McGregor, Lords Guest Lodge

It was the hubs’ Birthday this past weekend and we decided to get away from the hustle and bustle of Cape Town and headed out to Lord’s Guest Lodge in McGregor. Coincidentally this little getaway was at the same time as the Roberston Slow Wine Festival.

We arrived in Roberston early with the intention of checking out what the festival had to offer before checking into Lord’s Guest Lodge, the first item on our list was The McGregor Road To Nowhere Market which was highly recommended by staff when we called in for recommendations at the Guest Lodge.

McGregor Road To Nowhere Market:

The market was a bit disappointing. There wasn’t much on offer, with about 3 food trucks out on the lawn and approximately 6 little stalls inside the venue.  I did however find and devour the most delicious vetkoek and mince while my poor hubby starved, yes, I’m mean like that, jokes, he’s gluten-intolerant.

We wizzed through the market and then headed into McGregor to have a little walkabout and to see if we could find a gluten-free food option.

McGregor:

This little town is so so quiet and there really isn’t much to do but this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It’s definitely a good spot to get away if you’re seeking peace and stillness. We did a little walk up and down the main street, popping into the various little shops and their tiny little museum.

Lord’s Guest Lodge – The Lady Grey Resturant:

We didn’t find any gluten-free options but have no fear, we had a backup plan! Lord’s Guest Lodge boast having a gluten-free menu at their restaurant, The Lady Grey. So off we went, to check in and grab a bite for the hubs.

Only to find that the restaurant despite being advertised as having a gluten-free menu, does in fact not have one, when asked about this we were told it was too difficult and hence they did away with it. Okay fair enough, but then take it off your website!

One of the major factors when choosing the guest lodge was the fact that they had a restaurant boasting a gluten-free menu. Anyways, the staff were helpful in coming up with a solution and hubby managed to get some food in his belly.

Marbrin Olive Farm

Next stop was Marbrin Olive Farm for a little family visit (my cousin runs the farm with his wife, Briony) and some olive oil tasting. I’ve never done an olive oil tasting before and was a little ignorant on the subject of olive oil. Briony took us through the tasting and dished out some interesting facts. Based on these, I will no longer be purchasing imported olive oil products.

What a lovely experience. We left with full hearts, shopping bags and a little tipsy from the limoncello tasting.

Lord’s Guest Lodge

We arrived back at the Lodge just as it started pouring with rain! Awesome! Especially when you get to chill in a cozy cottage with a roaring fire. Snuggle time! Just what the doctor ordered.

My hubby popped over to the restaurant to order us some dins to have in. He encountered a very uncomfortable scenario between the staff, where one member of staff started shouting at the other. When he asked when to pick up our food order he was told 5 mins as the food is all pre-cooked and would just need to be defrosted. What!? There was a little more banter and arguing between the staff members and it was decided that it would be ready in 20 mins.

He had the pork belly which was amazing and I had the pizza which was average and we had a nice, chilled night in.

The next morning we woke up bright and early and headed to breakfast. Now, one thing that I look forward to when going away is the breakfast and we always make a point of booking a place that offers a breakfast, which Lord’s did, however it wasn’t the spread I was hoping for. Sad face! Guests were able to choose one item off the breakfast menu and that was it. And it was a bit meh.

The Slow Food & Wine Family Market

After breakfast, we pack up our goodies and headed to The Slow Food & Wine Family Market. This was sooooo much better than the Road To Nowhere Market with loads of little stalls offering a variety of goods from wine to fresh local produce. It was lovely!

Final Verdict:

All in all, we had a lovely time.

We weren’t very impressed with Lord’s Guest Lodge and expected more based on their 9.1 Booking.com rating and 4.5 Trip advisor rating. I find it frustrating that these ratings aren’t very reliable.

The accommodation was great, there are a few issues with door locks etc and the place needs a bit of a decor refresher but other than that, we were happy with it. The room was clean and cozy.

They do need to get their customer service/etiquette and restaurant up to speed. The menu is not a la carte and the fact that they had done away with their gluten-free menu offering without updating their website left me feeling a little irked.

If I were to rate it, I’d probably give the accommodation a 7.5 and the restaurant a 5.

The Slow Festival, was just that, slow and if we do go again we’ll make sure to plan it out. It wasn’t really part of our plan so we didn’t invest too much time into checking out all the various offerings. From what we did experience I would most definitely check out Marbrin and the Slow Food & Wine Family Market.

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