Our family of four checked into Elsa's Lodge, part of the Magic Hills Private Collection on 27 December 2020. This was to be the three last nights of our December holiday after a long year.
When we booked, we assumed that Elsa was on a fully catered basis based on the booking confirmation, but were later told it was wrong. Still later we were told that the website was also wrong and that there was no chef, no game ranger, and no daily game activities. We decided that Elsa was still worth the effort given the luxury we saw online.
Given that we had just concluded a three week self-catering holiday where we paid around R5 000 per night for luxury accommodation, you can imagine how we looked forward to Elsa at R7 000.
Afraid to say that Elsa Lodge is simply overpriced and that a great deal of false advertising and smoke and mirrors was involved.
Elsa is not a luxury lodge. It is comfortable and rather average. The pictures on the website are really misleading. There are glorious staged photographs of the boma, the wrap around porch etc, not real. None of the furniture looks the same.
The photo's on social media about pizza's in the braai at Elsa simply cannot be true as we found the braai to be in an disgusting state.
The kitchen sold on the website as a "Chefs kitchen" has a mixed bag of crockery and cutlery not befitting a luxury lodge. Everything in the kitchen needs a proper wash after months of not being used. We brought our own pot scourer and had to give the roasting pan a good scrub and think the oil and grease from the last 10 years is now gone. Pots and pans and appliances are lacking. Luxury lodges usually offer tea, sugar, coffee, a splash of milk, none of this on offer at Elsa.
The toaster and kettle in dire need of replacement after years of arid Karoo air doing its part. There is a nasty (without lid) outside black dustbin in the kitchen. It smells and attracts flies. No dustbins in the bedrooms or bathrooms. The Karoo is hot...there are aircons in rooms, but these remain unconnected to a power source.
A miserable gas oven in need of tlc and a good service. Wooden cupboards that have seen better days. One sad leaking plastic ice tray, not enough to keep up with Karoo heat. A pan that we could not fry an egg in. The kitchen utensils and in fact the entire kitchen in dire need of a good scrub!
We personally got on chairs and fixed a sad looking curtain going off its rail. We were unsuccessful in our attempts to fix a toilet not flushing. The flocculant was still at the bottom of the pool where the murky waters cleared a bit after our arrival.
The cobwebs in the passage remain. We washed our own dishes and did not have the energy to make beds too as the helper that was supposed to be amazing and would even whip up a salad never showed.
I am still sad about all the false advertising as it relates to our free daily game activity. Sadly this is not true. We did our own game drive on dodgy roads.
The list of complaints is just too long to list every single one dear traveler, and you will be here a long time. There were no toiletries, no swimming towels.
The road is not fit for normal cars. We have a sturdy 4 x 4, yet the 30kms gravel road took us 2.5 hours.
The braai was dirty and we had to ask one of the staff members to clean it. Once the braai was clean the power went out, so too the voice over IP phone. My husband had to drive the worker to the maintenance manager's house for help as he had a radio with him, but no charger. I sat in the dark boma alone with my two kids and my own candles waiting. Again, the paraffin lamps on the website are there (some of them), but alas, no paraffin.
This first morning we wanted to use the stove. Simply not working. Eventually got it going but its slow and cold.
Then the helper does not pitch, house remains un-serviced and I must wash dinner and breakfast dishes to ensure clean plates for lunch.
We decided to check out early and go home after only two nights as this is not what we paid for. Magic Hills is not truthful in thei