CURRAL BEACH - YACAMIM CONDOMINIUM

My husband, children (ages 3 and 6), and a family friend flew to Ihlabela from southern Africa. We found this apartment complex to be in a great location on a busy island. The owner was quite responsive when we raised some concerns, though the issues will require more substantive time to resolve within the property. With some critical repairs of internal and external bannisters and intensive cleaning of areas that retain a urine smell (cat or child's urine), this would be a comfortable place. PROs: - Nice distribution of rooms - Beautiful surroundings - we loved eating each meal outside - Lovely beach condo complex, with phenomenal staff (the staff keeps the complex calm / cautioned neighbors to keep late-night party quiet) - beautiful table outside on deck / dining table - short walk up to condo amenities; walkable distance to beach (though hills are steep) CONs: - the upstairs/indoor banister was frightfully wobbly - with visible cracks where the banister attaches to the floor/ceiling. Because of these, we didn't feel at ease. Thankfully - our children quickly learned to touch the walls to walk up/down the stairs - external banisters all needed repair: my husband decided that the outdoors patio was off-limits for the kids when a piece of the railing broke off and into my three year old's hand. - strong smell of urine in the entry way (under the rocks and some padding beneath the stairs) and in the kitchen/deck area. Yacamina staff came in to inspect/understand the issue and thought a child had persistently peed inside the house in these places (we originally assumed they had a cat) Considerations (for awareness): - owner was helpful and responsive via WhatsApp, along with the condominium staff; - no salt, pepper or coffee filters. It was quite difficult to find cone-shaped coffee filters (plan ahead and buy some on the main land); - one small and towel provided per guest (one month after we booked, the owner noted that towels and linens require an extra charge; HomeAway sorted this out to ensure this was not the case as it was not noted in the listing. In the end, the owner provided low quality and small towels that were not absorbent thankfully it was warm and this wasn't a major issue.) - no beach towels were provided (a headache for most travelers); - furniture, beds, fixtures and decor is quite dated; - bathrooms are nice / decent fixtures; - a number of cooking appliances are in the unit, which was helpful for us.