaide.

When 2 guests have already paid on the 12th of March for a booking on the 27th of April, how is it your argument for not having their rooms ready is that your business is not a charity?

Secondly, we engaged with you about blocking 10 ROOMS for that weekend, which we asked you what did you need? You said 50% deposit to secure the rooms within 7 days. Following which we PAID you the 50% deposit that you requested on the 23rd of February 2024. Then after engaging with yourself, I told you that our other guests would pay or have paid directly for the remaining rooms using the reference number that you gave us. Then you and I both agreed that if no payment was received in your account by the 31st of March you can release the remaining rooms. So I fail to understand what rooms you had blocked in this instance?

Just so you are aware you had the following number of rooms booked and PAID for by ourselves and our guests: 4 Rooms on Friday Night (instead of 2 as initially requested), 9 Rooms on Saturday Night (instead of 8 as initially requested) so effectively you as La Fiato received payment for 13 bed nights in total (MORE than the 10 we had requested). All of which were paid for either directly by our guests or from us. I asked you if we can engage to check which payments you've received vs people who say they've paid and you simply agreed but never came back to me the following day.

To add insult you then keep our guests standing outside in the cold at night on the 27th of April 2024, your team refusing to give them rooms unless they pay, and then they had to go through the embarrassment of showing proof of payments which were made on the 12th of MARCH because you 'MISSED' the payments that came in.

Since the business we gave you is CHARITY, please refund all the money that was paid to you! Absolutely unprofessional.

"Thank you for your support. What you must understand is that this is a business, not a charity case. You requested for a discount and we didn't approve hence this is why you feel obligated to try ruin the reputation of our business. We feed families, staff that need their salaries so i am not obligated to give you discounts based on nothing. You cannot send a date, with no payment reflection and expect to be allocated accordingly. There were also extra rooms that we had closed (keep in mind that we lost business by closing these rooms for you) but still you lack to appreciate what was offered to you. Knowing the state of our country, and people not having jobs, you still try to ruin a business' name which feeds families and keeps children fed. We are honored for being able to run LaFiato, as it is a business that is not just about profit gain, but also in the interest of our customers and...

The lodge and rooms are exceptionally clean and beautiful. Well kept and maintained. The overall service of the owner is atrocious. Expect your emails, Whatsapp messages, or calls to go unanswered. General poor communication. If you happen to arrange group bookings and your guests pay months in advance do not expect, proper guest sign-in, or allocated rooms when you arrive. In short, the owner will accept your payment and booking but you may have to fight and prove to her workers when you arrive that you indeed paid and produce a proof of payment. It's amateur hour, so dramatically lower your expectations or just don't bother booking if you, at a bare minimum, expect to have a room ready for you when you arrive. The owner's general attitude is that of someone unbothered, so don't bother fighting for what you paid for. The saving grace of the Lodge is the few staff there and the look and cleanliness of the rooms and place overall. However, book at your peril because if you can get over the poor experience that you will have with the owner, then you will have a great experience with the amazing staff and beautiful place itself - are almost worth the pain of dealing with the owner.

Also, be careful of the owner who is ill-equipped to run such a great business or respond to criticism. She will respond with inane quips about not running a charity but a business. Any "so-called" "LUXURY" business would have an online booking system, adequate check-in process, online payment systems, etc. My wife has spent many years in the hospitality sector, even working in a true "luxury" accommodation business called the Saxon Hotel, Villas and Spa. Maybe, I am a bit cynical but having booked for paid R5000 on 23 Feb (19h42) and R300 on 8 Mar (08h44) for 7 rooms total booked for a month later on 26 - 27 April. Then another 2 rooms were paid for 3 March, 12 March, and so on. For someone who states she is concerned about job creation, staff, and families, I say if you truly believe, I am unjustified I will gladly connect you to various parties in the hospitality sector to help you improve not only your business understanding of the hospitality industry but to provide the support you, Adelaide, desperately need, so you can truly become the luxury business you...

Loud and disturbing Christmas Weekend from hell

We checked in on Friday 25Dec, it was just before 10pm and on our arrival there were guests sitting by the pool area and they had a big speaker out, at first we thought maybe they were the only guests hence the music

Saturday was the crème de la crème, there was an entire party at the lodge in the guest pool area, (which is very close to the rooms) the music was so loud, there was a lot of people (day visitors) so we could not use the pool facility at all. None of the people practiced social distancing nor did the lodge ensure COVID safety protocols are adhered to. Day visitors that had come to the party were amongst the rooms, I really felt unsafe to even step outside for fresh air, the music was so loud and there was just too many people. They stayed here till after 10pm when the President of the country advised agaisnt everything (parties, chauffeur, social gatherings of a lot of people) that happened on Saturday.

Due to a traumatic Saturday, we spent Sunday away from the lodge.

Monday morning at 06:30 we were woken up by a car just infront of our room that played loud music and people chatting. We requested that the staff asks them to turn down the music and yes music was turned down but the chatting just got louder.

What I came all the way for I did not get not even once, I was hoping for a peaceful, tranquil weekend but instead I had the worst noisy, destructive, unsafe 4days of my traveling life. Never in my life have I ever experienced such.

I'm not happy, I chose this place because its away from the busy city, for its natural agricultural feel and for peace, quiet and relaxation. I chose it based on the reviews too that spoke well of it but I warn you there is no quiet here!

I am never ever coming back and it's a shame because the lodge is in a good location, staff is friendly, its clean and beautiful but there are no rules or...