Cathedral Peak Hotel

Excellent food, stunning surroundings in the Drakensberg mountains.

A gorgeous location with nice, clean rooms and good food, but facilities are tired and staff were unhappy. We didn't have a the warmest welcome. We arrived 10 mins early for check-in and we were asked to wait until 2pm exactly to get our room. 10 mins later, a queue formed at check-in with everyone wanting their keys, and loads of people needing their bags taken to rooms, causing congestion and confusion. It's definitely not a customer/guest focused culture at Cathedral Peak Hotel. Generally speaking, service was bad. The front desk staff in particular were little to no help when asking questions about activities, hikes, petrol, and parking. We did have a wonderful guided hike with Samson, our walking guide, but otherwise we didn't find the staff very friendly. It was rare to get a hello or smile from any staff walking by. On the positive side the food is abundant and delicious. There is something for everyone in the main dining room. There is a lot to do at this resort, but the PDF doesn't do the best job of explaining what's on offer or of enticing guests to attend. A suggestion for this resort would be to hire some activity coordinators. E.g. people walking around getting to know the guests and informing them about what is going on at the resort and what is available to do - this would be especially nice on rainy days (which we had a lot of). A lot of the included activities were tailored towards groups with children. I can see how this would be more of an enjoyable stay for families, rather than couples or solo travellers. While we didn't play mini golf, the course definitely looked like it needed a bit of maintenance. We did play badminton and we were given a broken birdie and rackets that were full of rust. Overall, we made the most of our stay. We enjoyed the nature, hikes, food, large rooms, and facilities for what they were worth. Though, for the price, it's not great value and the service does not reflect the 4-star rating.

Our second visit to the Backpackers for our hiking club. Again, our facilities were clean and comfortable allowing us access to all of the magnificent hikes on offer. Some hikers chose easy hikes while others the summit. All enjoyed their experience although the summit hike needs a very early departure. We hope to return next year for another fabulous weekend in the Mountains.