After great experiences with several guesthouses and hotels on the garden route Hacklewood Hill has been a huge shock for us.

First of all I have to say that Port Elizabeth hasn't appeared to us as attractive at all. This might have affected our hotel experience as well. But even within Port Elizabeth the hotel has a quite strange location. It's located in a residential area with mainly old buildings and heavy fencing. This mght be caused by several strange industrial areas as well as townships nearby. Overall the area appeared to be dead - especially in the evening.

The hotel building itself seems to be from the last century and could have been the set for a horror movie. On the one hand it has a special charme but ont the other hand it's just old, dirty and scary. The gardens as well as the tennis court and pool had been in a disastrous condition and couldn't been used. There is no reception or desk so you have to enter the main kitchen to find staff. During our stay we just saw three staff member in total including the Chef.

The room had the same charme of gone days. However, dirty bedclothes, cobwebs and used-up carpets resulted in horrible sleep. We even didn't use the shower or bathtub because the overall impression made us wondering about the water quality. Overall a tired and bad managed property which could have convinced by a step back in time.

Food quality at breakfast remembered us of old times as well. The bread has been dry and hard, the cold cuts smelled strong.

Only positive experience has been the evening at the fireplace. The lady who served drinks has been attentive and service oriented. The wine selection was quite good at reasonable prices.

Had a couple of excellent days at Hacklewood prior to moving on to Shamwari. (about 1.5 hrs by car max) Very friendly and helpful staff, nothing too much trouble. Excellent food from good choice am and pm in real country house surrounds. Bedroom (Lady Elizabeth 16) roomy with private balcony (great for bird spotting) and four poster bath !!!. Very welcoming, good cosmetics together with fruit, fudge and water. Situated in residential area but not ideal for strolling out.

We stayed overnight before taking a drive along the Garden Route. The room was comfortable and the evening meal and morning breakfast were both good. It was good value for money and in a good location to start from in the morning.
Would not want to stay any longer though.

From the minute we arrived the attention to details was impeccable. The rooms are quite superbly decorated, with all the original Victorian features still there. We decided to have our evening meal there and it was an excellent choice, As some other guest had not arrived, rather than put us in the dining room with the other couple there, our table was set up in the bay window of the drawing room with candles over looking the garden and swimming pool. The food was really excellent, as good as the local Michelin starred restaurant near by us at home.
This hotel is a gem.