Arathusa Safari Lodge — Hotel in Bushbuckridge

We stayed as a couple at Arathusa for 4 nights in a water facing lodge. From the moment we arrived we were looked after like royalty! The guide had waited for us to see if we would like to join the afternoon game drive but we were exhausted from travelling so we politely declined and decided to relax at the lodge instead. They brought us a plate of sandwiches to our room and let us get settled in. ||Rooms: Our lodge was beautiful! Very clean and massive. Had everything we needed. The housekeeping came in more than once a day to close / open mosquito nets around the bed and left some amazing towel art. We had the lodge closest to the bar area (Waterbuck) so we were advised to be cautious after dark but didn’t need to be escorted to and from the lodge unless we wanted to be. You can hear the animals first thing in the morning from the lake hippos etc it’s incredible. We seen lots of wildlife when chilling at our room - mongoose, lizards, monkeys, hippos, elephants, giraffes, impala, warthogs. ||Food: No danger of going hungry here! Always something to eat and it was always delicious. The breakfast was my favourite I loved the scones. Dinner was different each night you either chose from a menu or they would do a buffet style. One thing to note (some people won’t like this, we didn’t mind too much but I think this should be made more clear) is that you get seated with the same people who are in your car every day for lunch and dinner. I understand they want guests to mingle but it would be nice to have the option of a date night when you just want it to be you two in this gorgeous setting. So it could be awkward if you don’t like to mingle with others or don’t get on with the other guests etc, we were very lucky to have great team mates! ||Drink: Bar was all included apart from top shelf and a couple of wines. The selection was brilliant and they had a great cocktail menu. ||Drives & Guides: Wake up call at about 5:30am then you meet for coffee ready for game drive to go at 6am. Wrap up the wind is freezing when your car gets going, ask for a poncho if your cold as they are like blankets with fleece inside. You will have the same guide / tracker for your whole stay and also have the same group in your car. Our guide was Mike and our tracker was Eugene - they were incredible at their jobs. We felt super safe in their hands and they explained everything to us. Whenever we had a question they always had the answer. Mike would always go the extra mile (literally) to make sure we got as close as was safely possible to the beautiful animals. We easily seen the big 5 and then some!! Mike and Eugene always knew how to read the animals to ensure they were comfortable with us being there. The sightings we had were just unbeatable and so special! It’s unbelievable the amount of skill and hard work that goes into their daily jobs. They are an absolute credit to Arathusa. ||Wi-Fi: The Wi-Fi only works in the bar area so bear this in mind you can’t get online in your room. ||Overall this place is incredible and I would 100% recommend it to anyone wanting a magical and unique experience with wonderful staff and fantastic guides. We were lucky enough to experience a leopard visitor on our 3rd night, staff alerted us all to be quiet and made sure we were safe while she passed. It was just amazing.|Shout out to Ronnie with his funny little dad jokes and Winnie who made us feel super welcome when...

Absolutely incredible experience from start to finish. The lodge is set in a breathtaking location with stunning rooms, an infinity pool overlooking a hippo-filled pond, attracting many diverse animals, and plenty of cozy spots to relax. We saw the Big Five and more—including a cheetah with cubs and a newborn hippo—thanks to our amazing guide, Ralph. The surprise champagne breakfast under a Marula tree was a highlight! Meals were delicious, and our server Ronny kept us smiling with his jokes and attentive service. Here is what to expect. |⸻|A Day on Safari at Arathusa|(Spoiler alert: skip this if you’d prefer to be surprised!)||A typical day at Arethusa begins earl. At 5:00 AM, we made ourselves a coffee in the room and sat out on our deck, taking in the atmosphere and the surprisingly loud grunts of hippos in the nearby pond. they add to the magic of waking up in the bush.||By 5:45 AM, we wandered over to the main lodge for more coffee and light snacks before setting off on our morning game drive at 6:00 AM. It’s brisk at that hour—definitely bring hats, gloves, and warm socks. That said, the lodge provides fantastic fleece-lined, waterproof ponchos in the safari vehicle, so you can probably skip packing your own raincoat or extra layers.||If you’re prone to motion sickness, avoid the back row of the Land Cruiser —it’s the bumpiest ride in the house. Before departing, you’ll chat with your ranger and tracker about what you’re hoping to see. Then, it’s off into the bush. ||Midway through the morning drive, there’s a stop for coffee (with a splash of Amarula, if you like) and a few sweet treats. By 9:00 AM, you’re back at the lodge for a generous breakfast—buffet-style with a delicious à la carte menu to round things out.||The late morning and early afternoon are yours to enjoy. Take a dip in the pool, watch wildlife at the waterhole, book a massage, or go on a guided bush walk for something a little more active. Lunch is served at 2:00 PM beside the pond, followed by dessert and coffee around 3:00 PM. Be on the lookout for the cheeky monkeys who appear like clockwork during tea—they’re surprisingly agile dessert thieves!||At 4:00 PM, it’s time for the evening game drive, which includes a stop for sundowners—cocktails and snacks served as you watch the sky transform with the setting sun. You return to the lodge by 6:00 PM, where guests often gather for drinks and swap stories of the day’s sightings.||At 7:30 PM, a rhythmic drumming ceremony calls everyone to dinner, which is served in the main dining area. After dinner, most guests retire early after the long day—but if you’re up for it, the bar and lounge are open for relaxed conversation and a nightcap.||Arathusa strikes the perfect balance of adventure and luxury, where every detail creates a truly unforgettable...

Seven months ago, in April, I contacted Arathusa directly via their website to make reservations for our group (myself and my husband as well as my parents) to stay 3 nights at Arathusa. In our correspondence I specified that we would need 2 rooms between the 4 of us (2 couples). Days later we received our first bill (roughly first half is paid up front, second half paid approximately a month out from the trip) and the email subject line was my last name and x4 (indicating a reservation for 4 people) along with the confirmation number. Between paying this first bill and the second, final bill I corresponded with Arathusa about a potential transfer (ride) from the nearest airport, dietary restrictions, and even a special request for my dad’s birthday, which was one of the main reasons we had chosen this time period for the trip. ||Fast forward to just 5 days before we were scheduled to fly to South Africa (and 10 days before we were scheduled to arrive at Arathusa): I received an email from Arathusa saying “We have realized that your booking was in error made for only one room, accommodating two people, which has resulted in an overbooking situation. Unfortunately, we do not have any additional availability to accommodate all four of you at Arathusa for your dates.”||I felt absolutely sick to my stomach. ||First, they offered to reschedule our stay for different dates, which was not feasible at all due to the surrounding logistics (international flights purchased, all other trip details and lodging confirmed, time off of work scheduled, other family traveling to stay with our children, etc.). Secondly, they offered to help facilitate us staying at a neighboring lodge, which we initially jumped on out of sheer panic and desperation. However, once Arathusa told us the price would be even higher and did not offer to cover the difference we began to look at reviews of this other lodge and felt it was not what we wanted. We decided not to pursue this option either and were completely on our own for finding a new safari lodge 5 days before we would get on our flight to South Africa. What a nightmare.||Via a phone call, an Arathusa representative told us that “the fault was with the customer” because our bill listed the number of rooms as 1. It is true that we didn’t notice this error on the bill. However, we would have liked to see Arathusa take more responsibility for the mistake since we were very clear in all our correspondence that we needed two rooms.||Arathusa has many other wonderful reviews, but this was my personal...