We decided to do something novel and booked a weekend away close to home to celebrate my birthday and enjoy some downtime in the bush. For us, the Cradle Boutique Hotel was a dismal disappointment. The place is beautiful - the contemporary architecture of the main building and restaurant is striking, and the wooden cabins are luxurious and comfortable. But the food was awful (and expensive) and the lack of hot water for the duration of our stay made us wish we’d stayed home (winter is not the time to have a malfunctioning geyser). The restaurant was appealing but freezing at night. We knew it would be pricey - my partner is a foodie, so this was a big part of the experience. We thought the price would match the quality, but were sorely mistaken. Mozambican Chicken (R140) was tough, not marinated or seasoned properly. Venison Ragout (R143) was tagliatelle doused in cream, with no garlic, vegetables or seasoning, and a few bits of grey-looking boiled meat. Cappuccino was inconsistent. Breakfast was good bar the shop-bought white bread and cheap apricot jam. The game drive was short and disappointing (R300pp). We watched a baboon raid the staff area and swallow plastic. We've been on a lot of game drives and were asked to pre-order drinks - what happened to the usual 'out of Africa' sundowner stop? The staff were friendly, but clearly helpless in the matter of fixing bad food and cold water. I wanted to go home on Saturday night, we left first thing on Sunday morning.