I stood at the front desk - watching the lobby clock - for exactly 28 minutes while checking in. The slow-motion nature of that process would have driven a lesser man to sheer madness. There wasn't a queue.

The gentleman behind the desk discovered our rooms were in fact not ready well after check-in time, and since we weren't willing to come back later, he undertook a laborious process to put me and my friends in different rooms. 28 minutes later, we were finally able to let ourselves in.

Our room faced the street which wasn't too noisy and provided a charming view over Parbo's main shopping street. The room reeked of air freshener bulbs which we promptly hid in drawers to stem the flow of noxious fumes. My friends' room faced the pool side and they reported some noise from later-evening revelry.

There was light to moderate mildew in the shower. Linens were clean and fresh, but the bedspread was a bit worn and pilled in locations. It was a very comfortable bed, nonetheless. The shower curtain was too short and water spilled profusely onto the bathroom floor. Such an easy problem to fix, one wonders why it is left in this condition to slowly ruin their own tilework.

It required multiple attempts to get an internet access code. Eventually it was obtained and worked reasonably well for this part of the world. $5USD per day for the privilege.

Hotel is in a great location, near lots of shops and eateries.

Breakfast buffet is poolside and pleasant: menu is standard Dutch fare, with lots of bread and cheese. Some fresh fruit. In an incredibly cheap move which I've never seen in this area, if you want the buffet cook to make you an omlette or scrambled eggs, they charge you $3USD! Boiled eggs are gratis. Coffee is the dreaded Nescafe.

Overall room quality was slightly above Torarica Hotel/Casino but below Spanhoek down the street. Bungled front desk arrangements definitely soured my opinion of this hotel, though.