Magoebaskloof "Fawlty Towers"

This post written by Kate Sait:
Last night we stayed at the Orion Magoebaskloof Hotel. Frankly, it was a reasonably dodgy hotel, a little Fawlty Towers like. It looked nice from the outside but was cheap and nasty on the inside. Poor Stephan had a tough time getting us booked in. This was due to a mistake made between the hotel we were originally booked into ( which is under reconstruction) and this one. Stephan got it sorted and we got a free drink. We got to our rooms and the fun began.
I had a cheap hairdryer blow up in my hand. It went bang, sparked and some came out of it. I looked for a Powerpoint to unplug it but couldn't find it. I reported it to reception and they checked it out, only to pop it back on the wooden bench. Came back to the room many hours later and it was still "sparking" and felt very hot. Reception got another call, to which they eventually sent a little old repairman with a new hairdryer! I stood my ground wanting to have the faulty one removed. The guy said he'd have to dismantle the whole desk as the cords were threaded through the stone wall and it would be done tomorrow! Not good enough for me, so we were moved to another room.
Kev and Myf had lamps with exposed wiring and exploding globes. The answer to that was to swap it with a lamp from another room. Kev cut his hand on a globe that shattered as he unscrewed it and needed a bandaid. Reception was called and 1/2 an hour later they sent a large bandage, maybe 2 metres long. A bit of an over kill really.
On the positive side, the bar was interesting. It must have been because there are a couple of sore heads this morning. The little girl behind the bar had no idea how to pull a beer so Kev and Tony coached her. A rendition of "Wandering Star" with accompanying music came out later on.
The meals were surprisingly good. The steak was possibly the best Geoff has had while here. It came with a sauce called monkey gland. It was a spicy, tomato based sauce. Kev and Tony had seafood which looked tasty. I had a lovely stir fry chicken which was more sweet and sour than stir fry.
I think we upset a fat, bald guy who sat further up the bar from us. He was there drinking before we arrived and still there after we left. Throughout the evening, he was quite aggressive to the bar staff. Myf heard him say something about F'en Aussies and she felt he was up for a fight so we left promptly. This was probably the best decision of the night, but too late to stop some hangovers this morning!
As we walked out we were greeted by the chef who guided us partway back to the rooms. He warned us there were leopards around the area. We thought he might be joking.Read more