Sabie River Bush Lodge Reviews

Good rating

4.4 | 2707 reviews

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Sabie River Bush Lodge

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4.4

| 2707 total

5 stars

2064 pcs

4 stars

877 pcs

3 stars

178 pcs

2 stars

48 pcs

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49 pcs

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Däuble 2024.12.18

6

disappointed😞 ☺ The complex is beautifully situated. Wild animals come right up to the complex. The complex has security personnel at night. The hotel staff tried as best they could, even though they were not trained. The manager was friendly and tried to solve the problems. ☹ the air conditioning dripped onto the bed at night, no 📺, no fridge, almost no internet. the pool is not adequately maintained, the outdoor facilities are rusting, rotting, falling apart. only one parasol for 50 guests, only 4 mattresses for 20 sun loungers. the chef was lucky with every second meal. the waiters tried very hard but were rather weak for the advertised luxury overnight stay. the dining room has a TV but it is too small for 12 tables and there is only one fan. you miss a certain amount of attentiveness from the staff, especially at breakfast. only the top location saved the situation overall. By the way, the cockroaches were 5cm long but only 3 in 3 days. I personally find them quite interesting. The drinks at the bar are cheap but you need a few to not notice the lack of equipment. Many pieces of furniture urgently need more attention or should be replaced, both inside and out.

disappointed😞
☺ The complex is beautifully situated. Wild animals come right up to the complex. The complex has security personnel at night. The hotel staff tried as best they could, even though they were not trained. The manager was friendly and tried to solve the problems.

☹ the air conditioning dripped onto the bed at night, no 📺, no fridge, almost no internet. the pool is not adequately maintained, the outdoor facilities are rusting, rotting, falling apart. only one parasol for 50 guests, only 4 mattresses for 20 sun loungers. the chef was lucky with every second meal. the waiters tried very hard but were rather weak for the advertised luxury overnight stay. the dining room has a TV but it is too small for 12 tables and there is only one fan. you miss a certain amount of attentiveness from the staff, especially at breakfast. only the top location saved the situation overall. By the way, the cockroaches were 5cm long but only 3 in 3 days. I personally find them quite interesting. The drinks at the bar are cheap but you need a few to not notice the lack of equipment. Many pieces of furniture urgently need more attention or should be replaced, both inside and out.

disappointed😞
☺ The complex is beautifully situated. Wild animals come right up to the complex. The complex has security personnel at night. The hotel staff tried as best they could, even though they were not trained. The manager was friendly and tried to solve the problems.

☹ the air conditioning dripped onto the bed at night, no 📺, no fridge, almost no internet. the pool is not adequately maintained, the outdoor facilities are rusting, rotting, falling apart. only one parasol for 50 guests, only 4 mattresses for 20 sun loungers. the chef was lucky with every second meal. the waiters tried very hard but were rather weak for the advertised luxury overnight stay. the dining room has a TV but it is too small for 12 tables and there is only one fan. you miss a certain amount of attentiveness from the staff, especially at breakfast. only the top location saved the situation overall. By the way, the cockroaches were 5cm long but only 3 in 3 days. I personally find them quite interesting. The drinks at the bar are cheap but you need a few to not notice the lack of equipment. Many pieces of furniture urgently need more attention or should be replaced, both inside and out.

disappointed😞
☺ The complex is beautifully situated. Wild animals come right up to the complex. The complex has security personnel at night. The hotel staff tried as best they could, even though they were not trained. The manager was friendly and tried to solve the problems.

☹ the air conditioning dripped onto the bed at night, no 📺, no fridge, almost no internet. the pool is not adequately maintained, the outdoor facilities are rusting, rotting, falling apart. only one parasol for 50 guests, only 4 mattresses for 20 sun loungers. the chef was lucky with every second meal. the waiters tried very hard but were rather weak for the advertised luxury overnight stay. the dining room has a TV but it is too small for 12 tables and there is only one fan. you miss a certain amount of attentiveness from the staff, especially at breakfast. only the top location saved the situation overall. By the way, the cockroaches were 5cm long but only 3 in 3 days. I personally find them quite interesting. The drinks at the bar are cheap but you need a few to not notice the lack of equipment. Many pieces of furniture urgently need more attention or should be replaced, both inside and out.

disappointed😞
☺ The complex is beautifully situated. Wild animals come right up to the complex. The complex has security personnel at night. The hotel staff tried as best they could, even though they were not trained. The manager was friendly and tried to solve the problems.

☹ the air conditioning dripped onto the bed at night, no 📺, no fridge, almost no internet. the pool is not adequately maintained, the outdoor facilities are rusting, rotting, falling apart. only one parasol for 50 guests, only 4 mattresses for 20 sun loungers. the chef was lucky with every second meal. the waiters tried very hard but were rather weak for the advertised luxury overnight stay. the dining room has a TV but it is too small for 12 tables and there is only one fan. you miss a certain amount of attentiveness from the staff, especially at breakfast. only the top location saved the situation overall. By the way, the cockroaches were 5cm long but only 3 in 3 days. I personally find them quite interesting. The drinks at the bar are cheap but you need a few to not notice the lack of equipment. Many pieces of furniture urgently need more attention or should be replaced, both inside and out.

Baloyi 2024.12.18

3

Poor

Chloe 2024.12.18

10

Amazing stay at Sabie River Bush Lodge ☺ The location was perfect. It was tranquil, and the staff were friendly and always willing to help. ☹ Nothing that i didn't like

Mavis 2024.12.18

1

Bad experience ever. ☺ The deck by the swimming pool looks nice ☹ The receptionist by the name of Welcome was very rude and unwelcoming. I booked to celebrate my husband's birthday but he spoiled everything. we ended up cancelling the accommodation the following day without refund. He allocated us a very small room, with one chair, Aircon not working. We ask to change the room, he refused and say all rooms are fully booked. Because of the heat and small room, we decided to sit outside and it was very late and we were tired. He tried to set the Aircon and said he will come after 10 minutes to check it, he never came back until around 22:00 whiles still sitting outside on the floor since there's no chair outside, we saw a patrolling security and ask him to call Welcome for us. He came and changed us to another room (without even an apology)which was specious and with two chairs by the entrance by that time it was 22:45 but at first he said ALL rooms are occupied. He spoiled my husband's birthday. Breakfast fast has no variety of choice, not value for money. Thanks to Sifiso and Nyiko the guys on the bar n breakfast, they were so kind, I wish they were the face of the Lord unlike the receptionist/ manager ( Welcome)

Bad experience ever.
☺ The deck by the swimming pool looks nice

☹ The receptionist by the name of Welcome was very rude and unwelcoming. I booked to celebrate my husband's birthday but he spoiled everything. we ended up cancelling the accommodation the following day without refund. He allocated us a very small room, with one chair, Aircon not working. We ask to change the room, he refused and say all rooms are fully booked. Because of the heat and small room, we decided to sit outside and it was very late and we were tired. He tried to set the Aircon and said he will come after 10 minutes to check it, he never came back until around 22:00 whiles still sitting outside on the floor since there's no chair outside, we saw a patrolling security and ask him to call Welcome for us. He came and changed us to another room (without even an apology)which was specious and with two chairs by the entrance by that time it was 22:45 but at first he said ALL rooms are occupied. He spoiled my husband's birthday. Breakfast fast has no variety of choice, not value for money. Thanks to Sifiso and Nyiko the guys on the bar n breakfast, they were so kind, I wish they were the face of the Lord unlike the receptionist/ manager ( Welcome)

Bad experience ever.
☺ The deck by the swimming pool looks nice

☹ The receptionist by the name of Welcome was very rude and unwelcoming. I booked to celebrate my husband's birthday but he spoiled everything. we ended up cancelling the accommodation the following day without refund. He allocated us a very small room, with one chair, Aircon not working. We ask to change the room, he refused and say all rooms are fully booked. Because of the heat and small room, we decided to sit outside and it was very late and we were tired. He tried to set the Aircon and said he will come after 10 minutes to check it, he never came back until around 22:00 whiles still sitting outside on the floor since there's no chair outside, we saw a patrolling security and ask him to call Welcome for us. He came and changed us to another room (without even an apology)which was specious and with two chairs by the entrance by that time it was 22:45 but at first he said ALL rooms are occupied. He spoiled my husband's birthday. Breakfast fast has no variety of choice, not value for money. Thanks to Sifiso and Nyiko the guys on the bar n breakfast, they were so kind, I wish they were the face of the Lord unlike the receptionist/ manager ( Welcome)

Bad experience ever.
☺ The deck by the swimming pool looks nice

☹ The receptionist by the name of Welcome was very rude and unwelcoming. I booked to celebrate my husband's birthday but he spoiled everything. we ended up cancelling the accommodation the following day without refund. He allocated us a very small room, with one chair, Aircon not working. We ask to change the room, he refused and say all rooms are fully booked. Because of the heat and small room, we decided to sit outside and it was very late and we were tired. He tried to set the Aircon and said he will come after 10 minutes to check it, he never came back until around 22:00 whiles still sitting outside on the floor since there's no chair outside, we saw a patrolling security and ask him to call Welcome for us. He came and changed us to another room (without even an apology)which was specious and with two chairs by the entrance by that time it was 22:45 but at first he said ALL rooms are occupied. He spoiled my husband's birthday. Breakfast fast has no variety of choice, not value for money. Thanks to Sifiso and Nyiko the guys on the bar n breakfast, they were so kind, I wish they were the face of the Lord unlike the receptionist/ manager ( Welcome)

Bad experience ever.
☺ The deck by the swimming pool looks nice

☹ The receptionist by the name of Welcome was very rude and unwelcoming. I booked to celebrate my husband's birthday but he spoiled everything. we ended up cancelling the accommodation the following day without refund. He allocated us a very small room, with one chair, Aircon not working. We ask to change the room, he refused and say all rooms are fully booked. Because of the heat and small room, we decided to sit outside and it was very late and we were tired. He tried to set the Aircon and said he will come after 10 minutes to check it, he never came back until around 22:00 whiles still sitting outside on the floor since there's no chair outside, we saw a patrolling security and ask him to call Welcome for us. He came and changed us to another room (without even an apology)which was specious and with two chairs by the entrance by that time it was 22:45 but at first he said ALL rooms are occupied. He spoiled my husband's birthday. Breakfast fast has no variety of choice, not value for money. Thanks to Sifiso and Nyiko the guys on the bar n breakfast, they were so kind, I wish they were the face of the Lord unlike the receptionist/ manager ( Welcome)

Reply from Sabie River Bush Lodge

Hi Mavis. Thank you for the review and for the opportunity to respond to your factually incorrect review. The room allocated to you, was booked by yourself, on this platform, and not allocated by Welcome or any other staff member. The aircon was in fact working however you had the setting on FAN and not cooling. We are pleased you noted Welcome assisted in relocating you, after a guest did not arrive due to a cancelled flight. Again, not Welcome being unwilling to assist you, quite the opposite actually. It is also note worthy that you confirm the new room allocated to you was spacious, yet you chose to not continue your stay. Unfortunately the fact that you were not able to have a fridge in your room (which we do not advertise as we have a fully stocked bar), was the catalyst for your request for a refund. We also acknowledge that your attempt to claim a refund from your online agent alleging you did not get the room you booked, was also fruitless because you did indeed receive the room you chose to book online. Breakfast is a full spread, continental is a buffet style and the hot meal is made to order, a wide variety of things on offer from fruit juices to muffins, to toast, fruit salad, yoghurt, cheese, cold meats, cereal and a hot meal (eggs bacon chefs special, potato, beans, grilled tomato, mushrooms). Regards Candice General Manager Sabie River Bush Lodge. TripAdvisor 2024 Travellers Choice Award Winner - top 10% of hotels in the World.

Jaegar 2024.12.17

9

Wonderful

Samuel 2024.12.17

8

Very Good

Makhanana 2024.12.16

10

Exceptional ☺ The view is amazing. I made the booking on behalf of my husband and friend.

Juli 2024.12.12

5

☺Ausblick auf den Fluß, Küche und Grill sind so ausgestattet, dass man sich selbst gut versorgen kann, Bad war groß und sauber, beim Stromausfall ist der Generator nach ein paar Minuten angesprungen. ☹Das Zelt hat seit der Ankunft nach (Tier) Urin gerochen, wurde nicht besser und war nur dank Klimaanlage aushaltbar. Die Lage ist fernab von Restaurants oder Einkaufsmöglichkeiten, das Wifi ist so schlecht, dass es fast unbenutzbar ist. Die direkte Umgebung zur Lodge wirkt nicht sicher.

Reply from Sabie River Bush Lodge

Hi Juli, thank you for your feedback and the opportunity to reply. Your tent had a new thatch smell, as it was recently repaired in some areas on your tent prior to your arrival, and we note we are an animal free zone - no pets are allowed in the guests accommodation. The offer to move your tent was declined by you. We have a fully stocked bar and restaurant for your convenience, which you chose not to make use of, despite our location map showing we are 23km to the nearest town with shopping facilities (approximately a 20 minute drive due to speed limits). I think it is rather unfair to judge an area across the road from the Lodge, when you stayed inside the Lodge - the team at our Lodge all reside across the road. It is unfortunate that you comment how clean your facilities were but gave us 2.5? Regards the Sabie River Bush Lodge Team

Idelan 2024.12.12

7

Good

Pinar 2024.12.11

7

Mixed feelings ☺ Sleeping in a tent was nice. It was very good to have an open buffet breakfast. Dinner was also mostly OK. ☹ It was terrible not to have a fridge in the tent. The water bottle gets boiling hot within an hour. A main reason why we chose this hotel was to experience the hippos in Sabie, mentioned in the reviews. However as we were there, no hippos, no animals in the river, were quite disappointed. Obviously hippos are there only in certain times, like high water? Mentioning this for customers’ attention.

Reply from Sabie River Bush Lodge

HI Pinar, Thank you for your review and for your business, appreciated by all of us at the Lodge. Thank you for the opportunity to reply to your review score of 70% and to correct some of the misleading information. I see that you made your reservation with your on-line booking agent who provides a full description of the accommodation that you make a reservation for, I also not that nowhere in their advertising material do they mention that the said accommodation has a fridge in the tent. What the Lodge does offer is a bar is fully stocked with cold waters for your purchase at very reasonable prices, there is no need for our guests to drive to town to buy any refreshments as we do not believe in charging exorbitant prices for refreshments. Our Gecko Lapa Team are also more than happy to supply you with additional ice when purchasing refreshments from the Lodge. Wildlife in its natural habitat is very unpredictable, due to our location overlooking the Kruger National Park and the Sabie River, the hippos do move relocate up and down the river depending on weather conditions and available food sources. Regards Candice GM – Sabie River Bush Lodge voted the best three star Lodge in Mpumalanga for three years

Monique 2024.12.11

10

Great views, amazing chef, very friendly staff and a wonderful experience!

Reply from Sabie River Bush Lodge

Hi Monique, thank you for your feedback of your stay with us. We are so pleased to hear you had a 10/10 experience with us and look forward to welcoming you back to the Lodge upon your next trip to the Kruger National Park. Regards the Sabie River Bush Lodge Team

Nadine 2024.12.10

8

Gerne wieder! ☺Sehr schöne am Flusslauf gelegene Lodge. Abends kamen auch mal Elefanten. Ca. 20Min bis zum Kruger Gate. Alle sehr nett und hilfreich. Sehr gutes Preis-Leistungsverhältnis. ☹Auswahl an vegetarischen Gerichten ist ausbaufähig.

Reply from Sabie River Bush Lodge

HI Nadine, thank you for your feedback of your stay at the Lodge. We are pleased to hear you enjoyed our location, our team and value for money. We have an extensive vegetarian menu which is on offer however you stayed one night with us and were unable to experience them all - please do come back for another stay so you can enjoy our vegetarian dishes :) Regards the Sabie River Bush Lodge Team

Winfried 2024.12.10

10

Exceptional

Guenter 2024.12.10

9

Gute Lodge mit Verbesserungspotential ☺Schöne Anlage mit freundlichem Personal mit guter Sicht auf den Sabie River.die vom Hotel arrangierten Touren zum krügerpark sind sehr gut organisiert, ich war jedoch von der Privaten Tour etwas enttäuscht, da sie wie eine normale Tour war, ich hatte in der Vergangenheit schon bessere mit Fahrten abseits der asphaltierten Hauptstraßen ☹Die Lodge bietet Halbpension und nur eine sehr beschränkte Auswahl, so das es bei einem mehrtägigen Aufenthalt etwas eintönig ist. Die Zimmer haben leider keine Moskitonetze vor den Fenstern, sondern nur über dem Bett, so das ein Lüften nicht möglich ist.

Reply from Sabie River Bush Lodge

Hi Guenter, thank you for your feedback of your stay with us. We are pleased you had a 9/10 stay with us and enjoyed our property, staff and the safari. Our menu changes daily and is a three course meal for your half board accommodation. If you had any special requests our team would have done their best to accommodate same. We look forward to welcoming you back to the Lodge upon your next Kruger National Park visit. Regards the Sabie River Bush Lodge Team

Andy 2024.12.08

9

Wonderful

Bettina 2024.12.06

9

☺Super Lage unserer Hütte. Mit Blick auf den Fluss wo morgens und abends die Nilpferde vorbeigeschaut haben.

Reply from Sabie River Bush Lodge

Hi Bettina, thank you for your feedback of your stay with us. We are so pleased to hear you had a lovely stay with a front row view of the hippos from your river frontage log cabin. We look forward to welcoming you back to the Lodge upon your next trip to the Kruger National Park. Regards the Sabie River Bush Lodge team.

Mark 2024.07.19

9

Superb ☺ We had a really nice cottage located near the water, that was frequently visited by hippo's. Cosy restaurant, good food. Very friendly staff who really were willing to go the extra mile. We got daily breakfast packages to take away to the Kruger. Before check-out our car was cleaned without our knowledge, which was really great. Paul Kruger gate is a 20 minutes drive away from the lodge, easy accessible by safe road. ☹ The only thing is that our cottage could need an update. The living room was cosy with enough comfy seats. However the beds were really short and the floor of our bathroom sloped in the wrong direction so that it became a waterballet after each shower. At the same time, we paid a fair price so I would say it is still good value for money. Location is good and the service excellent.

Rinske 2024.07.17

8

Very good

Rudolph 2024.07.17

10

Exceptional

Laura 2024.07.16

10

Fun and very reasonable! ☺ Beautiful property right on the Sabie River. We loved sitting at the top deck of the restaurant watching the hippos and kingfishers!

Reply from Sabie River Bush Lodge

Hi Laura, thank you for providing us with feedback of your recent stay with us. We are thrilled you loved our property, and enjoyed our resident pod of hippos and kingfishers! We look forward to welcoming you back to the Lodge upon your next trip to the Kruger National Park. Regards the Sabie River Bush Lodge team

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About Sabie River Bush Lodge

R536 Kruger Gate Road, Southern Kruger National Park, Bushbuckridge, Mpumalanga, 1242

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