Reviews of Monkey Bay Backpackers

11 August 2010 Julian would recommend this property

Liked: The environment, the amazing spirit and good vibe from the staff, the location... in general, it's great.

Disliked: I would really like to have cheaper transport options from the hostel (Ballito) to Durban. That would make it for me.

08 July 2010

Liked: Ballito the town is lovely but there is plenty of other reasonably priced accommodation.

Disliked: We had a very disappointing experience with this backpackers from the start. We booked back in January for the World Cup and the rates were reasonable. We then got an email from the owner saying that the rates had been stuffed up by Hostelbookers (HB) and that in fact we would have to pay nearly double. After clarifying with HB they said it was the vendor's responsibility to change the rates etc, this was sorted out and we were apologised to for the 'misunderstanding' by the owner. We then had to pay upfront about 2 months before we arrived and I even included $20 extra just in case there were bank fees they had to pay at their end. When we got there the person at the front didn't have a clue where we were staying or if we even had a booking as the 'manager' had "wandered off with the booking sheet again" (her words not mine) When he came back he was very aloof, not sure if he was expecting a confrontation due to the prior 'misunderstanding.' He showed us to a really lovely self contained holiday apartment across the road and one road back from the beach at a complex called 'La Ballito' with a double and a twin room. He didn't make it clear whether our travelling companions would be staying with us as we had booked a double and a dorm room but upon clarification he said that they were for the first two nights but for the third, another couple would be put in the apartment with us and our friends would have dorm beds at the hostel (across the road). On the second night we had a knock at the door at 11pm with a note from the owner saying that the dorms had been double booked and would our travel companions be willing to sleep on the tiny 2 person couches in the lounge/dining area? Well that was it, we decided to cut our losses with this place and booked a B&B in a town 200km closer to our next destination (despite having to drive in the dark straight after the Brazil v. Portugal match had ended in Durban) instead of staying at Monkey Bay one more night. Despite their poor management of the accommodation, there wasn't even a hint of offering to reimburse us for the lost night, even if it had been just for the dorm beds. We were also really disappointed that we missed out on the backpacker atmosphere and chance to meet people from around the world. We booked our whole month long trip around South Africa through HB and met some lovely people in the backpacker hostels we stayed in. This was the worst experience we had with accommodation in South Africa which is sad because everywhere else was so friendly, kind and generous. I would reccommend the town (50 minutes north of Durban down a toll highway or longer down the coastal roads) just not this backpackers.

06 July 2010 Customer would recommend this property

Liked: Very close to the beach and staff were really great.

Disliked: Not much water pressure in the inside shower.

24 June 2010 Customer would recommend this property

Liked: I really liked the staff and the friendly atmosphere.

Disliked: Customer left no negative feedback.