Budmarsh Country Lodge

We had a lovely overnight stay at Budmarsh as an escape from the Johannesburg freeze. It's easy to find on the main route through Magaliesburg, yet it feels as though you are tucked away in the middle of nowhere. We arrived feeling like we could really unplug from the world. Upon arrival we were greeted by the extremely welcoming host and shown to our lovely room. I can't speak highly enough of the open fireplace and the heated blankets which made for a really cosy winter evening! Dinner and breakfast were absolutely wonderful. Hats off to the chef! The soup in particular was excellent, served with home-made rooibos butter, which was to die for! A small disappointment was that we had booked this particular room (more expensive than the standard) for the atrium hot tub - well, if the weather is going to be so cold, we might as well try to pretend we're at a ski resort, right? When we arrived, the tub was on and bubbling, but cold. We pointed this out to the host when he made a bar delivery and he said that he would ask the engineer to take a look. No one came, and after some twiddling of buttons by us, it remained cold, so we asked again at dinner, hoping maybe someone would fix it during the room turn down. Alas, we returned to the room and cold cold jacuzzi, so we gave up and nestled around the fire. Not a huge deal, but I wouldn't have paid the extra for this feature of the room if I hadn't intended to use it. Nevertheless, the staff were all very friendly, breakfast was great and checkout was easy. We enjoyed watching the lovely family of kittens play on the lawn as we enjoyed our breakfast. We'll be back. Thank you.

Old and tired lodge. Not five star. Needs a lot of maintenance (brown water out of taps, broken windows, beds uncomfortable) and decor needs updating. Food is over priced. Dirt road to lodge is not maintained and difficult to navigate with a sedan vehicle.

This is perfect if you are just a couple or a team. Quite and very tranquil. Amazing team on the ground and the GM, James understands the assignment of hospitality!