Ndhula Luxury Tented Lodge

On arrival, there was a Giraffe in front of the hotel. Other animals we saw in the grounds later were Impala, Kudu, more Giraffes, Wildebeest, Frogs. On one night, I looked out of the window of our tent at 1am and there was a Giraffe eating a tree right in front of our balcony. We loved all of this. Calling our accommodation a tent gives the wrong impression really, because didn't really feel like a tent once inside. The bedroom area had a wooden frame with glass windows at the front, with a proper wooden framed door and lock. The bedroom was decorated nicely and the bathroom was spacious, with a separate toilet, again with a proper, wooden door. The shower was powerful and the water drained away through wooden slats, which you stand on in the shower. There were two sinks in the bathroom, a big mirror, rustic towel rail, liquid soap, hand cream, shower/hair gel and clean white towels. A good hairdryer was in the dressing room, which was between the bedroom and shower room. Also there was a fridge, kettle, cafetiere, tissues (although these ran out and were not refilled for us). Coffee and teas were provided, as well as fress milk in the fridge. A free safe was in the small clothes hanging area and there were wooden slatted shelves for storage. This was a large, sturdy, thick canvas tent. There was a balcony area outside with chairs and the whole thing was off the ground on wooden slats. We saw no creepy crawlies in the tent and we were not bitten by anything either. Never saw a Mosquito. We had 40 degrees hot weather, where we needed the air conditioning on all night, which blew towards the bed, cooled us and probably would keep Mosquitoes away if there were any. However, on a cooler day of about 25 degrees, the tent was cold at night. There was an electric blanket on each side of the bed, which I used on one night. The lighting in the tent was good. So if you worry about staying in a tent, don't. I would imagine it could get quite cold some nights and also, we could hear birds, the rain and thunder very well through the canvas but to be honest, it all added to the safari, natural feel of the place. The restaurant, bar, pool and BBQ areas were all really nice. The staff were helpful and friendly. The views from everywhere were amazing. We had packed breakfasts on two mornings as we left at 5am to go to Kruger National Park. The food provided for us in the bags was excellent. One evening, we were taken up to a view point in the hotel 4x4s for drinks at sunset. That was very enjoyable. We had two traditional type BBQs and they were quite good. All good so far. Now, the reasons I didn't give the hotel 5/5: The path down to the tents was very steep and was of sand and gravel. You could go a slightly longer way down a block paved drive, but you still had to walk on dirt and gravel to your tent. This did not feel like "luxury" and we both slipped on the gravel, with one of our party actually falling over as the path was also very uneven. The only sing

This was booked as the highlight of our holiday, our final 3 nights before flying back home, we were so looking forward to it and from the minute we arrived I felt disappointed There was no information on arrival as to where things were, no guest information in the room about anything either, found myself going to reception on numerous occasions to ask silly questions The rooms weren’t “Luxury” they were just glamping tents, in fact we had stayed at a place in the garden route prior to staying here which was around a quarter of the price and had just as much to offer in similar accommodation The food is also average, just a standard buffet, much like you get in all inclusive hotels in Europe, and again absolutely no info as to what each dish was, either had to find a member of staff to ask or just take a guess The sunset game drive is not worth your time, yes we saw a few giraffe but we basically were driven around for 5-10 mins and then left to our own devices on a rock with a drink overlooking the city of Mbombela. We cancelled the morning drive we had booked as it’s basically the same I understand the idea of peace and serenity in a beautiful area but in 2025 I find it ridiculous that a place that costs what Ndhula does that there is no wifi in the tents, especially when they have air con, smart lighting etc. There is wifi in the bar/restaurant area but don’t spend anytime in there after dark as you will be eaten alive by the bugs? I certainly was The staff are very lovely, the pool area is very nice and the bar area is also during daylight hours They have other tents that aren’t for families which are nicer and much bigger, not sure why having a family means you get less The final point is that it’s an hour and half from Kruger, so note you need to add 3 hours to your day if visiting the park. Just left feeling that if there was more information available, wifi in tents and staff serving the food, and we had had the tents that others had things would be so much better, many of those points are easy to fix

We gratified with our stay at Ndhula Luxury Tented Lodge. A place with serenity and beyond my expectations. The staff is very professional and friendly. These are one of the reasons to wish for another stay at the lodge.