Review Protea Hotel Nelspruit
Paul‘s Hotel Review for the
Protea Hotel Nelspruit
Details:
Duration of stay: 1 night / vacation, prior Safari in the Kruger National Park.
Check-in / Check-out:
Check-in Process: 
Check-out Process:
Concierge Service: N/A
Staff @ Front Desk:
Bonvoy recognition:
At Check-in:
In General:
Posting of points & nights:
Room / Bathroom:
Bed, quality of sleep:
Bathroom, Shower:
Room Atmosphere: 
WiFi / Internet:
Housekeeping general:
Cleanliness:
Food & Beverage:
Breakfast:
Bar:
Restaurant:
Lounge: N/A
Staff:
Paul‘s Mix:
Pool, Spa:
Hotel Location:
Mojito Rating 
:
:
General Customer Care:
Staff attitude, interaction and responsiveness:
Social media interaction:
—-
= bad, a lot of work needs to be done
=not good, you will be busy with corrections
= good & normal, nothing special
= high level, but the icing on the cake is missing
= topnotch, leave me here!
= Half a Point/sheep
: extra recognition for outstanding service
—-
After exactly a year we are back at this property.
General Info:
The hotel is located on the eastern part of the city of Nelspruit / Mbombela.
Except a big shopping mall with a few F&B outlets there isn't much around the hotel.
There is no public transport so you will need a rental car to move around.
The Hotel is a true little gem, a real oasis in the hussle of Nelspruit. It has a Total of 92 rooms including some bigger king size rooms.
Check-in:
The check in was great and the agent was super friendly. She interacted with us all the time and we had a great chat whilst she processed our check-in.
All the agents still remembered us from previous stays.
Check-out:
Check out was fantastic. Great interaction, a nice chat and super friendly agent.
Staff at frontdesk was always helpful and super friendly.
Everytime we passed the frontdesk they always had the time for a chat and/or asked if everything was okay. They were always smiling and helpful.
Marriott Bonvoy Recognition:
All benefits received without asking and status recognition as per Marriott Procedures .
The agent at check-in asked if we would like to have the points or breakfast as welcome amenity. We decided for the breakfast.
Er booked a regular king size room and were upgraded to a bigger king size room which is the highest category at this property.
The room door was decorated with a Marriott Bonvoy Elite VIP tag and banderole.
In the room, there was a handwritten card from the GM and team, together with a beautiful and lekker welcome amenity of Biltong, dried fruits and chips.
The points as well as the Revenue posted correctly to the account 24 hours later.
A Disgraceful Policy by Marriott Bonvoy:
Discriminating especially against South African Members and all members staying at Protea Hotels.
Discriminating especially against South African Members and all members staying at Protea Hotels.
One of the biggest outrages in the Marriott Bonvoy program is the blatant unfairness towards members staying at Protea Hotels. Unlike other Marriott properties, where each night counts toward
Elite Night Credits, Protea Hotels only grant one Elite Night Credit per two nights stayed.
This is an absolute disgrace and a shameful practice by Marriott International. It effectively
discriminates against South African members, who are disproportionately affected by this unfair policy. There is no justification for treating Protea Hotels by Marriott differently from
other brands within the Marriott portfolio.
Marriott Bonvoy touts itself as a global
loyalty program, yet it blatantly devalues the loyalty of its South African members. This needs to change immediately—Marriott should either credit every single night stayed at Protea Hotels
or admit that it simply does not value its members equally.
Property in General:
The hotel has a very special vibe which is really difficult to explain. We both felt the same about it. It is somehow a feeling of being home, a lively atmosphere from guests and staff but it
never get's to hectic.
It is a real oasis, a retreat from the surrounding.
Compared to our last stay, some little cosmetic changes were done. This happened most probably with the change in GM.
The hotel itself has slowly but surely reached its age and a refresh needs to be done soon.
All public places are a mix between modern style but still keeping an African country chic as its roots and typical style. Throughout the entire property there are super modern pictures
paired with old pictures from the history and story of the area and Africa.
The outdoor area is very nice and we liked the courtyard area with the lounge as well as the pool.
Room/Suite:
We got a bigger king room.
The room this time also felt tired and a renovation should come up soon. Especially the floors look very used and bits and pieces are missing.
The room isn't huge in size but still okay and it has a good atmosphere. There is a huge window which allows a lot of daylight to come in.
There is a king size bed in the middle of the room. On the left there is a desk and two chairs which also can be used as a table and next to the window there is a dresser with coffee/tea
amenities.
On one of the walls there are many pictures from the history of the area and South Africa itself.
We really loved the atmosphere of the room and had a great stay.
The bed as well as the bedding material such as the duvet and the pillows were super comfortable.
Bathroom:
The bathroom is okay, it hadn't gone through refurbishment yet, just some painting.
There is a bath tub on the left, the toilet and a walk in shower on the right as well as a sink.
The shower had super low pressure and could definitely need a decalcification.so. This hasn't changed since last time.
Basic amenities are provided and everything was super clean.
Housekeeping:
Housekeeping does a fantastic job and the rooms was tidy and impeccable clean.
The housekeeping staff was super friendly when passing by and you could feel the pride in what they do. This is the difference in having own housekeeping and outsourced staff.
F&B:
The Hotel has only one restaurant and one bar.
The Fig Tree Restaurant
This is the only restaurant of this property where a buffet breakfast is served, a la carte lunch as well as a buffet dinner.
Breakfast was very good as always. The choice and quality of food is great. The presentation is done with love and the staff is simply top.
They offer fresh fruits, cereals, Danish and pastry, toast, cold cuts and lots more. There is also a hot buffet including scrambled eggs. Any other egg dish such as omelets can be ordered
from the live cooking station.
The waiting staff does their job with passion and pride, they are super welcoming and friendly.
The buffet was set up beautifully and with love.
Dinner was served again as a buffet and we were looking forward to it.
There was a salad buffet with ingredients for a Greek salat and 3 other options, some fried fish, fried mushrooms, some other mixed salads like coleslaw and a small dessert buffet.
Hot meals looked fantastic and were super delicious. What we love is, that the hotel has local dishes on its buffet as well.
The quality of the food was great and everything was fresh.
The bar:
The bar has a great atmosphere and fantastic and super friendly staff. Also here the theme is a modern historic mix.
The bar also serves the drinks you are ordering at the pool and we had amazing mojitos there after our arrival.
Also here, all staff (kitchen and waiting staff) were absolutely amazing. They did an outstanding job with care and class.
Pool / Spa:
The pool is rather small but ok for a city property. There are enough sunchairs and other options to relax.
It is settled in the Courtyard of the two room building complexes. Drinks and food is served at the pool.
Executive Lounge:
No Lounge at Protea Hotels.
Social Media:
Social media still seems to be unknown to this property. They aren't online on Facebook or Instagram even they would have an account.
Summary:
All in all again a great stay.
Staff is still amazing. We haven't met a single employee which wasn't smiling or interacting with the guests. They work with care and class, make you feel welcome and sort of family. They
always take the time for a quick chat or a nice word.
The property itself has as said a very special feeling. An oasis with a fantastic atmosphere. They have a great mix between a modern and historic touch.
We can fully recommend to stay at this property and are already looking forward to our return.
Notes:
- Paul the Sheep does not get any benefits from the Hotels/Airlines etc.
- Paul will always pay for the services in order to be able to rate freely and truly about the experiences.
- If you are interested in more details, please send us a private message and I will be happy to share more information and pictures