Simbavati Hilltop Lodge  Verified Listing

We have recently had the privilege of spending a couple of days at Simbivati Hill Top Camp.
This was without doubt one of the finest and most enjoyable bush experiences that my wife and I have ever had (and we have been to the bush very often and stayed in many places)
The friendly reception by Bongi and her crew upon arrival was very welcoming and set the tone for the next 4 days.
The accommodation was excellent with beautiful views of the dam and river. We were visited by elephants a number times while we relaxed on our private deck and day-bed.
Our game drives were also very good with Themba and Evans doing a great job to show us the big five and so much more. Really impressive tracking and bush knowledge.
The food prepared by Thompson and Sheldon was outstanding. Well prepared and beautifully presented. However for us the star of the show was undoubtedly Aubrey the Butler. We have seldom (in our travels and staying at reasonably upmarket places) come across a more personable and professional maitre’d. Aubrey made our stay that much more enjoyable and I think Simbavati are fortunate to have a man of his calibre.
Overall this was a great bush experience and I’m sure that we will return to Simbavati in the not too distant future.

Everything: The location, the view from the lodge, the room, the food, the staff, the game drives, etc., it is like being in paradise.

This was our second trip to South Africa and we found the staff here and the food to be the best in all of our travels.
The game viewing was a little less than we had expected as the animals were just not around as usual.
However the fact that we had just been to Sabi Sands and had seen all of the big five made up for the missing in action critters.
Hats off to Aubrey and all the others making up the Simbavati family for making us feel so at home.

All the places we stayed on our recent trip to SA were great but this was more than that! It was wonderful in every aspect from start to finish! The hospitality, friendliness, food, surroundings were faultless. Our luxury safari tents were brilliant. What amazing views! We saw (and heard) hippos wallowing in the river each day and a herd of elephants swimming across and an antelope grazing happily a few feet away from our balcony. Even the thundering of tiny baboon paws on our tent roof in the early morning was exciting! And then finally... the safaris! Wow. Colbert our guide and tracker Derrick were brilliant. So knowledgeable and friendly. We saw The Big Five and more on our first outing and each trip saw loads of animals (including a rather amorous rhino....!!) These safaris surpassed the others we subsequently went on and will forever remain in our memories... Big thanks to our butler Andrew as well.

SimbavatI, in general, and Hilltop Lodge, in particular, are outstanding in all aspects of the game viewing experience.

Luxury and comfort underpin the preparation for excellent game drives and experiences that are undeniably life-changing.
From reception, through butler, catering, game driver/guide, tracker, luxurious accommodation and friendliness of all staff, this Private Lodge must rank amongst the best in the Timbavati.

Communication and cooperation amongst rangers of the many different lodges virtually assures successful sightings of the ‘Big 5’ by most clients. Stops for coffee/tea in the early morning and drinks in the early evening are highlights in the wilds.

The SimbavatI Lodges deserve the ultimate recognition for an outstanding package to the Wild life connoisseur and adventurer.

We stayed at Simbavati for four nights - we only checked out today, but the place and the people had such an impact on us that I wanted to get my review in whilst everything was fresh in our minds! The camp itself is beautiful - the tents are gorgeous - air conditioned with outdoor showers and a lovely day bed overlooking the river where you can watch hippos all day long. The food (and there’s a lot!) was absolutely delicious with lots of choice. On alternate evenings, there is a BBQ and you sit around the fire pit away from the main restaurant. Nothing is too much trouble for the fantastic staff. Each and every one greeted us with huge South African smiles and fabulous hospitality. Aubrey was our lovely butler who spent time telling us about this beautiful country and sharing his incredible experiences with us. Every morning when we returned from our game drives, he had hot chocolate waiting for my kids, he remembered that I have ice in my wine and was just lovely. We had some truly amazing experiences on the game drives - and I don’t use the ‘a’ word that often. Our guide was Rey and our tracker was Shaddy and they were brilliant - so so knowledgeable, passionate about the animals and respectful of course. They were a brilliant team with great senses of humour. Sundowners overlooking the African bush....pure heaven. Thank you to everyone at Simbavati for making our stay so special x

We visited on our honeymoon back in April and had the most incredible time! Everything from start to finish was amazing! We got greeted and taken to our tent which over looked the river where we watched and heard the hippos! We then began our first game drive and we were lucky enough to see the wild dogs first! We got back from our game drive greeted with hot towels before taken back to your tent to freshen up for dinner/breakfast depending on which one! Andrew was our butler and we just loved him! He couldn’t do enough for us! We were lucky enough to see the big 5 during our stay- thank you Jimmy and Vincent! All the little touches really made this place, the welcome letter, the wake up calls, the turn down of our rooms to arrive back to after the afternoon game drive! Then on our final night a bath ready for us with petals and champagne! It really is spectacular and would highly recommend staying we were really sad to leave! Thanks all for looking after us so well, we will keep the memories forever!

My wife and I recently stayed at the Simbavati Hilltop Lodge for 3 nights. Wow .... what a wonderful experience!!!
The drive to get to the lodge... 30+km drive over dirt roads after leaving the tarred road was unexpectedly long but interesting before we found ourselves in an oasis surrounded by miles of remote bush.
The lodge is wonderful and is exceptionally luxurious considering how remote we were.
The "Luxury Safari Tents" really are luxurious... big bedroom, separate shower room and separate bathroom. Our private veranda looked out over the river dam giving extensive views of passing game. From our viewpoint we watched hippos lazing in the water during the day even spotted a line of elephants swimming across the river one morning.
The dining, bar, swimming pool and recreation areas are wonderful being set up at the top of the hill overlooking the river and bush. The food and the staff were great!
The twice daily (morning and afternoon) safari drives were out of this world!!! On our very first safari outing on the first afternoon of our stay was saw all of the "Big 5" and more !!!! Our Safari Guide on all of our trips out (his name was Collbert) was a real gem.... he knew what he was talking about and had a great sense of humour!
The Simbavati Hilltop Lodge was easily the best place that we stayed at on our 3 week trip to South Africa. Yes ... it is not cheap... but worth every penny!!!

Our stay at Simbavati Hilltop lodge a week and a half ago was unforgettable. The facilities and staff were all five star (especially Rey and Shaddy-our driver/guide/tracker team and Andrew-our butler). We saw all the big 5 throughout our four day stay. The bonus delighter was the many animal babies we saw (water buffalo, rhino, hippo, elephant and hyena). It was slightly windy so we weren't bothered by any mosquitoes, and the temperature ranged between 90 and 70F so it was comfortable. The food was outstanding (we enjoyed trying Kudu)- luckily my safari pants were stretchy. I thought I would be afraid to walk around as the lodge isn't fenced but it was safe and the staff took care to escort us at night. I enjoyed hanging out on the day bed watching random animals walking in front our tent. I was sure a wart hog was sleeping under our tent platform but in the end we figured out it was the sound of the hippo in the nearby river. There was no need for a big camera zoom lens as the animals are so close by. This is a close proximity/quality experience, not a mass migration/quantity experience. This lodge is more appropriate for adults than for families, but the staff were accommodating to our teen daughters.

Game drivers highly experienced, they try to fulfill customer's requirements for animal viewing. All personnel is very polite, it's noticeable that there is a good working environment where the customer is their priority. The food is outstanding. The accommodation are great with privacy and incredible views.