Blou Branders Kassiesbaai Arniston

Good

Didn’t like need to alarm and heavily lock up

Etna's management company that runs it was very professional. The view is great, and from a Monday to a Thursday it's pretty quiet. The location is nearby some very nice hiking trails, and there's a quaint little restaurant right opposite, as well as a take away shop also selling basic goodies only 40 meters away.

I hope that this message is passed on to the Owner of the property. For 8 nights I paid $750 U.S, around R13k, and for this price I could have gotten a modern well kept place in Arniston. This is totally overpriced and I felt a bit ripped off. The photos don't depict the truth. The BBQ is broken and now just a few bricks, and the grills provided are old and rusty. The thatch roof has not been properly treated with creosote in years and is a breeding ground for bugs. I can't even count how many cockroaches, crickets, and other bugs were either dead or walking about. The big brown couch on the photos is so old and dilapidated that the main place you want to sit to watch t.v is sunken in, either a broken base or broken springs. Tried to relax and lay down to watch t.v but super uncomfortable. There is a lot of wind which naturally blows plastic, but the view to the see was irritating me because all over in the bush is plastic, and to your right eye view a dumping pile of rubbish and refuse. There are many poor kids and people in this area who could have been paid R200 to clean up the place before Guest arrival. There's no large garbage bin to throw the bin bags in. The stove is so old that the stove plates are blocks of solid rust due to lack of maintenance. Again with the roof, loads of fruit flies, mosquitos, and small moths everywhere. You're only told the night before you check in that the property is in Kassiesbaai next to Arniston, the poor Coloured fishermen area, and what you don't see on the photos is the large parking lot and bbq area where the entire community parties from 6 am till late every weekend, so forget about tranquility. I was woken the Friday, Saturday, and Sunday by doof doof doof doof massive large subwoofers blasting music at 6 am. There are no quiet weekend mornings here. There are often poor kids and people coming to ask for food, work, or just a handout.

great location views fantastic

I good deep clean could work

There was no baking tray for the oven or ice cube trays. These were very quickly delivered to the the cottage the next day, which was appreciated.

The floors were grubby. We rewashed all the plates and cutlery before we could use them. My duvet cover, although clean had large orange stains all over it. The towels were threadbare. Mine was grey in colour and had holes in it. Around the stoep area were piles of discarded braai coals, and the bushes had bottles and litter. We did not feel safe initially. The alarm went off twice during the night. Set off by a cat on the one occasion. We were not told that my phone number had been given to the security company and we very confused when we phoned. Our stay fell over a weekend and a public holiday. The beach parking and braai area were popular during this time. It was very noisy with taxis and cars all blaring their own music the whole day. I did not expect this, and was looking forward to a quiet and peaceful stay. It was rather ironic that prior to our visit I got numerous emails stating that I was not allowed to have any parties or celebrations or make any noise! The worst was the sewerage stench that emanated from an open pipe outside the bathrooms in the carport area. This was right next to one of the bedrooms. We had to keep the windows closed the whole time. We could not open the kitchen door to ventilate the cottage either because of the continuous smell. The village is a lovely place and the people are friendly and helpful.