Mount Ceder | Cederberg | Accommodation | Restaurant | Activities — Hotel in Witzenberg Local Municipality

I deeply regret to share that my Christmas season getaway at Mount Cedar was exceptionally disappointing and uncomfortable. Realizing that I paid what amounts to a staggering 290% markup compared to the establishment's regular rates outside of the Christmas holidays only adds to my frustration. This experience left me feeling misled and significantly overcharged, making it the worst value for money I have ever encountered in South Africa.||||Good: ||Mount Cedar effectively holds a monopoly for accommodation options on one of the few valleys along a stunning dirt road, on the Koue Bokkeveld side of the Cederberg—a huge tourist attraction for backpackers, outlanders and motorcyclists alike. This dirt, outback, road is spectacular – but notably lacks accommodation options before one reaches Clanwilliam. ||||I admit the views in the evenings for sundown and sunrise at Mount Cedar are quite incredible. Bird life and wilderness here is prime, and one would arguably not be able to access such features, without staying at Mount Cedar. ||||Bad: ||Admittedly to no fault of Mount Cedar, the Cederberg is a challenging area to relax in, between November and April. Highs near 40 in the daytime and even 25 at night, make outdoor activities between 9am and 5pm unbearable—they make Mount Cedar’s advertising of a hot tub—even more perplexing. Rather build a cold plunge pool. It’s really just at sunrise and sunset, that you’ll be able to get out for MTB or hiking adventures, in my opinion. Mount Cedar kindly provides maps of hiking and MTB trails, but they were only printed in black and white—and therefore illegible. Was management unable to find coloured ink? Or, put the maps online and allow clients to download a JPG/PDF file to their smart phones? This seems like a pretty easy way to be more resourceful for your future guests. ||||With such weather, comes lukewarm, murky rivers and dried out waterfalls and rock pools. Don’t be mistaken and come here expecting the deep, clear mountain waters you found in Bainskloof, Stellenbosch and Ceres, or the long kayaks you enjoyed in Wilderness or Malgas—you’ll more than likely be disappointed. I’ve included a photo of the “waterfall hike” that Mount Cedar recommends guests’ hike to. There isn’t much of one in the summer at all and you certainly won’t want to swim in the stagnant pool underneath. ||||The boredom that thus endures, combined with the inability to be outside during the day, made for quite a miserable retreat. Advertising on Mount Cedar’s website and their Booking.com page wrongly depicted what I assumed to be a restaurant and bar area that would be enjoyable to hang out at during the day. Something akin to a luxury restaurant, hidden away at a Sabi Sands resort—but, in my opinion, it looks far more like a sad tuck shop, selling ice and braai wood, with a very simple bar, limited seating options and a restaurant that many on Google, Booking and TripAdvisory seem to complain has slow service and substandard food. After reading the reviews—we respectively decided to do our own shopping and cook. ||||Popular daytime activities promoted by Mount Cedar notably incur fees. Kayaks and mountain bikes are charged for and time limits are imposed. This came across as petty and unclassy for a resort charging almost 700 Euros, for a two-night stay. Mount Cedar is charging a premium rate to high-spending tourists—do not dilute such an offering by milking your clientele with pedantic fees. This was the first that I had seen across South Africa. ||||Ugly: ||The ugly of our stay really rests with the unit we were allocated itself and, due to the heat, the only place we could hang out. The living room area was coated in so thick a layer of dust and grit, that I was able to write out words on the furniture, counter tops and shelving areas where glasses are placed—I’ve included a photo—see for yourself. The main rug in the living room seems to have not been vacuumed for far too long. Windows and metal services have streak marks all over them. The sofa in the braai area, has finger marks and braai stains all over the pillows. The sink in the braai area simply does not work. There are cigarette butts all around the garden and burn marks, through the pillows provided on the deck chairs. It’s the height of wild fire season, but the fire extinguisher is missing? Multiple items of silverware still had chunks of rotting food on them. The “Welcome/Guide” book on the table, has dead insects smudged against the laminated pages. ||||While self-catering accommodation in the wilderness, understandably has a peppering of rustic vibes and informality to charm its guests—these examples are representative of negligence and poor management; not culture. They are a red flag to an alarming lack of attention to detail—not a once off, circumstantial accident. Remember this is peak high season, at a four-star lodge charging several times’ it’s standard rate for December guests. We paid a whopping ZAR6,200/US$340 per night (dates within two-weeks are advertised at R1,600 for the same apartment). Such pricing is easily in-line with pricing at a five-star hotel at the V&A or a decent lodge at Sabi Sands. What is management thinking—why wasn’t there special attention to detail—or a simple spring cleaning conducted—for this special time of your year? ||||There is little to no tree cover over Mount Cedar’s units and the AC units in our unit, would constantly stop and start by itself (not due to loadshedding) and clack so loudly in the evenings, that we weren’t able to use them. On the second night, the AC unit in our bedroom stopped working entirely—even before an unannounced, power outage. ||||Adding insult to injury, there was no sponge for cleaning dishes, no hand towels, no lotions in the bathroom, nor shampoo and conditioner. Oddly, the same soap used as shower gel was also the only option for handwashing throughout the bathrooms. Is such cost-saving really necessary at this price point? In the living room, the lack of a fan left common areas uncomfortably warm. And the hospital-like LED lighting in the bedrooms, intended for reading lamps, was a poorly thought-out touch. Also, the back door lock in our unit is faulty – a fact worth checking out.||||All in all, this stay felt more akin to a very basic, perhaps R500 per person, sharing unit at Sanparks or Cape Nature. This might be consistent with Mount Cedar’s typical pricing, but not with what we were charged. The single beds in the living room, for future guests’ reference, double as sofas, in common areas, without privacy. None of the bedrooms had en suite toilets or self-contained facilities in our unit. At a rate of R1,600 a night, these conditions would be commonplace and fair. However, at a rate of R6,200 per night, it's simply manipulative and deceptively opportunistic. This was the worst value for money hospitality I've ever experienced in the ten years I've called South...

I deeply regret to share that my Christmas season getaway at Mount Cedar was exceptionally disappointing and uncomfortable. Realizing that I paid what amounts to a staggering 290% markup compared to the establishment's regular rates outside of the Christmas holidays only adds to my frustration. This experience left me feeling misled and significantly overcharged, making it the worst value for money I have ever encountered in South Africa.

Bad: Admittedly to no fault of Mount Cedar, the Cederberg is a challenging area to relax in, between November and April. Highs near 40 in the daytime and even 25 at night, make outdoor activities between 9am and 5pm unbearable—they make Mount Cedar’s advertising of a hot tub—even more perplexing. Rather build a cold plunge pool. It’s really just at sunrise and sunset, that you’ll be able to get out for MTB or hiking adventures, in my opinion. Mount Cedar kindly provides maps of hiking and MTB trails, but they were only printed in black and white—and therefore illegible. Was management unable to find coloured ink? Or, put the maps online and allow clients to download a JPG/PDF file to their smart phones?

With such weather, comes lukewarm, murky rivers and dried out waterfalls and rock pools. Don’t be mistaken and come here expecting the deep, clear mountain waters you found in Bainskloof, Stellenbosch and Ceres, or the long kayaks you enjoyed in Wilderness or Malgas—you’ll more than likely be disappointed.

Popular daytime activities promoted by Mount Cedar notably incur fees. Kayaks and mountain bikes are charged for and time limits are imposed. This came across as petty for a resort charging almost 700 Euros, for a two-night stay.

Ugly: The ugly of our stay really rests with the unit we were allocated itself and, due to the heat, the only place we could hang out. The living room area was coated in so thick a layer of dust and grit, that I was able to write out words on the furniture, counter tops and shelving areas where glasses are placed—I’ve included a photo—see for yourself. The main rug in the living room seems to have not been vacuumed for far too long. Windows and metal services have streak marks all over them. The sofa in the braai area, has finger marks and braai stains all over the pillows. The sink in the braai area simply does not work. There are cigarette butts all around the garden and burn marks, through the pillows provided on the deck chairs. It’s the height of wild fire season, but the fire extinguisher is missing? Multiple items of silverware still had chunks of rotting food on them. The “Welcome/Guide” book on the table, has dead insects smudged against the laminated pages.

While self-catering accommodation in the wilderness, understandably has a peppering of rustic vibes and informality to charm its guests—these examples are representative of negligence and poor management; not culture. They are a red flag to an alarming lack of attention to detail—not a once off, circumstantial accident. Remember this is peak high season, at a four-star lodge charging several times’ it’s standard rate for December guests. We paid a whopping ZAR6,200/US$340 per night (dates within two-weeks are advertised at R1,600 for the same apartment). What is management thinking—why wasn’t there special attention to detail—or a simple spring cleaning conducted—for this special time of your year?

There is little to no tree cover over Mount Cedar’s units and the AC units in our unit, would constantly stop and start by itself (not due to loadshedding) and clack so loudly in the evenings, that we weren’t able to use them. On the second night, the AC unit in our bedroom stopped working entirely—even before an unannounced, power outage.

At a rate of R1,600 a night, these conditions would be commonplace and fair. However, at a rate of R6,200 per night, it's simply manipulative and deceptively opportunistic. This was the worst value for money hospitality I've ever experienced in the ten years I've called South...

Very bad roads, absolutely requires a SUV or high vehicle. The private road to the chalet are badly maintained. You also need to deflate the tire to avoid getting flats. We had specifically called to asked about the road situation and they said we could come with a small car. We got two flat tires and other guest that were there at the same time also got flat tires. Based on the other review i see now, they are fully aware of this and other guests frequently have this problem.

I will add a few edits to my initial review following the owner reply who clearly has not grasped the situation or has not been informed by his manager properly. Edit: We were told we could come with a small car and there would not be any problem. At no point was there a recommendation to deflate the tires. A SUV was never advised by the hotel and the manager kept saying small car was ok even after our first flat, there was never any mention of models.

Then, they didn’t say anything and charged us a fee for the repair and for driving us when it happened. When it was their fault in the first place. You can get into a very dangerous situation without the proper information. It’s totally unacceptable. The manager even told us: « you didn’t know there was nothing you could have done » exactly the point… why were we not warned!

Edit: Our frustration is specifically that there was no mention of the cost, we wouldn't have given a 400 R tip and paid 2 beers to the guys who helped us if we knew they were going to charge it as a service. We would have adjusted the tip amount accordingly. It was also overpriced, above a garage fee charge. A neighboring farm helped us for free and we were not even guest with them.

Also, it is not a good base to hike the wolfberg cracks/arch, google maps says 35 min but because the road are bad it ends up taking 50min/1 h to get there.

Edit: this reply is just a lie. We told we were going to hike Wolfberg arch and cracks as it was the whole point of our trip and at no point did anyone recommend we do not go. When we left we asked which route to take and they recommended South so we followed what they said and went South. German guys were there with a Hilux and got 2 flat tires again no one warned them to deflate the tires before coming. They also didn't assist them to deflate after their first flat and as they intended to deflate at the first gas station, they got a second one. Very upsetting as they were planning to drive to Namibia's border the following day.

Some of the chalet have wood fired spa but they do not provide wood for free so you end up having to pay to use the spa and it takes at least an hour to warm up.

Edit: the issue is that the first chalet had electric spa, which was already warm and free. The second one you had to pay 100 R for a bag of wood and wait minimum an hour, but it's really a detail at this point. Other issues like charging us for a canoe activity we didn't do and other things that I didn't feel like mentioning but I might as well add it as I see the reply from the owner. Taking no accountability for putting people in dangerous situations. Seriously, DO NOT book...