I saw a ‘holiday home‘ while looking for available Langebaan accommodation on Booking.com, for dirt cheap during peak season. It sounded too good to be true but for that price, it seemed worth the risk.
Booking
The money didn’t come straight off of my account. Instead, I got an email from the owner asking me to make the deposit in 24hours. I did as I was asked and afterward, the owner emailed me back saying we were going to love the caravan.
My heart dropped – the CARAVAN???
I immediately went into spy mode and took screenshots from the Booking.com ad. Nowhere did it say that it was a caravan. The pictures looked a bit odd but there was no real way of knowing it wasn’t a normal room. I’m happy to report that since then, the website has been updated to reflect that it is a caravan (see here).
No mention of a caravan here
Anyway, my partner and I discussed what we should do. Should we cancel and lose the deposit or go and try to have fun? After some discussion, we decided that we would go and stay a night. If it was suitable, we’d stay the 2 nights as initally planned.
The stay
The time finally arrived, we packed our bags and took the scenic drive down to Langebaan. Junk food in hand, we arrived at the farm (quite far from the actual sea!) and found the owner.
The view from the caravan
We ‘checked in’ to our caravan. It was tiny and looked old! Inside, we found it was sort of modern and cosy. It had basic cooking facilities and running water. There were chairs and a braai place outside.
Our caravan Langebaan accommodation
The bathroom was attached to a building and it was for our exclusive use. They really tried to make it look nice but it was very basic. Going to the bathroom at 9pm was scary as hell!
The bed
Inside of our caravan
We ended up staying for the 2 nights. It was strange living in such a small space and, to be honest, it drove me half crazy. We spent most of our time at the beach and exploring Langebaan.
If you’re looking for Langebaan accomodation, I’d recommend the caravan for a short stay, if you’re tight on cash, or if you want to try something different and quirky.
As stylish as it gets
What would you do if your accommodation wasn’t quite what you bargained for? Do you think I should’ve demanded a refund?
-Rif
The Stables Cottages
Wow, I honestly don’t know what I would have done in that situation! I guess it does sound like a cool experience to re-tell years down the line as a quirky travel experience. Langebaan is so stunning and I’d love to go back. I’d highly recommend the place I stayed at when I was there last year: Crystal Lagoon Lodge >> http://saajida.co.za/city-break-to-langebaan/ I think you will like it too 🙂 the place wasn’t badly priced either!
Hey Saajida! Thanks for the link. The Crystal Lagoon Lodge looks absolutely stunning. I will definitely be bookmarking it as I don’t want to find myself in another caravan situation anytime soon! – Rifqah