Consumer Feature: Seasons resort in Hartbeespoort update

Relebogile Mabotja speaks with Wendy Knowler, consumer journalist.

Listen to the interview in the audio below.

At some point we all need a break, and for many of us the ideal break involves getting out of your city for a few days.

Normally we will do some research online before finding a place to spend our hard-earned money on for a getaway.

However, many of those who picked the Seasons resort were bitterly disappointed when it did not come close to living up to its 4-star rating from the Tourism Grading Council of SA.

Guests shared horror stories such as dirty rooms, overflowing garbage, terrible smelling toilets, and no water.

One guest says that after calling a cleaning crew when monkeys had trashed their room, it took an hour for them to arrive, and they came without any disinfecting products.

The CEO of Touch Down Invest, the company which owns the season resort, Eben Odendaal says they sincerely regret the poor experiences of some guests and had been in contact with the affected parties.

Those affected were staying in self-catering units which had not been renovated and refurbished like the ones on the website.

All the guests were refunded and invited back in the future to see the changes when they are completed.

Bronwen Auret, SA Tourism’s chief quality assurance officer says that the council is working with the property to try and rectify the issues over the festive season.

“The property has really gone out of their way to acknowledge that they were in the wrong.”

- Bronwen Auret, SA Tourism’s chief quality assurance