Caravan Cove

Too bad for terrible management in paradise...

The manager, being an "Ex-Para bat" and being 76 years of age, as he expressed himself after some complaints about things not working in unit 14, doesn't have the guest's satisfaction at heart.

Our family booked in without issues. Everything looked good when we arrived and we settled in. Soon after, we started noticing things that did not work.

The gas geyser only heated the water to luke warmness. The living room and one of the bedrooms has ceiling fans with lights, but only the fans worked, no lights. The aircon started, but did not cool. The outside light at the braai area did not even have a globe in.

We reported the issues to reception, and they said that they will attend to it. When we returned from the beach later that day, we could see that someone entered the unit, but nothing was actually fixed. That evening, the mosquitos had a feast. We were forced to open windows to try and cool down a bit, since the aircon wasn't working. The following morning we reported the issues again. Later that day we received a message that they want to move us to another unit.

When we got back from the beach, the manager and the maintenance guy awaited us. The manager introduced himself with a very short tempered voice. I greeted him and introduced myself. He said that he had heard that we have some issues with the accommodation. I started mentioning the same issues. When I told him that the aircon doesn't cool, he asked me whether we closed the doors and windows while the aircon was running. This was a slap in the face and it felt like he was insinuating that we are stupid... I bit my tongue and replied that we did and that the unit starts up, but doesn't cool. He suggested to move us to another unit. We had a look at the other unit, but this was much smaller. I immediately switched on the aircon, to see if the compressor actually starts up and that it supplies cool air. Since aircons don't immediately supply cold air, I left it running. There were only two electrical plug sockets in the whole unit and it did not have a bath. We specifically enquired about a bath and an aircon when we booked the accommodation. I asked them how are we going to charge our phones with only two plugs in the unit (unit 16) with no plugs in the rooms? They said that they will lay extension cords from the kitchen to the one bedroom and from the aircon plug below the ceiling to the other bedroom. This meant that we were going to have cables running throughout the unit which will be a safety hazard for someone to trip over. We were also unhappy that we had to sacrifice some of our holiday time to move everything from one unit to another. I made it clear that I did not want to move and that I was unhappy. I asked them if they don't check the units before they receive guests and they said that they do. So I asked them why they did not pick up these issues? The manager's response was that "it is what it is". Once again I bit my tongue and said that we will make the move. We opened all the windows, since the unit was very hot due to it being closed. They provided the assistance of the maintenance guy to help us move our belongings.

While we were busy packing, the manager came to our old unit and in a raised voice asked my wife "where is your husband"? She called me and I went to see him at the front door. He again told me that we should close the doors and windows if we have the aircon on. I could no longer bite my tongue, so I told him that I am not stupid and that I know how aircons work. This was when he told me that he is an ex-para bat and that he is 76 years old. I wondered to myself what this has to do with the current situation... I told him that it is unprofessional of him to tell a guest that "it is what it is" and I don't understand why he is being so rude. His response was that he also doesn't know...

Unit 16 also had a few issues. Long story short. I won't recommend them to anyone.

Within walking distance from the beach. Public showers and toilet facilities are clean. The swimming pool is located in the middle of the property with a braai area. The staff is friendly and helpful.

The only concern is that the room we booked had no A/C or fan, but the staff provided fans upon request.

Sometimes, they host parties dependent on the occasion.

Local monkeys are nice, too.

Overall, it is a lovely place to go and relax. Would recommend.

The accommodation was great! No issues there, however the website indicated arranged activities a shop and a games room all of which was non existent. The "games room" was really not that great and extremely hot. The swimming pool was lovely with clean and clear water.

Fantastic place very relaxing.... gardens are beautiful as is the beach. I would recommend 10x over. Lovely quiet, tranquil beach with many little rockpools to explore and would be in will be back in a heartbeat 💓 Can't wait for my next visit

On arrival for our year long stay I gave this place a great review but as time went on the cracks started to appear in the charade.
Not to bore anyone with a long winded write up but the owners don't care for the safety of their guests ( no fence on the beach perimeter, the beach entrance gate is never locked at night and the "security guards" are not certified but people just hired off the street with no background checks). In our year there we were robbed twice to the value of over R60 000.00 and yet nothing was done in an attempt to upgrade security after the fact. My fiance was accosted on the beach entrance path but luckily made an escape. (Nothing was done, except for the owners to ask her to remove her post from Facebook warning other ladies to be careful in that area.)
Exorbitant fees for the pets that they allow on premises.
Once we left at the end of the contract we had to sign, our deposit which the management demanded to be paid in cash has still not been returned to us after many emails backwards and forwards with the owner stating it was for things such as fixing a broken window and fumigating, to which they still cannot produce invoices to prove that this was indeed done, not to mention the fact that I was never given an opportunity to find my own services to do this, even if in the contract I had agreed to fumigate on our departure...which I had not. Shocking service, and an "I don't care attitude" toward all residents.