Guest Reviews
We don't ask for feedback. We don't send follow-up surveys. But some of our guests have left their thoughts anyway. They've been scratched into leaf surfaces, encoded in pheromone trails, or, in one case, apparently submitted via a borrowed smartphone.
We publish them here unedited, with the occasional reply from management.
A. mellifica (solitary, female)
5 out of 6 legs · Stayed: October–December 2025 · Drilled Log Rooms
This is my third season at The Insect Hotel and the standard remains high. The drilled log rooms are clean, south-facing, and the depth is right. I was able to fill seven cells without running out of space. Foraging nearby is excellent: wild rosemary, Leonotis, and a stand of lavender that I suspect management planted on purpose, though they'll never admit it.
One note: the 8mm tube I used last year has been replaced with a 7mm. I made it work, but I'd prefer things to stay the same. When you've spent three seasons adjusting your leaf-cut sizes to a specific hole, a millimetre matters.
Would I return? I already have. That should tell you enough.
C. zastrowi (green lacewing, adult)
6 out of 6 legs · Stayed: May–August 2025 · Pine Cone Loft
I arrived in late autumn with the first proper rain and stayed through winter. The Pine Cone Loft is remarkable: warm, layered, and quiet in the way that only a place surrounded by wet fynbos can be quiet. You hear the rain. You hear the wind moving through the restios. You hear nothing else.
I spent three months in a gap between two Monterey pine cones, perfectly still. It was the most restful winter I have known. The darkness in there is total and soft. My eyes, which are built for gathering the last of the light, had nothing to do. It was a relief.
The wind is real. I won't pretend otherwise. Some nights the whole structure shifts and creaks. But the build holds. And in the morning, when the sun reaches the east-facing bark, you feel it before you see it.
I laid four hundred eggs on the Pelargonium within a week of waking up. That's not a review. That's proof of how well I wintered.
S. ribesii (common hoverfly, male)
3 out of 6 legs · Stayed: June 2025 · Straw Gallery
I'll be honest. I expected more.
The listing mentions "wild, seasonal dining" and "flowering shrubs that change with the seasons." What it doesn't mention is that in June, almost nothing is in flower. I spent three days hovering over a Gazania that turned out to be done for the year. Do you know what it's like to hover for twenty minutes over a closed flower? It's humiliating.
The Straw Gallery itself was fine. Dry, fairly warm, good shelter from the south-easter. But fine isn't what I flew here for. I picked this hotel because the photos showed yellow blooms. I am, and I cannot stress this enough, deeply, unshakeably drawn to yellow. The photos appear to have been taken in November.
I also spotted a spider in the Bark Hideaway on my second evening. Nobody mentioned spiders.
Three legs. Would think about coming back in spring. Reluctantly.
Management response
Thank you for your feedback. We appreciate the honesty.
The Insect Hotel is open about its seasonal dining: "Every month brings a new menu, set by nature herself." June falls within the Western Cape's wet season, when the fynbos is between flowering cycles. We'd gently suggest that guests flying in just for food check the seasonal availability table before arrival.
About the Gazania, we share your disappointment. About the spider, please see House Rule 7: "Accept the Ecosystem." We provide shelter, not security.
We'd welcome you back in October, when the yellow situation improves a lot.
S. sacer (dung beetle, male)
2 out of 6 legs · Stayed: November 2025 · Leaf Litter Lounge
I don't understand this hotel.
There is no dung. I rolled through every level (the straw section, the bark section, the pine cones) and found nothing. Not cattle, not antelope, not even rabbit. The "Leaf Litter Lounge" is exactly what it sounds like: leaves. I can get leaves anywhere.
The other guests were pleasant enough, if a bit lightweight. A lacewing asked me what I was looking for and when I told her she changed the subject. A solitary bee ignored me entirely, which I respect. But the whole place felt like it was made for a different crowd.
The building itself is above ground, which I find baffling. There is no soil access. The foraging directions mention "wildflowers," but no one could point me to a single large animal. I asked a beetle in the Bark Hideaway if he knew where the nearest kudu herd was. He looked at me as if I'd lost my mind.
I think this hotel is not for me. It may be very good at what it does. I wouldn't know.
Management response
We appreciate you taking the time to write, and we're sorry the experience fell short. You're right that The Insect Hotel does not offer dung-based services. Our rooms are designed for cavity-nesting and shelter-seeking species, mainly solitary bees, wasps, lacewings, and ladybirds.
We think there may have been a wrong turn somewhere. For dung-dependent species, we'd suggest the open pastures of the Overberg or any working cattle farm in the Swartland. Both have excellent year-round supply.
We wish you well in your search, and we mean that sincerely.
T. segmentata (garden orb-web spider, female)
6 out of 6 legs · Stayed: January–March 2025 · Bark Hideaway
Superb location. Superb.
I set up between the Bark Hideaway entrance and a bamboo tube. The foot traffic was outstanding: constant, varied, and largely unaware. Placing the hotel near flowering plants is a stroke of genius, and I mean that professionally. Everything funnels through a narrow approach. You couldn't design a better setup if you tried.
The bark itself provides excellent anchor points. I rebuilt my web three times after wind damage and the attachment held every time. This is the best surface I've worked with in four seasons.
Breakfast was never a problem. Dinner sorted itself out by dusk. I won't go into detail, but the hoverfly numbers in late February were generous.
The only reason I'm not rebooking right away is that I suspect management has feelings about my eating habits. But I was discreet. I cleaned up after myself. And I'd argue that my presence added a certain feel that the other guests, in their own way, appreciated.
An outstanding place. Six legs, all eight of mine agree.
Management response
Thank you for your generous review. We're glad the structure met your professional needs.
We would, however, gently remind all guests that eating fellow visitors is discouraged in shared areas. House Rule 2 asks guests to settle things through "avoidance, not aggression." We accept that your reading of this may differ from ours.
We'd also note, for the record, that spiders are not insects and so fall outside our core guest group. Your stay was welcome, your web was admired, and your dining was, as you say, discreet. We'll leave it there.
The Insect Hotel Philosophy
"We can't control what our guests think of us. We can only control the diameter of the tubes."