Review: Town Lodge Mbombela

Travelling to Nelspruit during COVID-19

Town Lodge Mbombela

A spur of the moment trip had us packing our bags, and heading to Mpumalanga for a relaxing weekend.

Even though it was a last minute decision, we couldn't exactly travel all the way from Johannesburg to Nelspruit without any accommodation.

Nowadays most people jump on the most popular booking site and just book there, but I prefer to make sure everything is confirmed before I make any booking online.

I usually email the places that I am interested in staying in at first, so I can at least make contact with someone at the establishment, and to ensure whatever I require is confirmed in an email.

I emailed quite a few guesthouses, lodges, hotels, and B&B's in the Nelspruit area, and only two of them came back to me, one of them was the Road Lodge Mbombela.

The common courtesy of replying to a request, whether you can assist or not plays a big role in whether I will end up using your service or purchasing a product from your business. It shows some professionalism, and I also have some peace of mind that if I do encounter any problems there is a good possibility that I would be assisted.

Johan Prinsloo the General Manager of Road Lodge Mbombela replied to my request, promptly and efficiently, which meant that Road Lodge Mbombela was my first choice to do business with.

In all the years that I've stayed at City Lodge Hotel Group's Lodges or Hotels around the country, I have always been impressed by their service.

When it was time for me to book the accommodation in Nelspruit, I decided to check the City Lodge Hotel Group website.

Lucky for me that I did, as the Town Lodge which is located right next to the Road Lodge (which has slightly bigger rooms) was on special for the weekend at R750 per room per night - the normal rate is R950 per room per night.

There was a difference of about R20 between the Road Lodge and Town Lodge room for the night, so I opted for and booked the Town Lodge.

On arrival we were greeted by George Nyawuza, Assistant General Manager of Town Lodge Mbombela.

George was friendly and made sure that everything was sanitized before we touched anything to sign or take our room card. He also advised on the dinner specials, times for dinner and breakfast, and the charges - as we had chose to book the 'room only' option, which excluded breakfast.

The hotel was immaculate, especially the reception area, and all the health regulations for COVID-19 were in place - masks were worn, social distancing and a sanitizing station at the entrance.

We were a bit worried, as it was our first trip since the pandemic, but we were quite relieved to see that all the protocols were being followed.

Our room was a nice size for our little family (myself, my wife, and my 6 year old son) for the night.

The room was neat and clean, included a bottle of sanitizer, and the tv remote was also covered and sanitized.

A small coffee station, and a desk that was below the wall-mounted TV were nice finishing touches to the room.

The bed managed to fit the three of us comfortably for the night, and the bathroom was equipped with a full shower which our son enjoyed because it was like a mini "water park" for him.

The hotel is centrally located in Nelspruit, and also has access to the bus route within the city.

Overall we had a pleasant stay, and would definitely be visiting again soon.

Ziyaad Plaatjes is the Co-Founder of iloveza.com.

He is a Bachelor of Commerce Honours graduate and has been running businesses since the age of 13. Ziyaad is a registered Financial Advisor, but has taken on many roles in various industries over the years. With his entrepreneurial skills and vast knowledge he assists individuals and businesses to grow and achieve their goals.  

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