In hindsight the warning signs were there months before we arrived when we couldn’t get hold of the owner for months at a time before arriving. Always an excuse that he was on charters with no signal which we later found out was a lie because he hadn’t been to Mozambique for at least 3 months prior to our arrival and he was wasn’t there for all of December, the busiest time of year. We were worried that the place didn’t even exist but eventually we got hold of him and he assured us all was well and was ready to welcome us for Christmas.
After days of driving we got to Vilanculos, drove past lots of lovely looking accommodation we finally found eden bay eco lodge (which has zero sign posts on the way) and our worse fears were realised. The pictures show a beautiful, luxury tented accommodation with beautiful pool area and manicured gardens….you drive in to an over grown, not looked after garden area, run down tents and a pool deck that was completely missing and needed to be renovated, a complete health hazard. The general decking areas around the site was also in need of repair with slats missing and many lifting when you walked on them. The tents themselves had no fans and no mosquito nets and there was no power! No where to plug in fridges and keep our food from going off. On top of it all there was someone staying in the tent we booked and we therefore had no accommodation for the night. Not ideal over the busiest period of the year and for the price we were paying.
The owner is a good talker and always has an answer for everything (as I’m sure he will for this review) and takes zero responsibility for the disaster that is Eden bay and he just outright lies. Its now apparent why he is never there and hasn’t been for 3 months or probably much longer as if he was he would have to deal with all these unhappy customers face to face. That he leaves to someone left in charge called Bernard who you have to feel sorry for. He was defeated and deflated and says this always happens, they over book, the place needs serious maintenance and he is always dealing with unhappy people. Also no sight of this high end chef, bar and restaurant area. We asked for a refund which he refused (even though someone was staying in our room and the place was run down and a health hazard), and said we were being unreasonable because we got there 45mins before check in 😂. I’d like to have seen him build an entire pool deck, upgrade the tents and walk ways and evict the guest staying in our room (who were out on a boat) and have it ready for us in 45 minutes.
Maybe a few years ago it did look like the photos, the owner was around and had a passion for his business but in 2022 I can safely say is no longer the case. The accommodation we eventually found said they often get guests coming from Eden Bay with the same experience.
Do not go there, don’t waste your time and money, you will be sorely disappointed.