A mental picture of clear blue skies and an endless bushscape buzzing with wildlife was shattered to pieces by “rude, unhelpful and bad management”, says a displeased guest of Popallin Ranch.

After being recommended to the popular Popallin Ranch, well known for their white lion and buffalo projects, they booked a stay for the weekend of March 25, said Mr Shaun Went of Louis Trichardt.

At first the facilities looked inviting, and they were greeted by friendly staff and management. But, said Went, their blissful weekend getaway was ruined even before it could start. “Our weekend for relaxing turned into work,” Went wrote in an e-mail to the Zoutpansberger.

According to Went, they booked a luxury tent in order to “enjoy the use of the facilities such as electricity, fully equipped kitchen, hot water and swimming pool at the lodge” and all just for R800 per night. But when they wanted to prepare dinner, says Went, they discovered that all the cutlery was dirty. “Knives and forks still had old food on them and there was no hot water to clean them.”

When it was time to go to bed, Went said, they discovered that the bed sheets looked like someone had urinated on them. The sheets were also covered in bats droppings.

Went said he and his guests had little sleep that night, with bats flying around in the tent. The following morning, there was little water and no hot water for a shower. At this stage, Went said, he demanded to see the manager.

When the manager finally arrived later that afternoon, Went said they showed her the dirty cutlery, to which the manager sarcastically replied ‘Well, you are in the bush!" This was apparently the same response Went got regarding the bats in the tent.

Regarding the dirty bedding, Went said the manager remarked that it was impossible as she herself had brought it to the tent the day before. At this stage, Went said, he refused to pay for the following night and preferred to camp. To this, he said, the manager had no objection, but she informed the group that they would be camping without electricity, even after they had offered to pay for petrol to run the generator.

Went said that although they were offered a boat trip and game drive, which were both very pleasant, the rude treatment, infrequent water and dirty cutlery, bed sheets and swimming pool put a complete damper on their weekend. “We could not even buy a drink at the bar, as there was no change! We ended our weekend bitterly disappointed, with the feeling that we had been cheated.”

Besides approaching the newspaper, Went also sent a complaint to the Tourism Grading Council of South Africa (TGCSA) after seeing that Popallin Ranch was still advertising their main camp with a four-star rating. The TGCSA in turn confirmed that Popallin Ranch’s four-star rating had already expired in September 2009. “If the establishment is still advertising themselves as a graded TGCSA property, they are doing so illegally,” was the response from Noxolo Daniel, client feedback liaison officer of the TGCSA.

The Zoutpansberger approached Mr De Wet Bezuidenhout, owner of Popallin Ranch, for comment, who quickly responded by saying that Went’s complaint was a “big embarrassment” for the ranch.

Bezuidenhout confirmed that the camp is currently experiencing a water crisis, which is receiving attention. While acknowledging that the dirty cutlery was a transgression on their side, he denied that the bed linen was dirty. “The bedding was stained, but due to limewater and fabric softener,” Bezuidenhout said.

Regarding the sleep-depriving bats, Bezuidenhout said they were “unfortunately a part of the bush” and did get into the tents from time to time. He also said that their tented camp was not advertised as a four-star camp. He added, however, that although the main camp is not currently rated, it does fulfil all the requirements.

“We are busy with negotiations with the TGCSA regarding the air-cooling systems, which is one of the requirements for a four-star rating,” Bezuidenhout said. He offered their sincerest apologies to Mr Went and his guests for any inconvenience caused by the incident.