The Royal Hotel Pilgrims Rest

Your response is unacceptable. The Royal Hotel was closed for refurbishment at the time of my booking — a fact that should have been known to Hotels.com before confirming any reservations. It is embarrassing that such a booking was confirmed in the first place, and the stress caused is entirely due to your company’s failure to ensure the property was operational.

I will be taking this matter up with my travel insurance provider and expect Hotels.com to review its internal processes to prevent this from happening to other customers.

Ancien hôtel plein de charme.
Personel efficace et à l'ecoute.

Anlände dit från Johannesburg via långa sträckor med pågående vägarbeten. Dåligt utmärkta vägar men m gps lyckades det försås. Staden liten, lugn och gammaldags, hotellet likaså. Finns ej mycket annat intressant att se än byggnaderna från guldruschtiden. Närheten till Blyde river canyon osv motiverar den lilla omvägen till Pilgrim,s rest

Lovely accommodation, room nicely appointed and comfortable!

Great historic location with real character, hotel needs some TLC

Lieu atypique (ancien village de mineurs)
Hôtel conservé comme en 1920, propre
Personnel accueillant, nous avons même eu chacun une boîte bien remplie pour le petit déjeuner que nous ne pouvions prendre sur place car nous reprenions la route à 6h00
Très bon rapport qualité prix
Arrêt recommandé à cet endroit
Restauration possible pour le dîner en réservant

We stayed in one of the cottages across the street and it was a delight!

Ort und Hotel bieten sich an für einen Zwischenstop zwischen Jo'burg und Krüger Park. Vom Airport ca. 4,5 Stunden Fahrtzeit, bis Krüger via Panorama Road mit Fotostops nochmals ca. 5,5 Stunden. Das Hotel vermittelt wunderbar die alte Goldgräber-Atmosphäre, sehr stimmungsvoll sind die Details wie Kerzen.

We were not sure what to expect, but it is a great little place to spend a night.

To put this review in context, I lived in Pilgrims Rest for a couple of months in 1979 and have returned for holidays many times since. The village has had negative reviews over the last couple of years so I was very pleasantly surprised. The Royal Hotel is just as it has always been and staying the Royal Cottage was great, it made me want to live there again! The cottage has two bedrooms, a lounge and a bathroom with an authentic ball-and-claw bath; its own private garden with wrap around decks and awesome views. There's safe parking in a field at the gate and the hotel gives you a notice to put on your dashboard so that you don't get an unsolicited car wash. The staff were friendly, efficient, informative and professional. Free wifi is available in the hotel lounge (again, decked out in period furniture and just as I remembered it) and the complimentary breakfast really good. Negatives - which are not the hotel's fault - include being hassled to buy souvenirs by street vendors, have your car washed etc. so that you don't feel comfortable to walk around too much. The Royal Cottage is a haven, apart from the odd tourist wondering in to take photos! Just remember to lock your doors and close your windows when you do go out - there really are monkeys around (see my photos).

Be very careful when you book the Royal Hotel as we were sent up the street to the Annex or Pilgrims Hotel...not at all what we booked for. Really disappointing from my last visit to this place.

Nous avons passé la nuit dans cet hôtel un peu par hasard puisque c'est Expedia qui nous y a relogés suite à un souci de réservation dans l'hôtel initialement prévu sur Graskop. Mais pour autant, nous n'avons pas été déçus. Le style de l'hôtel vaut franchement le détour, on se croit plus dans une maison de style colonial anglais que dans un hôtel sud-africain ! Il ne manque plus que les chercheurs d'or. Malgré une déco un peu désuette, la chambre était spacieuse, la literie confortable. Seul petit hic, la baignoire dans la salle de bain, sans rideau de douche et donc avec risque de mettre de l'eau partout... Le gros plus de cet hôtel est le petit-déjeuner : plusieurs buffets remplis de bonnes choses, diverses et variées, salées et sucrées ! On a mangé comme des rois et pris l'énergie nécessaire pour affronter la grosse journée qui nous attendait. En bref, un bonne expérience au Royal Hotel de Pilgrims Rest !

old world hotel but very quaint.

Stayed one night. Saw reviews but took a chance. Unfortunately they were correct. We had dinner (nowhere else to eat in PR) and breakfast. Both were cold, and poor quality. The highlight of the evening was the arrival of the kitchen staff, who imposed themselves on the 18 guests by singing (poorly and in an unco-ordinanted manner), and then demanding money by putting a basket on the table. Unwanted and embarrassing. Service was indifferent, especially breakfast, as staff were outside sunning themselves, with little interest in ensuring service.

The bar should have been good (old church imported from Delagoa Bay, signs and scribbles from previous patrons etc), however some patrons smoked, and the barman made no effort to ask them to go outside. We went to the lounge, and witnessed the spectacle of the fire being lit. This involved lighting a cardboard box, putting burning gel on, and some thick logs. This went out in five minutes, and despite our efforts could not be relit. No further attention was given by the staff to reignite it.

Management needs to take control, and get effective, well trained staff before this interesting piece of history goes down the pan for want of neglect.

On the plus side, the rooms were good, fitted out with old furniture, plenty of hot water, and an excellent old bath. We all slept well in very comfortable beds.

Won't be going back.

Food was cold- supper as well as breakfast. Will not stay in this venue again.

This was my second time to stay at the Royal Hotel in the past couple of years. It's a great place to stopover for the night from Johannesburg to Kruger National Park. I would describe the property as a bit "rustic" in the good sense of the word. It has the feel of steeping back in time. There is a large lounge and dinning room. The bedrooms are very clean and comfortable. There was a great variety of menu items at breakfast which is provided with your stay. There was an entertaining troupe of Vervet Monkeys all over the road in the morning. The Royal Hotel is a great launching pad for enjoying the Blyde River Canyon, God's Window, and Kruger National Park!

We enjoyed our stay. The room was clean and comfortable, the bath was tremendous! The décor was quaint and it was enjoyable to stay in a national monument. The staff at reception were friendly and welcoming, other staff could have been a bit zippier, but not a major issue.

Lovely, rustic place. Great service and unexpected comfort in the middle of nowhere.

It was very relaxing and we enjoyed every moment.

Enjoyed it allot.