Realou Franschhoek Guest House

I write this review to warn other possible guest of Realou guest house. We booked into the "4 star" guesthouse on 26 Dec 2012, to an empty reception (if that is what it was). When we arrived at the guest house, there was no parking, and I had to park my vehicle in the street. Even after their website explained that they have secure off street parking. We walked through, not knowing where we were going, only to then stumble upon a person who was still half asleep, and wearing flip-flops (hey, I thought this was 4-star). He showed us to our room. When I enquired about the parking, he only said that they don’t have any private parking. Also that we should not let any of our belongings be in full sight in the vehicle, but rather store them in the boot. His exact words, "This is South Africa, what can you expect?". Without even having a look at our room, we dropped our bags and went out to have some lunch. Upon returning I took a closer look at the room. What we found was unsettling. I called upon a certain G. (one of the owners) (several times, before he actually came), and pointed out what was bothering us. - The toilet was still stained from the previous guests - The towel was not changed, and dirty. Yes, that’s right, only one towel for 2 people. - The shower mat was dirty and full of footmarks from the previous guests - The empty "complimentary soap container". G. then replied, "That is not mine, it must be the previous guest". - The showerhead did not work - There were no bathsalts, as advertised. Only previously used floating candles. - The "semi-stocked" kitchenette was exactly just that. It had no knives, no glasses, or plates. Only one bowl, with some sand inside. - There was food and a lot of dust under the bed - The windows were in a hideous state - The outside table on our veranda, was not clean. Still had food stuck to it. - The floors of the room, still had the footmarks of the previous guest, who had probably taken a bath and walked around with their wet feet. - The "stocked" bar fridge was empty - Even the painting above the bed was not level. I know this is a bit pedantic, but it explains the attention to detail shown by Realou. - these were just some of the issues G. then admitted to us that the room had not been cleaned, because it was Christmas and his staff did not want to work. (why then in the hospitality business, if you don’t want to work when it is holidays). He requested that we leave (again), to give him time to sort out the room. We asked him about the so-called 4-star rating, where he denied that Realou is a 4-star guesthouse. He explained that he could not achieve the rating for the past 2 years. We had to sleep on top of the bed, because I know that they did not change the sheets to the bed. I feel robbed by Realou. how can he expect us to pay full price, but he cant deliver a full service, not even cleaning.