Simbavati River Lodge  Verified Listing

Exciting & close up game viewing. Animals roam about freely yet totally safe. Staff are fantastic, hospitable & friendly. What a pleasure. Staff are passionate about the lodge & their guests. Private game drives. Spa, photographic safaris available. Intimate & family friendly lodge. Food is excellent. Big 5 game viewing.

Were privileged to spend 1 night at this beautiful lodge. The accommodation is stunning and the setting of the lodge on the river is breathtaking. The food was tasty, well presented and plentiful. Staff are friendly, helpful and one can see they love working where they do. Our 2 game drives were amazing. Our ranger and tracker did all they could possibly do to find us great sightings. Wild dog close to the lodge was the highlight for me. We followed them through the Bush for a while, what a privilege! At the hyena den we witnessed the amazing interaction between pups and their mum. SO awesome! Saw lots of other plains game on our 2 drives. Our time there was over far to soon but we will be back!

Truly a great lodge with fantastic staff and facilities from start to finish! We went for our honeymoon for 2 nights/3 days and were amazed by it all. Great homely feel and amazing food- thank you Simbavati!!

Pros:
- amazing hard working staff 24/7
- lodges are very comfy and warm and spacious
- electric heated bed blankets!
- big shower
- top food provided breakfast lunch and dinner with lot of veggie options
- staff accommodated us with candlelit dinner for 1 night
- game drives are awesome! 2 per day

Our experience at the Simbavati River Lodge was amazing! The staff was so welcoming upon our arrival and explained everything we needed to know. Bangi helped us get settled and provided us with lots of information about how our time would be at the River Lodge. They feed you a lot and the food was great! Kyle and Humphrey were the greatest guide and tracker! They were very knowledgeable about all the animals we saw and other wildlife in the area. They made us feel comfortable on the game drives and had excellent service. I would recommend this lodge to everyone and will definitely be back!

We had such a good family safari at Simbavati. We had great guides- Dan and Frank were so great with our girls. We saw the big 5 and so many more animals! This was our first trip to Africa and Simbavati made it a very welcoming experience.

Game drives were exciting! Guides and trackers were very enthusiastic and knowledgeable. Services were great! Food was also delicious and there was no one instance that we felt hungry at all. Rooms were spacious and comfortable.

Exceptional

After a short drive from Hoedspruit Eastgate Airport and a bumpy ride through the reserve, the Lodge was a welcome sight. We were made very welcome from the start and after introductions, found our small lodge at the end of a short walk. The lodge was constructed of partly canvas walls with brick bathroom and dressing area. The bedroom looks out into the bush and we were told not to venture out after dark and not to leave the entrance doors open mainly because of baboons.
The Lodge employees are all very polite and helpful. The bar area is open and pleasant. The food for all meals was to a high standard. We were surprised that we had to buy bottled water for the room as the tap water was not suitable for drinking. Water was provided for the safaris however.
The safaris starting early and again in the evening were superb. Right from the first 10 minutes on the first day, we saw many game from elephants to leopards and lions - all very close up. The Guide and Tracker were both excellent in their knowledge of the various creatures habitat and where they were to be found. I managed to take superb photographs. We felt safe and secure at all times when out on safari. Recommended.

This was the last stop of our Honeymoon and it was the most surreal adventure. It was a dream. Our guide Kyle and tracker Humfree were absolutely incredible and so knowledgeable. The luxury tents were so beautiful!!! It was the most incredible experience and a must go! We got really lucky with our wildlife sightings and got to see the big 5 and so soo much more! Simbavati River lodge is an amazing place to stay at and an overall wonderful experience.

This was our first time to Africa and what an experience! Simbavati River Lodge is an amazing place to stay and see wonderful wild animals and birds in their natural surroundings. The staff are all so friendly and helpful, nothing is too much trouble.
We stayed in a luxury tent, which was a luxury!
The main lodge is a lovely place to relax and watch the wildlife visiting the river and its banks,including a very big crocodile!
The freshly cooked food at every meal was fantastic, great choices, we had to try everything!
Our game drive guide, Clement and tracker Tahbo were great, took us as close as possible to the animals to get amazing views and photos. They were very knowledgeable and made our trips out with them very special.
On our visit to Simbavati lodge we saw so much more wildlife than we had expected. thank you to everyone for making our holiday so special.