1onalbert Avis 1

It has taken me sometime to write a review about our awful experience at the hands of charlatans. My step brother and I had planned this break for quite a while and I for one was looking forward to it since I had not been out of the UK since before the 1st lockdown. We arrived and the first thing we questioned was the area location of the hotel. It was unsafe to say the least. I asked the so called ManageAir (the company which owns apartments within the block) check in Manager called Mao, how safe our hired vehicle would be parked outside. His immediate response was that it was unsafe and he suggested we park it downstairs at a total cost of equivalent to about £38. I asked him for the account details to which to make the bank transfer. Surprise, surprise it was his own bank account, but not questioning it , I made the transfer. He announced to me that it had not hit his account, but that was due to an error with his bank and not mine, but could I draw cash, which I agreed I would, but only once we had settled in. Next disappointment was the accommodation itself. Don’t be fooled by the glossy and chic accommodation pictures – the place is a dump! There were dubious stains all over the sofa, the 2nd bedroom was lit with a skylight, if you stood on a chair you could see the top of Table Mountain (so forget any relevance to that). We immediately raised a concern with our check in Manager that we were dissatisfied with the accommodation and he immediately provided a blanket to cover the stains on the sofa. We headed down to the lovely sparkling pool as advertised and it was filthy, it overlooked a railway line to the rear of the hotel, and I was propositioned by one of the female guests and asked “if I wanted to have a bit of fun?! That tells you something. Moving on quickly, we endured a night in this hell hole (no air conditioning may I add but two noisy fans were provided). The next morning I was awoken by Mao requesting his cash, as I had parked our car safely downstairs in a very deserted car park, which I was informed was in high demand. That is the point at which we decided to leave, sought and fortunately found alternative accommodation. We addressed all these issues with Megan of ManageAir, and at the same time with bookings.com with whom we had made the reservation. This saga then continued well after our arrival back in the UK, and I was then asked to provide a witness account, in writing of what had happened with respect to the employee Mao, which I duly did. Apparently they had reason to believe his intentions were dishonourable, and I was invited to attend a virtual hearing to give my account of what had transpired. I obviously had one condition, by agreeing to this, we would be refunded in full for a stay we never had minus the night we stayed, and to my surprise Megan texted back to say she had instructed bookings .com to issue a “full refund” - which I have on a WhatsApp text as proof. I was then contacted by the CEO of the company Bianca Beasley, and a time and date was set, and once again I made it quite clear that I would cooperate as long as we were compensated for the unused nights of what was a gross miss advertising of accommodation on offer. One hour before the supposed hearing, in which I was advised would more than strengthen their case to possibly terminate the employment of a dishonest employee, whose actions and intentions were blatantly fraudulent, I once again asked why they had not instructed Bookings.com to issue a refund. By this stage were exasperated by the ping- pong game tactics of these two players- one blaming the other. And based on the employment laws of South Africa, that could be seen as a bribe, I called it more of a condition, as would anyone. I received an e mail back from Bianca Beasley informing me my attendance was no longer required, but my written evidence, which I had foolishly pre- provided was suitable. Let this be a lesson to anyone wanting to book any apartments owned by this company ManageAir, you will not see any refund.