The place is a lie and Paul the owner is a scammer he promises so much to get your money yet this place has not been in operation for more than 6 months we arrived only to be stranded with small children and no where to stay he took our money and to this day has not returned it. Mozambique should not allow this man back in as he is stealing peoples hard earned money and is going tourism in Mozambique a bad name please stop him from advertising and stealing people's money
***Scammer alert ***
Hi admin please kindly post this as we cannot let him do this to others.
Hi all, before someone else gets scammed by the same person . I would like to share my own experience as well as someone else's with EdenBay Eco Lodge & BazarutoEncounters Innovative Holidays
Yes it was an operating lodge but it now hasn't been operating for a while , I am told +-6 months or since last year 2022 and the owner is still taking payments for bookings and messaging clients the day before arrival saying it's not possible to go there as aunthorities council has ripped everything and emptied the pools etc.
We had booked in March to go in Sept 2023 and sent through the POP of full payment to the owner Paul Saayman .
I then got a Phone call from my friends who were supposed to check in today 10th aug 2023 - they told me and forwarded me the message about council ripping everything out etc Paul the owner claimed to be the victim here .
I phoned a couple friends of mine in Mozambique vilanculos and asked about the lodge they did some digging and found out that the lodge has been closed for some time and that Paul was a bit of a bad name around town . I then phoned the lodge manager , Bernard, and the skipper , Bentu, to confirm the story (Paul gave me both numbers on confirmation) and both of them said that the lodge hasn't been open for a long time and that in fact all the boats and everything were seized by lawyers . They also mentioned they have not even received salaries owed to them for previous work they did before it closed down. They are very upset and angry about this situation.
Both Bernard and Bentu also said the we were not the first people to call them about this exact problem and have the same situation and their exact words the man is crook!!!!
When we try phone Paul he does not answer and when we message him he diverts our questions and tries to play a pity party. We have not yet been given a refund and nor have my friends ..
***Update***
I have since been contacted by another person who got scammed the same and has also reported that he has a friend pretending to book a holiday and that Paul as of today 11th Aug 2023 is still selling the camp and pounding for deposits and payments!!!
I have friends who went to see the camp today 11th Aug 2023 and have attached photos of what the camp is actually like and the chief of land has stated that this guy owns a lot of people a lot of money .
Please do not fall for this guys tricks and clever words the fact he is still advertising the place as " fully operational " is quite upsetting .
Be careful out there and use people you know who have been to places or a trusted travel agent who know the country best .
Me and my wife went for our Honeymoon to Eden Bay Eco Lodge (Bazaruto Encounters).
On our way there Paul let us know that he does not have place for us and we booked early Feb 2022.
We had no electricity for 4 days and on self catering we lost all our produce.
Paul is a very rude person. Paul will try to break down what I said here as a guest trying to cover how horrible the experience was. Ask on Drivemoz if someone wants clarity of how bad this lodge is.
Boats for fishing had problems and we had so share our trips without sharing costs. And he never gave us refunds for it. As a young couple he said R11k is pennies and coins. Been more than 2 months now waiting for our refunds that were due to us.
My husband and I went for our honeymoon and this was the worst trip ever, no refunds, no warm water for a week, almost no electricity, safety hazards, trips being cancelled, double bookings ect. We do not recommend this place.
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.
