This place is a scam - be warned!!

Hi friends, please share this in the hope that it will help someone else.

We recently had a family trip to Vilanculos, Mozambique, a trip we had been planning for a while. Our kids first time to the beach!

We booked and paid to stay at EdenBay Eco Lodge & BazarutoEncounters Innovative Holidays Eden Bay Eco Lodge ....Unfortunately for us, we were robbed.

Paul Saayman , the owner, uses Edenbay Lodge as a scam and is simply a thief.

We were sent a message by Paul the day before check-in (9th of August 2023) that he had suddenly been closed by authorities, meanwhile we were already in Mozambique.

After chatting to a former employee, Bernard, on the phone (a number sent to us by Paul) he told us the lodge has been closed for at least 6 months, and Paul Saayman returned to South Africa in 2022.

Leading up to it all, Paul was very on the ball and responsive and came across very trustworthy throughout our communication with him in the beginning (as early as July 2022), as we made our bookings and as we made payments earlier this year. Even right up to about a week or two before we travelled, he sent us contact numbers and info sheets of this lodge.

It's clear that he used old pictures in his marketing scheme to portray an image of something that isn't what it once was, and it is sad to see the state the lodge is in now.

We are not the first to be sucked into this script of a scam with all the copy paste messages of a sudden closure etc the day before check-in, a long story of meetings with banks for a promised refund, then followed by his meetings with lawyers due to our "false allegations".

We have met and been in Comms with other families who have lost money too, some from earlier in the year, some who were booked over the same period as us and some who have unfortunately booked to travel later this year. We will all be doing our best to take further action, together.

I posted a Google review and it's sad to see the lies and Paul's denial that we hadn't even booked.

To date we have not received any refund, only excuses and stories. It saddens me to know and experience the extent some individuals will go to, just to take from others.

Through sharing with many we hope this can be stopped!

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 .