Devon Valley Hotel - Stellenbosch — Hotel in Stellenbosch Local Municipality

Save your money and go to Lord Charles or any other hotel in Stellenbosch. This place sucks and when I explained my dissatisfaction to management they wrote to me: "We take not of your email, and your threats." meaning they couldn't care less to rectify any issues... ||Here is my story and context if you have the time to read: ||My partner and I stayed at Devon Valley for a close friends wedding. While a beautiful property, booking a stay was difficult in that their main point of contact, Melissa Van Staden was extremely unresponsive via email. Imagine how difficult this is when you're booking from a different country. They made us pay upfront and charged extra for using a credit card, which is something you can avoid with other hotels by simply booking online but whatever - we did it. ||The unresponsiveness should have been our warning sign to go else where because a slew of problems arose when we arrived:||Incorrect Billing: We were charged for an additional night that we did not stay!!!! This seemed like a simple mistake because I had asked if it was possible to add another night, and while they confirmed adjusting the reservation was possible, we never confirmed we would be staying an extra night. We had pre-paid for our three nights, and upon checkout (3/11/25), they billed us for an extra night despite me confirming we actually would be checking in on 3/9 prior to arrival. Calvin, the manager, whom I dealt with at the property refunded me 50%. However I requested an immediate refund for this erroneous charge via email and they refused claiming I was in the wrong for asking for an extra night. ||Unresponsive Staff and Damaged Property: Despite four separate requests for a clothing steamer, none was provided though they kept saying they would deliver one to our room. Eventually, I was given a defective iron after running to the front desk four times. Because it was broken, it damaged my partner's formal pants. This forced him to change his outfit for the wedding we were attending. This represents both poor service and property damage. I totally understand they aren't obligated to have steamers, but at a top hotel I would at least expect better service! ||Misrepresented Accommodations: I specifically paid a premium for a vineyard view room. However, upon arrival, I discovered that my room had no such view (see photos) due to ill maintained and overgrown foliage. This is blatant false advertising and failure to deliver the specific room category I paid for. When I took this up with Calvin, the hotel manager, instead of listening to a customers dissatisfaction, he screamed that "this is the best view in South Africa, and has won awards". Like ok? Can you see the vineyards in this picture? Because I can't... ||Overall I'm truly appalled at the lack of hospitality from a hospitality group... when I reiterated my concerns over email they responded saying that all my "allegations were denied" and that their "excellent reputation is well documented and [they] have no doubt we acted with a high duty of care." It felt like I was emailing with a child who kept yelling at me "no you're wrong!" ||I've stayed at amazing hotels in some iconic cities (and left reviews for them too!), and some not so great ones too, but this takes the cake for worst experience and worst customer service. They'd rather keep $200 and risk their reputation than fix some small errors...

My stay at the Devon valley hotel was overshadowed by a theft incident and the hotel’s handling of it.

Upon discovering money missing from my handbag that had been in my suitcase in my room, I immediately reported it to whom i assumed to be the night manager, John, and followed up with a detailed email to management. Unfortunately, my concerns were largely dismissed.

Here’s a brief overview of their response and my issues with it:

The hotel confirmed no unauthorized entry but acknowledged that the housekeeper accessed my room. Considering the money was taken from a zipped handbag inside a suitcase, this should have warranted a closer look. The hotel cited the housekeeper’s denial as proof of innocence, even though she was the only person confirmed in my room. I would expect at least some corroboration, such as checking hallway footage. Management emphasized her spotless, eight-year employment history as a reason to dismiss my claim. While I respect her tenure, a good record doesn’t eliminate the possibility of misconduct in an isolated case. ⁠The hotel stated that doors are left open during cleaning, implying security. But without any oversight, this “open-door policy” doesn’t necessarily protect guests’ belongings. I’d expect some kind of supervisory check if the hotel considers this practice secure. The hotel noted that theft incidents are rare here, which does not change the reality of my experience. I also asked how prior cases were handled to understand if similar issues were taken seriously but received no feedback on this.

The management’s response made me feel that this issue was being downplayed. I haven’t received a follow-up on my last email querying the above and while I’ve come to terms with not recovering the money, I’m disappointed in the hotel’s approach, which left me feeling that guest concerns aren’t handled with the integrity or seriousness they deserve.

To future travelers, I advise visiting this property with the understanding that, should anything be stolen from your room, management may do little to investigate or resolve the issue. Based on my experience I would 100% NOT recommend the Devon...

I wish I could give this hotel a zero rating.

I booked a 2 night stay through Airbnb and was informed shortly after booking by the host that they are “fully booked” and cannot accommodate me. Baring in mind that the hotel has to “accept” a booking on Airbnb before the booking is confirmed. So this is entirely the hotel’s / host’s fault.

The entire amount had already been debited from my account. The host informed me that I must cancel my booking and when I went to cancel it, Airbnb policy stated that if the host cannot accommodate my booking after ACCEPTING my request, then the HOST must cancel in order for me to receive a refund.

If the host doesn’t cancel, and I cancel instead, I will only receive about a 50% refund or less. I informed the hotel of this fact and asked them to kindly cancel the booking.

The host said they “cannot cancel” and that they “are away on holiday”. After about 20 hours of back and forth messages with the host asking and basically begging that they make an effort to cancel the booking, I decided to take matters into my own hands as the host seemed completely disinterested in assisting me.

I phoned Airbnb to report this the hotel and to try get my full refund. I still haven’t received my money yet. However, I believe Airbnb will assist me in receiving my money.

I have never met a more incompetent host; if you ever deal with Colia, I wish you luck. I assure you that your experience will be disappointing. Please don’t waste your time. After reading all the other negative reviews, I’m actually glad that I’m no longer staying there.

Edit: The hotel claims that they are not affiliated with Airbnb. I have uploaded a photograph which shows that they are or were affiliated with Airbnb at the time I made my booking.

Thus, they are...