Devocean Lodge

First of all this place is a paradise. Located 2 hours away from the capital Maputo, this place offers so much. The owner of this small resort is absolutely nice and helpful, the food is perfect and the ocean is like 3 min walking. But the most important thing is the atmosphere! Absolutely what you expect from an african beachside camp. All night chats and a very unique community you will find. 5/5

Luckily, on short notice our group of five families/couples managed to get accomodation at Devocean during the busy past long weekend. Now staying in a tent is obviously not the same thing as in a hotel room. You must be prepared to be woken up early at dawn by cock-a-doodling roosters and barking dogs in the immediate vincinity. But what the accomodation may lack in comfort and privacy, they more than well make up for with the laidback communal feel and the hospitality of the proprietors. I found the location very good. It's a tranquil area of Ponta, on a safe yet not too far distance from the hustle and bustle of the beachside establishments. Breakfast and wifi is not included in the rates, but can be bought for modest fees. Huge thanks to Simon and the rest of the staff for being most accomodating, and never hesitating to walk the extra mile for making our stay a most pleasant one.

The location is good, as with all accommodation within Ponta Do Ouro - everything is within walking distance here. There is a nightclub nearby though, so expect extremely loud music through the night, especially on weekends. It is right next door to a police station - which actually makes you feel a bit uneasy as the police sit out the front and seem to stare you up and down as if you are a criminal. Check in takes quite a while as Sean, the owner, gave us a lecture on politics. Which is not what we wanted after a 5 hour drive. He kept complaining about a specific nationality, which I found quite offensive as it was my partner's nationality. Other than this, the reception was very, very, unclean and untidy (photo attached) - this was a bad first impression but luckily the rooms are much cleaner! We were one of the first to stay in the new chalets. Therefore, everything was very basic. There were no curtains in the bathroom, nor shower curtains - which meant we mostly showered in the dark as there were regularly kids playing right outside our bathroom window and there was an entrance to the main road as well. If anyone comes in through this entrance, they will most likely see you sitting on the toilet! There weren't any mirrors - this made putting our contact lenses in very difficult. The bed wasn't very comfortable and made our backs quite sore. Sean did apologise for these issues and we understand it is a work in progress in a very rural area so it wasn't anything we couldn't manage. I do think it was very expensive for what it was and what was provided. We had breakfast included. There are 5 options and it is very basic, nothing extraordinary. They advertise that breakfast is served from 7.30am, but our order was never taken before 7.50am and food was served from around 8.30am. One evening, as we were diving the next day, we asked Sean if he could leave some fruit and muesli in the fridge for our return as we had our PADI exam and would be back late afternoon. He agreed to this, but when we got back the next day there was nothing in the fridge. Upon questioning Sean, he became very angry and hostile and, while raising his voice, told us that we should have eaten it before we left as this is what he understood from us. I would not be able to eat at 4.30am before diving so this is not something I would have agreed to and the food would have been consumed and not have gone to waste, upon our return, had he not thrown it out. He ranted that he had thrown the food in the bin and that his staff had to work overtime to prepare the muesli and canned fruit. I felt very intimidated and frightened by Sean and could see that he is someone who is always in charge and does not see anyone else's point of view. You will also be able to see this from his responses to other reviews on any platform that have highlighted any negative experiences. He directed all of his anger at me (a 50kg, 5'2" girl) and did not look once toward my partner (a 100kg, 6' 4" man),