Ngoye Lodge & Nguni Cottage — Hotel in uMlalazi Local Municipality

The hosts disappointed us. We booked the property for 2 reasons: 1. Because how beautiful the cottage looked on the pictures advertised (that part is true) 2. The swimming pool that was advertised. My husband, myself and our 11-year old daughter stayed at the cottage. My husband was working and my daughter and I therefore needed to keep ourselves busy, which is why the swimming pool was so important to us. When we arrived we were told that we couldn't use the swimming pool because other guests had booked out the area with exclusive access to the swimming pool (when we spoke to those guests they explained that they had made the arrangement months ago with the manager, Angie, because some of the guests were patients from a hospice + some were mentally unstable; we booked 2 months ahead of our arrival, but were never informed of this arrangement, had we been informed we would certainly have cancelled). Angie was unprofessional and unsympathetic in dealing with this. We phoned the owner, who offered us access to a swimming pool about 4 kms away from the lodge in a nature reserve - when we tried to get access it (we tried twice) were were not allowed in because we weren't residents. We informed Angie about this, and her last words to us were: "We will see how we compensate you for this." We unfortunately never heard from Angie again. Something to bear in mind if you bring along a pet, is that Nguni cottage is not fenced off, so if you bring a small dog like we did along, and other guests enter or leave the larger premises (the entry to the lodge), your pet can easily get out (this happened to us). The cottage really is beautiful, but the upkeep and management isn't great: 1. The air con in the 2nd bedroom didn't work 2. The cleaners only turned up for 1 of the 5 days of our stay (when we arrived they asked if they should come every day, and we said every 2nd day was alright, but they only came once). 3. The roof is leaking...

This is a beautiful lodge! The décor in the communal areas are arty and lovely. I loved that there are so many corners to do what you feel like, reading, playing, eating, chilling. The kitchen is a dream to cook in and very well equipped. It is perfect for a group of people, and I can’t wait to come celebrate something here in future. It is conveniently close to town, with a lovely coffee shop and spa next door, yet you feel like you are on holiday in the bush once inside. Rooms are well equipped, mine was incredibly spacious. The manager, Taryn, is lovely and helpful. Highly recommend this...

Property is set in a beautiful garden with lots of birds visiting, including a pair of trumpeter hornbills. The communal areas - lounge, very well equipped kitchen and dining area are large and comfortable. Covered terrace, where breakfast is served, overlooks the pool. Good location in quiet area with a small cafe next door and superette opposite and close to the nature reserve. Our room was the smallest (and cheapest) of the 5 rooms but bed was very comfortable and it was fine for our needs. Huge bath but only shower is outdoor. Everything...