It's a beautiful setting but we got the feel that the lodge might be on a downward spiral and could either use a change in management or some capital infusion to make the necessary upgrades to truly provide an exemplary guest experience.

I did read that there was an ownership change in 2019. I think Mosaic Lagoon Lodge would struggle to get 3 stars at the moment.

Our room:
The back door didn’t lock; the safe didn’t work; the second battery-powered lantern didn’t work; it smelled damp and musty (not like other properties with thatched roofs where we’ve stayed); there were “army worms” everywhere; and the snack biscotti looked like it had been in there for months. It just needed some spit and polish. NOTE: They did fix the backdoor by locking it permanently.

We were in Cabin 5. A miniscule view of the lagoon but mostly the brush. It’s also very loud. We could hear every car/truck/ATV come in and the generator running, as well as every word the employees said in the parking lot.

The first night/day:
Went to dinner the first night and they had the doors open (no screens) in the dining area. There were swarms of mosquitos inside/outside. We left dinner early it was so miserable.

The power went out right after dinner but came back on. However, around midnight the power went out until they brought a generator right before breakfast. The room was so hot/humid, and we couldn’t open the windows because there are no screens on any of the windows or doors to keep the mosquitos out. No one ever came to us to apologize and explain what the problem was. The next day they turned off the generator until it was lunch or dinner. A little communication would have gone a long way. NOTE: It does appear that there was some fault in the electrical line serving the lodges in the area.

Activities:
Their activities left a lot to be desired. Each activity is 45 minutes long (if that), then you come back to the lodge and sit. The main guide wasn’t very good at all. Nice enough but very rehearsed. The process for scheduling an activity was very weird. You couldn’t decide anything until that morning or afternoon, you tell the guide what you want to do (he doesn’t offer any options), then he goes and “gets permission” from the manager, he comes back and knocks on your door, and tells you what time you can go (usually within 15 minutes).

The quad-biking was less than stellar. The bikes (ATVs) looked like they hadn’t been serviced in years. The visors were filthy and hadn’t been cleaned in months. Of course, my ATV wasn’t working right so we had to head back from that early. No apologies, no offers to go back out.

We knew we were going to have one day of rain and we wanted to go into the town of Hermanus. We tried to get this scheduled the day before. They wouldn’t do it until that morning, and then they acted like it was an Act of Congress to get that done. Our guide that day was Lloyd. He was great! Apparently, we stayed too long in town (past our allotted hour) and the manager was waiting for us at the gate.

The food/restaurant:
The dinners were amazing. Chef Maria is a star! The cold breakfast was subpar. They put out granola, yogurt and a small fruit plate out that looked like it was meant to serve one person. On one occasion, there wasn’t even anyone in the restaurant lodge to serve breakfast when we came in – sat there for 15-20 minutes. Thank goodness there was hot breakfast too.

Asked for white wine one night, they didn’t have any chilled. Had to wait 15-20 minutes. The snacks they put out during the day in jars: Hard-as-rock marshmallows, hard candy and chocolates in wrappers.

The manager:
It took her two days to introduce herself to us. Never asked how our stay was going. Got the feeling she didn’t really want to know. Never asked how our stay was when we left. The employees seemed intimidated by her. They have to ask her permission for almost everything. She seemed to manage from her desk in the Curio. Hardly ever saw her out and about (except when she was waiting at the gate). Overall, Mosaic just lacked the polish all around to be positioned as a luxury lodge.