We stayed in the Nautilus suite for 10 nights at the end of December. The Nautilus suite has a small kitchen and a little outside area for sitting or relaxing and a small area for sitting inside to have a breakfast and a sleeper couch.
While the owner Lindsay is very friendly and La Lucia is generally considered an upmarket neighbourhood, there are things in this place that need improvement (particularly as it relates to the Nautilus suite):
-Overall cleanliness not up to the 4 star rating of this guesthouse (dust in corners and on ornaments, red army ants and bugs in the corners of the sleeper couch area, rubbish bin not emptied for the first two days, lizard droppings in cupboard, pool not clean etc.).
-In my humble view, the owner of a 4 star guest house, knowing that cockroaches are common in the area, should do absolutely everything possible to ensure that these bugs don't torment guests. Merely offering an excuse to say that cockroaches are normal in Durban, for us, clearly is not acceptable, especially when you have one crawling across your pillow at bed time. I stopped short at putting the pictures here.
-As it is humid and hot in Durban for most of the year, having an air-conditioning system in place that does the necessary would seem obvious. However, the air conditioner which is placed directly above the head of the bed, is useless because you cannot sleep with the air blowing directly onto your head the whole night.
-The bathroom is the size of a shoe box and it is impossible for two adults to be in this room at the same time. The worst, however, is the sliding door to this room which cannot be shut completely and gives zero privacy (when you need it most). A joke!
-The beds in the room are not suitable for people taller than 1.70meters. My feet were always outside of the bed, not making it a comfortable sleep, the mattress was also uncomfortable.
-TV screen is very small and with not much choice of channels
-Parking is difficult and tight
-Although there is a comprehensive security system in place including panic buttons, the approach to the house is, in our view, dangerous after dark with a steep drive way leading up to the house
Although it is possible to eat breakfast at the house, we did not avail this service.
