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External Review's Review of Umngazi Hotel And Spa

Back to Umngazi Hotel And Spa
1 How would you rate your overall experience?

BOOKING.COM - Rampersad - Feb 2023 - - - "Loved the buffets for breakfast, lunch and dinner. EXCELLENT quality of food, well prepared and delicious. Loved the comfortable bed and linen as well as the breathtaking views. The Spa was the best that I have ever been to. VERY DISSAPPOINTED with the welcome. Reception staff is not too friendly. For the price that was paid, I expected a much warmer welcome and more information about the resort, times of meals and what was included. I stated that I paid for an all inclusive and I wanted to know what was included. I was told the system does not state that I booked an ALL INCLUSIVE and if I did, I would receive a letter in my room. I did not receive any letter in my room and checked my booking again where it stated all inclusive. Went back and showed this to reception, again she says its only 3 meals included (was this for my duration of stay? or per day?). I had to further ask about tea, etc. and then only I would get a response. Very unfriendly and not much info given at reception. Staff during meals are totally untrained and lack knowledge. They do not understand about wines and communication is extremely weak. I asked to taste a wine to check if I would like it and would then order. I was asked to buy an entire bottle to try it, yet the wine is sold by the glass. No wine knowledge. Everytime you order a drink, a bill is brought to you, you expected to leave your meal and sign despite asking them to leave the tab open as we will be ordering more than 1 drink and will sign everything at the end. This was foreign to them and I realized that I was wasting my time speaking to the waiters. There is no room service available. It rained the entire weekend we were there and we could not order room service even for drinks. Our rooms were really far away. Been to numerous 4 and 5 star resorts in my life and I know the levels of what to expect, I was surprised at the lack of this at this establishment especially with the price paid. Service and friendliness definitely lacks. No individual attention (like most resorts, where its Good Morning Mr & Mrs xxxx), you are just a number here. Would definitely love to visit again as this resort has a lot of potential, they just need to up their game."

Umngazi Hotel And Spa
Dear Vaughan & Satvika We sincerely appreciate your detailed feedback with regards to your stay at Umngazi. Thank you very much for making special mention of our food offerings, our comfortable beds and our beautiful Spa. The views, not just from the Spa but from everywhere else, are truly spectacular. We are however, very sad to hear that you were so disappointed with the service from our staff, especially at reception. Receiving a negative review such as yours is never easy. The reviews that we receive, are all from guests who absolutely love our staff and speak so highly of their friendliness and welcoming nature. These reviews are evident on both Tripadvisor as well as Booking.com and various other online platforms. It is extremely important that as much information is given upon check in to each and every guest. I apologise that we failed in our communication to you. We do have an interactive screen available at reception and should you require any further information, there is always a Manager on duty who checks in with guests during breakfast, lunch and dinner. It really is a pity that you feel our staff are unfriendly, untrained and lack knowledge. Umngazi is known for guests who return year after year and some guests have stayed with us for over 25 years. The biggest reason that they return is because of the relationships established with our staff and because of them taking the time to get to know the culture of the Pondo people. Each one of us at Umngazi, management and staff included, take the time to get to know our guests and build lasting relationships. We have never offered room service due to the fact that we are not a star graded resort. Our guests love sitting in the lounge or the bar area, next to a warm fire and enjoy their drinks on days when the sun is hiding away. Our biggest aim at Umngazi is that people will arrive at the gate as guests and leave as friends. I am sorry that this was not true for you. We truly hope that you visit this little piece of paradise again. With warm Umngazi greetings to you and your family.