Pretoria House

4 Colleen Wilkinson - 10 months ago

We had a nice quiet night. Comfortable bed, clean room. The bathroom was clean and all amenities worked. Manager was very friendly and before we left, the owner greeted us in the garden and even made my husband a cup of coffee ????. Nice place for an overnight stay.
Keep in mind that it is an old house, so be prepared to embrace the old world charm.

4 Rachel's Equestrianlife - 9 months ago

We got a free upgrade was a really nice, comfortable and clean guesthouse. Slept really well.. Everything you need. We stayed close to the German Embassy where we had an appointment.

2 Kabelo Ottis - a year ago

The host Vincent was very welcoming, and helpful. Our stay was terrible because there were cockroaches in the room, and it was not properly cleaned so we didn't even eat the free breakfast offered because of that. The shower is small and the water was cold...the stars are for Vincent.

1 Claire Schimpf - a year ago

Beware of this place! NOT RECOMMENDABLE!

We stayed there for two nights, but it was a real nightmare. The Bu0026B is a place of domestic violence. The gilfriend of the owner either does not greet or runs through the house screaming.
She also treats the staff in a terrible manner and the owner and her fight in the house and in the garden.
I was scared to death and talked to another person renting there who told me that there was serious domestic violence going on constantly and that it was not safe for the guests as well, since there was physical fighting going on and screaming. It was a very uncomfortable situation. Not recommendable at all to stay there. Very scary. I only read now in the other review of Mark Smit that this seems to always be the case.

The pool was unusable. It was GREEN! Nobody seems to really care about the guests and the comfortability.

Further, I was searching for sanitizers, but Covid-19 regulations are not in place! I could only find one sanitizer bottle hidden in a cupboard, but the place is not looked after well. People have breakfast together, and there is no social distancing in place and no sanitizing after the guests have left the breakfast table!!! It is very shocking. In these times when Covid-19 is high!

Besides that: Opposite the house is a huge building area and the place is loud and noisy and it stinks of petrol and gases (truck noise and pollution!!!). There is a constant peeping from the machines from early in the morning til evening. One can not use the garden under these circumstances, nor can one open the windows. If the building site is quite, then there is noise and pollution from the main road as well.

Besides that there are lots of mosquitos in the garden due to dirt water all over the entrance area. Sewage water that is spilling all over from the ground floor. Very unpleasant, smelly and unhygenic. Terrible - and not even an apology from the owner of the place.

Absolutely not recommendable! This place it not worth the money invested!

1 Mark Smit - a year ago

Staff:
Cathrine u0026 Vincent are truly amazing staff. They work VERY long hours. That can't be legal!!

Sadly Chris or "Micha" as he likes to be called, seems like he is purposefully trying to run the place to the ground. His constant fighting with his new girlfriend, who he calls his "wife" have become extremely uncomfortable. The moving of either of their suitcases to other rooms, has become almost a daily sight. She would then walk around, dressed only in a gaping gown and bad talk him with the guests, desperately seeking some attention. It is the most uncomfortable situation ever.

Main kitchen use:
As advertised "Private en-suite room with main kitchen use" turns out to be false as Chris chased everybody out his kitchen. He supplied a small 1 plate stove and a mini microwave for all the guests (9 rooms) to prepare their food at the braai area that has no wash-up area.
The mini fridge, I was promised when I moved in and also after Chris refused me entry to the main kitchen was never supplied.

Security:
The advertised "24 hour security u0026 Manager - highest security level" consists only of Vincent, who is also the builder, painter, electrician, plumber, pool-guy, gardener, cleaner, waiter, shopper, washing machine technician and general handyman. I often heard Chris shout at the poor guy for no reason.
- Labour lawyers, please take note.

As advertised "Amenities at your disposal: Coffee bar" also tuned out to be false as Chris does not allow anyone to use his coffee machine. When I explained that an Espresso machine supplies a measure of water and not a timed measure and that a finer grind would simply take a bit longer and produce a different flavour, he argued that he is German and always right. I then decided to use my own coffee machine and also purchased a coffee grinder.

As advertised "Amenities at your disposal: Secure inside parking bays" are not secure at all. My room was in direct view of the main entrance. The gate often got stuck after someone had closed it and it then remained open. I had to close the gate numerous times after finding it standing open. Chris knows about the problem, but nothing was done about it. The gate mechanism needs proper attention.

Pool:
During Dec u0026 Jan the pool was green more often than clear.
Tip1: The chlorine in the bucket will only work if one adds enough to the pool. 1 cup a week does save money, but that is not the purpose of chlorine.
Tip2: The mirkyness will also improve, if the water gets enough time to filter through a properly back-washed filter. I offered my expertise, but again Chris claimed he knew what he was doing.

Mosquitoes:
Outside the braai area is a non functional water fountain, which is a breeding haven for mosquitoes. I suggested to Chris to add a half a teaspoon of chlorine to the water every 2nd day to illuminate them, but that never happened. Very unpleasant with so many mozzies at the braai area.

The rooms are extremely hot.
The small, low cost fans in the rooms don't cool anything and the one in my room seized up after a few days. I then used my own.

Load shedding:
There is a generator, but it never ran ONCE in the 2 u0026 a half months.
Tip1: When load shedding occurs, the generator will only provide power to the rooms, if it is started.
Tip2: If you despise all petrol fumes, don't even bother to mention a "generator for load shedding" when guests check in.

Water pressure:
In average once every 3 times I took a shower, there was no pressure and I had to shower with dripping water.

Purified water:
Tip: "Boorgat water" only boiled for a few seconds in a large pot, cooled (not membrane, charcoal or at all filtered) and then poured into glass bottles, can not be described as "Purified Mineral Water".

1 PRINCE NDOU - a year ago

I was only happy with the caretaker, that lady she's a hard-worker. Micha accepted a booking from me and the team of 6 people but the 2 of us had to move out of the accommodation and look for our own place and told us that he will request uber for us atleast the best thing he could have done is to re-imburse our petrol money. Poor breakfast for many different guests, first come first serve basis. Micha how come you have to over book chalets yet there is people who booked to stay in for 2-3 days then struggle to look for another accommodation? Such inconvenience Micha.!!!!!

4 nontsikelelo machakela - 3 years ago

The place was nice and quiet. Everything was enthralling ,the bed was comfortable ,the kitchen was okay the toilet was on point. The problem was the TV ,everytime we want to watch something ,netflix etc. The network was the problem also, please find a solution how to fix the network and the tv. The other thing is that please have a place to wash cars because sometimes we dont know other places please be aware of that also. Otherwise everything was great and amazing we had a nice and great time and thanks to the cleaners as well with their kindness and care.Thanks to Estelle and Jackie and other people also that controls the Pretoria House.