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Reviews of The Royal Hotel

2.5 out of 5
The Royal Hotel
Main Road, Pilgrims Rest, Mpumalanga

Reviews

8.0

Very good

Rating 10 - Excellent. 6 out of 33 reviews" "
Rating 8 - Good. 20 out of 33 reviews" "
Rating 6 - Okay. 5 out of 33 reviews" "
Rating 4 - Poor. 2 out of 33 reviews" "
Rating 2 - Terrible. 0 out of 33 reviews" "

8.8/10

Cleanliness

8.0/10

Staff & service

7.4/10

Property conditions & facilities

Reviews

10/10 Excellent

E

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Highly recommended
Lovely accommodation, room nicely appointed and comfortable!
Stayed 1 night in Sep 2019

8/10 Good

Nick

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Great historic location with real character, hotel needs some TLC
Stayed 2 nights in Feb 2019

8/10 Good

FASAN

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Stayed 1 night in Jan 2019

8/10 Good

Gideon

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 2 nights in Aug 2018

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Great place to visit!!
We were not sure what to expect, but it is a great little place to spend a night.

10/10 Excellent

Dianne, Auckland, New Zealand

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
A haven in Pilgrim's Rest
To put this review in context, I lived in Pilgrims Rest for a couple of months in 1979 and have returned for holidays many times since. The village has had negative reviews over the last couple of years so I was very pleasantly surprised. The Royal Hotel is just as it has always been and staying the Royal Cottage was great, it made me want to live there again! The cottage has two bedrooms, a lounge and a bathroom with an authentic ball-and-claw bath; its own private garden with wrap around decks and awesome views. There's safe parking in a field at the gate and the hotel gives you a notice to put on your dashboard so that you don't get an unsolicited car wash. The staff were friendly, efficient, informative and professional. Free wifi is available in the hotel lounge (again, decked out in period furniture and just as I remembered it) and the complimentary breakfast really good. Negatives - which are not the hotel's fault - include being hassled to buy souvenirs by street vendors, have your car washed etc. so that you don't feel comfortable to walk around too much. The Royal Cottage is a haven, apart from the odd tourist wondering in to take photos! Just remember to lock your doors and close your windows when you do go out - there really are monkeys around (see my photos).
Royal Cottage
Shut your windows when you go out
Bedroom with double bed
Bedroom with 2 single beds

4/10 Poor

David

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Beware of the car wash thieves
Be very careful when you book the Royal Hotel as we were sent up the street to the Annex or Pilgrims Hotel...not at all what we booked for. Really disappointing from my last visit to this place.

6/10 Okay

Zelda, Cape town

Liked: Cleanliness, room comfort
Disliked: Staff & service
Old world charm
old world hotel but very quaint.

6/10 Okay

Christopher, Hoedspruit

Liked: Cleanliness, room comfort
Disliked: Staff & service
I am sure it was good once.
Stayed one night. Saw reviews but took a chance. Unfortunately they were correct. We had dinner (nowhere else to eat in PR) and breakfast. Both were cold, and poor quality. The highlight of the evening was the arrival of the kitchen staff, who imposed themselves on the 18 guests by singing (poorly and in an unco-ordinanted manner), and then demanding money by putting a basket on the table. Unwanted and embarrassing. Service was indifferent, especially breakfast, as staff were outside sunning themselves, with little interest in ensuring service. The bar should have been good (old church imported from Delagoa Bay, signs and scribbles from previous patrons etc), however some patrons smoked, and the barman made no effort to ask them to go outside. We went to the lounge, and witnessed the spectacle of the fire being lit. This involved lighting a cardboard box, putting burning gel on, and some thick logs. This went out in five minutes, and despite our efforts could not be relit. No further attention was given by the staff to reignite it. Management needs to take control, and get effective, well trained staff before this interesting piece of history goes down the pan for want of neglect. On the plus side, the rooms were good, fitted out with old furniture, plenty of hot water, and an excellent old bath. We all slept well in very comfortable beds. Won't be going back.

6/10 Okay

Jimmy

4/10 Poor

Felix

Liked: Cleanliness
Disliked: Property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Food was cold- supper as well as breakfast. Will not stay in this venue again.

8/10 Good

burton k, Hillsborough, NJ

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Great Ambiance and Value!
This was my second time to stay at the Royal Hotel in the past couple of years. It's a great place to stopover for the night from Johannesburg to Kruger National Park. I would describe the property as a bit "rustic" in the good sense of the word. It has the feel of steeping back in time. There is a large lounge and dinning room. The bedrooms are very clean and comfortable. There was a great variety of menu items at breakfast which is provided with your stay. There was an entertaining troupe of Vervet Monkeys all over the road in the morning. The Royal Hotel is a great launching pad for enjoying the Blyde River Canyon, God's Window, and Kruger National Park!

8/10 Good

Andrew, Ingwavuma

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Pleased in Pilgrim's
We enjoyed our stay. The room was clean and comfortable, the bath was tremendous! The décor was quaint and it was enjoyable to stay in a national monument. The staff at reception were friendly and welcoming, other staff could have been a bit zippier, but not a major issue.

8/10 Good

tasneem, Fairfax

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, room comfort
Quaint, rustic gem
Lovely, rustic place. Great service and unexpected comfort in the middle of nowhere.

8/10 Good

charlene, Johannesburg

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
enjoy
Enjoyed it allot.

8/10 Good

charlene, Johannesburg

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Perfect stay
It was very relaxing and we enjoyed every moment.

8/10 Good

dan, Vic Australia

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Pilgrims Rest July 2015
Staff were friendly and welcoming. It was a new experience to stay in a village where almost everything is maintained as it was 100 years ago. To stay in the former bank managers residence, with period furnishings was delightful.

8/10 Good

Berit

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Historisk stad i område med mer sevärd natur.
Anlände dit från Johannesburg via långa sträckor med pågående vägarbeten. Dåligt utmärkta vägar men m gps lyckades det försås. Staden liten, lugn och gammaldags, hotellet likaså. Finns ej mycket annat intressant att se än byggnaderna från guldruschtiden. Närheten till Blyde river canyon osv motiverar den lilla omvägen till Pilgrim,s rest
Stayed 1 night in Nov 2019

8/10 Good

Wil, Caen

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Hôtel très correct pour une nuit
Lieu atypique (ancien village de mineurs) Hôtel conservé comme en 1920, propre Personnel accueillant, nous avons même eu chacun une boîte bien remplie pour le petit déjeuner que nous ne pouvions prendre sur place car nous reprenions la route à 6h00 Très bon rapport qualité prix Arrêt recommandé à cet endroit Restauration possible pour le dîner en réservant
Stayed 1 night in Mar 2018

10/10 Excellent

Anna

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Lovely place!
We stayed in one of the cottages across the street and it was a delight!
Stayed 1 night in Jan 2018

8/10 Good

Mitja

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Wie in Goldgräber-Zeiten
Ort und Hotel bieten sich an für einen Zwischenstop zwischen Jo'burg und Krüger Park. Vom Airport ca. 4,5 Stunden Fahrtzeit, bis Krüger via Panorama Road mit Fotostops nochmals ca. 5,5 Stunden. Das Hotel vermittelt wunderbar die alte Goldgräber-Atmosphäre, sehr stimmungsvoll sind die Details wie Kerzen.

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

6/10 Okay

Alice, Frankfurt

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Séjour court mais agréable
Nous avons passé la nuit dans cet hôtel un peu par hasard puisque c'est Expedia qui nous y a relogés suite à un souci de réservation dans l'hôtel initialement prévu sur Graskop. Mais pour autant, nous n'avons pas été déçus. Le style de l'hôtel vaut franchement le détour, on se croit plus dans une maison de style colonial anglais que dans un hôtel sud-africain ! Il ne manque plus que les chercheurs d'or. Malgré une déco un peu désuette, la chambre était spacieuse, la literie confortable. Seul petit hic, la baignoire dans la salle de bain, sans rideau de douche et donc avec risque de mettre de l'eau partout... Le gros plus de cet hôtel est le petit-déjeuner : plusieurs buffets remplis de bonnes choses, diverses et variées, salées et sucrées ! On a mangé comme des rois et pris l'énergie nécessaire pour affronter la grosse journée qui nous attendait. En bref, un bonne expérience au Royal Hotel de Pilgrims Rest !

8/10 Good

Etienne, Bruxelles

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Hotel très bien mais FUYEZ le restaurant !
Quand on arrive ici, on sait généralement à quoi s'attendre, donc on n'est pas vraiment surpris. On se sent bien à l'époque des chercheurs d'or (mais qui auraient déjà trouvé des pépites !). Certaines chambres sont plus grandes / spacieuses que d'autres, mais les plus petites seront plus rapidement "à température" s'il fait froid. Sinon, c'est plutôt original de se retrouver à prendre son bain dans une baignoire sur pied, quasi au milieu de la chambre :-) Par contre fuyez le restaurant de l'hôtel, bien trop habitué à recevoir sa clientèle captive. Cela nous a même valu la réflexion "vous n'avez pas faim ce soir ?" lorsque nous avions décidé de faire sans eux !

8/10 Good

Georges, Veigné

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, room comfort
Charmant hôtel, mais mérite un peu d'entretien. Ventilation à bout de souffle, robinetterie défaillante attention tenir le robinet pour l'ouvrir...

6/10 Okay

Håkan, Norrköping

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Enkelt men trevligt och bra bemötande
trevligt bemötande.Läget passade oss bra för att utforska Blyde river.

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Oozing old-style charm and character!
Pilgrim's Rest is a gem and this hotel is the perfect place to stay there...oozing old-style charm and character, just like the town! Great value for money too.

10/10 Excellent

Carlo

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Un salto nell'800...
Meraviglioso! Da provare....hotel molto caratteristico. Rimarrete stupiti!!!

8/10 Good

jean francois, St François Longchamp

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
A FAIRE "Disneyland" en vrai!!!!
Une petite maison avec 2 chambres du début du siècle dernier, très sympa avec terrasse ....Amusant et bien entretenu ... Le grand restaurant un peu saloon est d'époque aussi.... Bon repas du soir,personnel gentils. Le village est joli mais c'est tout, le reste des boutiques sans grand intérêt. Attention le parking est devant l’hôtel et le lavage de voiture est le sport national au moment de partir on vous réclame un petit quelques chose....

10/10 Excellent

Jens

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Ist wie eine Zeitreise 100 Jahre zurück

8/10 Good

Bénédicte

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
charmant hotel au style Victorien.

8/10 Good

Olivier, Aix en Pce

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
un hotel rétro de charme
Super accueil et plein de charme pour cet hôtel style Victorien où tout est d'époque ! Nous étions 3 (couple + notre fils de 19 ans) et bous avons eu 2 suites avec salon, chambre, sdbain !! Pilgrim Rest est un "village musée" très chouette à voir

10/10 Excellent

luciano, Torino Italia

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Piccolo Hotel fuori dal tempo.
Sembra di essere tornati al tempo dei cercatori d'oro. Tutto è stato conservato come allora.