Guest User
May 2, 2025
Save your money and go to Lord Charles or any other hotel in Stellenbosch. This place sucks and when I explained my dissatisfaction to management they wrote to me: "We take not of your email, and your threats." meaning they couldn't care less to rectify any issues... Here is my story and context if you have the time to read: My partner and I stayed at Devon Valley for a close friends wedding. While a beautiful property, booking a stay was difficult in that their main point of contact, Melissa Van Staden was extremely unresponsive via email. Imagine how difficult this is when you're booking from a different country. They made us pay upfront and charged extra for using a credit card, which is something you can avoid with other hotels by simply booking online but whatever - we did it. The unresponsiveness should have been our warning sign to go else where because a slew of problems arose when we arrived: Incorrect Billing: We were charged for an additional night that we did not stay!!!! This seemed like a simple mistake because I had asked if it was possible to add another night, and while they confirmed adjusting the reservation was possible, we never confirmed we would be staying an extra night. We had pre-paid for our three nights, and upon checkout (3/11/25), they billed us for an extra night despite me confirming we actually would be checking in on 3/9 prior to arrival. Calvin, the manager, whom I dealt with at the property refunded me 50%. However I requested an immediate refund for this erroneous charge via email and they refused claiming I was in the wrong for asking for an extra night. Unresponsive Staff and Damaged Property: Despite four separate requests for a clothing steamer, none was provided though they kept saying they would deliver one to our room. Eventually, I was given a defective iron after running to the front desk four times. Because it was broken, it damaged my partner's formal pants. This forced him to change his outfit for the wedding we were attending. This represents both poor service and property damage. I totally understand they aren't obligated to have steamers, but at a top hotel I would at least expect better service! Misrepresented Accommodations: I specifically paid a premium for a vineyard view room. However, upon arrival, I discovered that my room had no such view (see photos) due to ill maintained and overgrown foliage. This is blatant false advertising and failure to deliver the specific room category I paid for. When I took this up with Calvin, the hotel manager, instead of listening to a customers dissatisfaction, he screamed that "this is the best view in South Africa, and has won awards". Like ok? Can you see the vineyards in this picture? Because I can't... Overall I'm truly appalled at the lack of hospitality from a hospitality group... when I reiterated my concerns over email they responded saying that all my "allegations were denied" and that their "excellent reputation is well documente