Old Mac Daddy — Hotel in Theewaterskloof Local Municipality

Unfortunately not a pleasant stay on new year's eve. Management needs to improve a few things.

Firstly our camper van was very dirty. The windows were mostly hidden by drawn curtains, but when we opened the curtains it was loaded with dirt on the outside. Someone had clearly bothered to wash the windows where the curtains were open, but left all the rest.

Secondly the air vent in the ceiling had cobwebs hanging from it and it was laced with grime. It looked like a health hazard. When we notified the reception they came to wash the vent and agreed it was unacceptable, but it was not a great way to start the holiday. Additionally, the window by the bed was meant to have a lever so well could leave it open, but this was broken and we had to prop it open with items from our luggage. Good ventilation in these vans is so important in the summer as they do get really hot.

Thirdly we went to reception to ask for some plates and a knife for the van as one in our party had a birthday and we'd brought some cake. A man called Nelson repeatedly told us that the place was not self catering and only very reluctantly gave us some plates and cutlery. Why have a microwave and a stove if you're not meant to eat anything in your van? It doesn't make sense. Also there was no dishwashing liquid so we couldn't clean anything we used. Nelson was not at all service minded. Whatever loss they incurred because we ate cake at our van instead of ordering something in the restaurant for lunch can not have been worth the impression he left us with.

Fourthly we ordered drinks at the pool for happy hour which is between 16 and 18. The bar was empty and two people working in the bar took our order. 20 minutes later we still didn't have our drinks. When we went to ask a guy said he was going to enquire about our order. 40 minutes later the drinks arrived. At this point happy hour was over so it didn't seem like such a great deal. Fortunately we did get the happy hour discount for the drinks we ordered.

Lastly a person in my party ordered a massage and someone had misunderstood the time she had booked so she didn't get a massage. A lady did come to apologise for this.

The person on duty on the 31st gave us free dinner and drinks on the house to patch up for these errors, but unfortunately I still don't feel I can recommend Old Mac Daddy's based on our experience. I'm sure it can be lovely if everything works and the van is clean but with five things being less than nice during our one day stay the impression just isn't good. On a positive note restaurant has good food and the breakfast was nice.

The place seems very popular with families who have young children and therefore I feel it's less suitable for couples/adults.

Our van had a very small toilet and shower inside the van. I would probably recommend the vans that have separate bathrooms over the one we had. Everything was tiny and my 2 meter tall boyfriend preferred to walk to reception to use...

A place of beauty and magic!

We returned to Old Mac Daddy for a second time and yet it felt like an entirely new experience! Throughout our stay, the OMD staff were so attentive, caring and always one step ahead of us in terms of what we would need! Rushni and Daisy, thank you so much for organising such a fantastic stay again and for going above and beyond for us by organising a wonderful champagne and chocolate platter on our arrival and making sure we were always comfortable in our different trailers. It was our second time spending a night in Life Before Colour and we still thoroughly enjoyed the intimate setting of the classic interior and luxurious bath tub. Our second night provided us with a new experience in Metamorphosis, and according to my partner, “We have moved up in life!” The privacy was enjoyable given how high up we were situated looking down over all the other trailers, and the spacious lounge area was more than comfortable with the added wall heater for the cold evenings. We spent the afternoon enjoying some bubbles and watching the sunset from the specious private deck on the side and felt like we were in our own little world in nature - it was beautiful! And not forgetting to mention the separate bathroom was clean with modern finishes and the shower was quite spacious and enjoyable. The Metamorphosis airstream trailer was quite fun and interesting to explore, from the magnetic puzzle pieces, to the checkers board on the floor and the “nail art” on the wall which you play with and create some interesting impressions. We didn’t expect the bed to be so large and comfortable and we were quite warm during the cold and rainy night. Whilst we opted for a more relaxed breakaway this time around, our activities included a magical 5km morning hike on the scenic trial going up the mountain (it was only us the entire hike!) and a very relaxing 2.5hour couples spa session (Zen Den Spa package. This place is magical, rejuvenating and so special to us! We will most definitely be back - for the Dirkie Sanchez experience (the wrestling theme trailer that’s situated right...

Pro's: The daddy's hideaway was simply amazing, great views and away from the business of the lower areas, it has mostly everything you need, so no worries about forgetting bedding or anything like that. Next time we will just pack a little lighter and make the hike up and down easier so that we can spare the car the trip up there.||Next is the food, which was amazing, compliments to the chef. We ordered starters of chicken livers and the mussel chowder and we don't know which was yummier. Also their pizza's are good, on both nights we took one up with us as a take away.||||Cons: Well... the road up to the hide away could have been maintained a LITTLE bit more... at least the entrance if nothing else, with clear direction on where to turn in.||The staff were friendly and met our expectations, however the restaurant staff were slow and if it were not for the quality of the food, it would have been quite a disappointment as we spent 2 hours plus in the restaurant after only ordering drinks, 2 starters, a pizza and desserts. We ended up taking the pizza and the desserts as take aways, because it was getting too late and we still needed to hike back up. We ended up hiking in the dark with all our take aways.||The last thing I would say is the standards seem to change every time you order something. We ordered pizza for take away two nights in a row and the second time we got garlic, chilli and cheese, but not on the first. We ordered the creme brulee twice and the second time we got some fruit as garnish, but the quality of the dessert was not the same.||Even breakfast was different the next morning compared to the first. Given that their percolator glass flask broke the day before, but they still had the machine out with the tea and a jug of cold milk (heaven knows why). We thought that they were still setting up, but not even hot water was brought out before we were nearly done...