Kievits Kroon Gauteng Wine Estate

nothing

The breakfast was stupendous

It was beautiful!!

DINNER and BREAKFAST WERE EXCEPTIONALLY DELICIOUS.

Great

Perfect

Beautiful surroundings, friendly and accomodating staff, good breakfast

Gardens are beautiful, breakfast was good, room was very comfortable and clean.

Great spa facilities and restaurants

Breakfast with Bottomless Champagne it went down very well the omelet was very delicious and tasty big ups to the Chef who prepared it upon my request.

This was our sixth or seventh stay and it will be our last. It's really sad because we used to rave about this place to anyone who would listen, telling them about Kievits Kroon as a great option for a convenient and luxurious weekend away. But we can't recommend it anymore. There were several small fails and two major ones that I can't overlook.

This was the first time we'd been in a few years, as the last time wasn't great either, but we decided to give it one last chance because we had a function in Cullinan and needed somewhere to overnight.

We booked a room for the three of us - me, my husband and our 2-year-old. On the morning of our reservation, we called ahead to confirm there would be a cot in the room. They didn't have one noted for our booking, but confirmed my full name and said they'd arrange one.

We travelled through while our son was napping, so arrived a little early (about 1.15pm). We were not on the check-in list at the gate, but there was a queue of people arriving behind us, so after flipping through the papers several times they eventually waved us in. We headed to reception and said we'd wait until 2pm at the library bar and order some tapas. We asked again at reception about the cot. Nobody knew what we were talking about or who we'd spoken to, but they said they'd arrange one.

We ordered food at about 1.45pm and it took an hour to arrive. At 2.10pm, my husband went to see if our room was ready yet, as we were due in Cullinan at 3pm and needed to leave at 2.30pm to get there on time. He got the key and he and my son waited for the food while I fetched the car and took our luggage to the room (no.88).

When I got to the room at 2.20pm, there was a maintenance man lying on the floor, playing on his phone. He got a huge fright when I came in (which made two of us!) but was very apologetic and said he was waiting for someone to bring the battery he needed to replace the one in the safe. Why this was happening after check-in time, I have no idea.

I asked him if I could just have 5min to change, so he left and I quickly got dressed. Another maintenance guy arrived as I was leaving at 2.25pm, bringing the battery. I asked him about the cot because there was still no cot in the room. He said he'd ask housekeeping again for me.

I headed back to the pool, where my husband and son had moved to keep our busy toddler occupied. I got a call just after 2.30pm from reception to say our room was ready. I told the guy I already had the key, had been to the room and had found someone lying on the floor there. His response was, "Oh good." He hung up before I could ask about the cot.

Our food eventually arrived at 2.45pm, so we quickly shovelled it in and dashed back to the room so my husband could get dressed. Still no cot there.

We let our family know we were running late and then left. We were once again waved through at the gate because of queues. On our way to Cullinan, we phoned reception again to ask about the cot. They said they had a cot waiting for us, but hadn't known which room to put it in (?!) so they would now send it to room 88.

When we got back at 8pm, the cot was there. The bedding looked dirty, but maybe it was just very stained, but we just put the blanket we'd brought with over it and started running to bath so we could get our kid to bed. And then I noticed A RING OF SOMEONE ELSE'S DIRT in the bathtub. Gross, gross, gross!

I called reception and explained, and they sent housekeeping. Tshego arrived and had a look, took a photo and apologised. He came back after 10 min with a cleaning lady and they quickly cleaned the bath. But, as I said to him, when you find a dirty bath, you start to wonder about everything else... has the loo been cleaned, have the sheets been changed, etc.

In the morning, we had a nice breakfast at Kingsley's (I have to say, the food was better than some of our previous stays, both the tapas and the buffet breakfast).

Then we headed to the pool for a last swim before checking out. A friendly gent (Sibusiso?) brought us lounger cushions, but none of the three staff members we asked could tell us how to get pool towels. Eventually, I spotted them through the windows of the bar, on the counter as I was headed to use the loo. Because the bar was not officially open yet, one of the make staff members tried to physically block me from opening the door. When I said I needed the toilet, he let me past and I could go to the ladies' and then grab pool towels on my way out.

After a quick dip, we headed back to the room to shower and pack up before check-out. Someone had been into our room and removed both bathmats. Nothing else - not the used glasses or mugs or the towels... just the bathmats. I put one of the swimming towels down so we wouldn't slip.

As I was checking we had packed our PJs, A SMALL COCKROACH RAN OVER THE SHEETS! Gross, gross, gross!

At 9.40am, housekeeping knocked on the door to clean. I said we were still packing up and would be out shortly. Again, why is housekeeping not matched to guest arrivals and departures?

We checked out at 10am and my husband told the receptionist about needing to speak to 4 different people to get a cot, arriving at the room to find a staff member lifting on the carpet, about the filthy bath, etc. and said we'd been disappointed and had decided this was our last stay. The response was basically, "Sorry to hear that. Bye."

So all of the detail I would normally put in a post-stay survey is now going on Google because I find it unacceptable that a lukewarm apology and a shrug of the shoulders is the only response from Kievits Kroon, which is supposed to be a luxury guest-centric establishment. It once was. But not anymore.

Upon arrival, check-in at reception was smooth. We were provided with our room key and directed to our accommodation, which required us to drive to the other side of the estate. However, when we reached the room, the key did not work. We walked back to reception, where we were informed that a network issue had prevented the key from being properly programmed. The receptionist, who was very helpful, offered to accompany us to the room and opened it using a master key. She assured us that a functioning key would be delivered as soon as the network was restored.

Upon entering the room, we immediately noticed that it had not been cleaned. The window sill was sticky with what appeared to be beverage spills, the floor was dirty, the bathroom mats were not fresh, and most concerning, there were rat droppings on the window sill, on the floor behind the curtains, and behind the door. I contacted reception to request housekeeping and asked to speak with a manager, as the condition of the room was unacceptable. A housekeeping staff member arrived, but I requested that cleaning not proceed until the housekeeping manager assessed the situation. The manager quickly confirmed that the room had indeed not been cleaned and that there were clear signs of rodent activity. She apologised sincerely, asked us to wait while the room was cleaned, and said she would escalate the matter to the rooms division. While waiting on the terrace outside, we noticed a mouse in the bushes, which explained the droppings found inside.

After the room was cleaned, the manager returned, apologised again, and informed us that a complimentary bottle of wine had been arranged for us. We told her about the mouse we had seen and expressed that we did not feel comfortable staying in that room. She went back to speak with the rooms division, and we waited in the bar. An hour later, she returned with keys to a new room and directed us there. The replacement room was clean, though the entire experience made for a rocky start to our stay.

The following day, after breakfast, we returned to our room to find that the terrace doors had been removed and two maintenance staff were working. This came as an unexpected surprise, as no one had informed us that repairs would be taking place. We decided to return to the bar to allow the work to be completed. As we were celebrating a birthday that day, the housekeeping manager kindly arranged for our room to be decorated with a birthday message.

From that point onward, we thoroughly enjoyed our stay thanks to the exceptional customer service at the restaurants, bars, and spa. In particular, we would like to recognise Moses, Regal, and Tebogo at Kingsley Restaurant; Sibongile at Granatas; and Mandy at the spa for their outstanding hospitality. They truly made our stay memorable.

Overall, despite the challenges we experienced upon arrival, we had a lovely stay. Thank you to everyone who contributed to making my mother’s birthday special.