We booked last minute after our accommodation at another lodge fell through. We called the number for Amali and asked if they had a room. The woman on the phone said that there was only one room left with a toilet, a bath and a double bed. That sounded the same as other rooms I have occupied and enjoyed. No problem.

I did not suspect that the toilet and bath, our only toilet and bath, were in fact in the actual bedroom. Sharing the same wooden floor. At least they had a TV with satellite in the room. After turning on the TV, we discovered that the satellite subscription had not been paid and so there were literally no channels on the TV. The bedding was old and left bits of fluff on our clothes and hair the following morning. The bed itself sagged in the middle and creaked violently with the slightest shift in weight. All in all it seemed the room had not been opened for years until moments before we arrived, when two after-dinner mints were placed on the bed.

We asked the guest house's manager whether we could use the kitchen to cook dinner for ourselves and she obliged. After returning from the nearby Spar with groceries, we entered the kitchen. All the dishes were dirty despite being packed away in cupboards. All the surfaces were greasy or sticky. We guessed that not many guests make use of the self-catering kitchen during their stay and that the kitchen had not been used or cleaned in a while.

Imagine our surprise when we stumbled into the kitchen the next morning where guest house staff were cooking the guest breakfast using the same dirty appliances and cutlery and crockery that we had seen the night before. And I'm not just talking watermarks on the knives and a little bit of greasiness on the counter tops. This was serious grime.

We thanked our lucky stars that it was only a one-night stay and left the guest house in the morning, opting out of our complimentary breakfast; instead stopping at a filling station for a Shamrock pie and to make use of the loo.

The manager was a lovely person and there is secure parking but other than that, this was not a pleasant stay.

We were not originally booked into Amali, but we were pleasantly surprised at the quality of service. It was 5 star service. We stayed 1 night. As the town was full of guests for a rugby tournament, the owner offered to make reservations for us at a local restaurant. The kinds loved the free wifi. The fridge had cooldrink and biltong and chips, which was great and you only have to leave the necessary amount on the fridge. I would suggest that a few rusks (to buy) would also be nice for the coffee or tea. As it was Easter the owner came by and gave us each an Easter egg. We did not stay for breakfast but I would recommend Amali for anyone who would like to visit Cradock.

We visited Amali Guesthouse over the weekend, while we attended a wedding in The Fish River. From the moment we arrived, we were given 5 star service. I asked for a few additional things for the room (A third blanket for the cold etc.) - none of my requests were too big and within minutes they had brought them to the room. We loved our room, it was nice and warm during the cold nights in Cradok! We experienced such, helpful friendly service throughout our stay. The most amazing part was, I by mistake left one of my belonging in the room. I only realized after we had already departed for Cape Town. The Amali Staff were only too happy to help look for it and send it back to Cape Town for me. On the same weekend, we had such bad service through our car rental company, so it was very refreshing to experience such helpful service from our Guesthouse. I would definitely stay there again!