Escape to the Country: South Africa

Capacity

Style

On-site stay

Catering

August 2025 We had the most incredible two weeks in SA, thanks to Escape to The Country. We had three parts to our trip: Cape Town, Ballito and Madikwe - City, R&R and wildlife! From the personal itinerary (accommodating the diverse needs of our family of 5 brilliantly), to the standard of accommodation, transport laid on and recommended activities, our holiday exceeded all expectations. Ruby, our travel co-ordinator, was magnificent, from finding us local gyms and recommending restaurants to helping us when our eldest son was unwell (on a weekend too!), nothing was too much bother. We felt extremely well looked after. All three stays ticked every box and more. A gem of an agency and one we would thoroughly recommend. Thank you for being so integral to an unforgettable trip.

We stayed at Little Eden Robertson. Lauren, the host, was very welcoming. The cottage was so well thought out. It had everything you needed from kitchen equipment to a baby's cot. It was nicely decorated and just felt really cared for. We were given fresh coffee, tea, milk and even half a dozen eggs from Lauren's chickens! Lauren was really responsive to any queries, too. Thank you, Lauren and family, for a lovely stay.

The accommodation was riddled with issues, including but not limited to: Filthy floors throughout the unit, including corners and behind curtains Smelly, dirty lounge cushions Non-functioning air-conditioning in multiple areas despite being advertised as fully air-conditioned A kitchen infested with dead cockroaches and insects, dirty cupboards and drawers, a filthy fridge left switched off and leaking water onto the floor, no bin or bin bags, a dirty oven with no trays, and a back door that could not open A so-called “fully fitted kitchen” that did not include a dishwasher, had insufficient crockery, and lacked basic hospitality essentials Bedrooms with insect droppings on bedding, dried dead plants left in place, a used condom packet next to the bed, and linen that was clearly not properly cleaned A main bedroom jacuzzi and shower that did not function at all Bathrooms that were dirty, with hair in drains, filthy mats, unclean toilets, and no toilet paper, soap, or toiletries provided whatsoever A basement room with dirty linen and a sleeper couch infested with cockroaches and completely unusable A dirty pool, unmaintained outdoor area, and overgrown grass A broken balcony railing, which presents a serious safety hazard and poses an unacceptable risk of injury or worse. This alone should have rendered the property unfit for occupation, particularly for a group stay. To compound matters, the individual sent to “clean” the property was not a professional cleaner, but a building worker using the same mop on floors and inside cupboards, with no cleaning detergents. This is wholly unacceptable and reflects a complete disregard for hygiene and guest safety. As a direct result of these conditions, we could not stay at the property on Monday night and were forced to source alternative accommodation for 10 people at our own cost. The unit was only attended to after 12h00 on Tuesday, resulting in the loss of one and a half days of our paid stay. Even after this, we had no choice but to wash all linen, towels, and bathroom mats ourselves. In addition, despite being advised that our R2,000 breakage deposit would be refunded within 7 days, this has still not been received. It really is not deserving of the 1 star. The owner of the property, Candice was utterly rude and did not care.

We booked our Midlands stay through Escape to the Country South Africa and it couldn’t have been easier. The booking process was smooth, the accommodation was exactly as described, and the team was quick to help when we had questions. Highly recommend!