Hamiltons Tented Camp — Hotel in Bushbuckridge

Beautiful setup. Lots of wildlife from the outer deck! This is a very nice camp but not one I would return to. I found our safari guide a bit too arrogant, the food not fabulous (but that is just a matter of taste), the waiters pleasant and mostly willing to please with a painfully slow service, house keeping a bit sloppy and the management perhaps not too kind to non whites but one can not always be sure! Rooms are large, but filled wih heavy furniture - a very large bed and a desk, two arm chairs and two chests, appear a bit small. Never the less charming enough. Could have wished for better lighting! Good bathroom but with hardly any place for your own stuff except in the cabinet under the sinks. Bath tub. View of wildlife from the bath! Lovely shower in its own room between the outer deck and the bathroom. Lovely outer deck with a dip pool and relaxing chairs, and an unecpecyedly large sitting area with a sofa and a well furnished (all included) mini bar and a duplicate tea/coffee making station. Beautiful, beautiful viewing deck!! We saw herds of elephants, buffaloes, zebras, kudus, wildebeest and at least 4 hippos and lots of bushbucks!! Out of this world. Fancy pretty dinners. Most people enjoy the food very much. I did not - too much meat and not enough vegies, too rich. The daily menu is fairly limited, especially for vegetarians. Also, not too imaginative even given the wealth of African food traditions. Fortunately, I am not vegetarian and eat most common meats, fish and poultry. But fancy dinners tend to get me down with the game meats and lack of vegetables. However, on days when there was nothing non offensive on the menu for me, I had expected the kitchen to be more accomodating - given the smallness of the lodge and the high prices - and making me instead a simple main course from their own lunch menu. But, NO. So, very little dinner a couple of days for me. And, note that pasta is always OVERCOOKED. Fettucini was even broken into small pieces!! Also, the chefs and all attending staff change every day. May be I expected too much! Had the lodge not been so small and so pricey, I would not have made a special request. But we came to Hamiltons from Shalati camp which offered a varied large menu to its large number of guests and was for ever ready to customise! Well, never mind! I had, however, expected much better service! Waiting is incredibly slow and housekeeping is a bit sloppy. You have to request that used supplies be replenished. In addition, management was unexpectedly rude to me. Having repeatedly requested a room close to the common areas and been given the one closest, I was surprised when on return from our second safari, the manager told me to vacate the room. On safaris we had been paired with an even older (than me) lady who had some problems walking. On the safari we had happily offered her and her daughter the front row in the safari car (for all safaris) so she would have less problems getting in and out of the car. When we returned from a morning safari, the attendig manager announced that this old lady and her daughter, whose allotted room was far, move to the tent I had and I to the tent next door (not too far from where I was)!! This, without discussing the matter privately with me before announcing it in front of everybody! Had this been done the first day (when both parties arrived), I would happily have taken the room slightly further away. As it happened, I was unhappy at the request - or order. I have my own physical challenge (not visible!!) taking care of which takes a lot of time and energy every day. My things were all spread in the room and I had adapted things to my comfort. Thus, the suggested transfer bugged me, especially as it would not have saved more than 2 min of extra walking for the old lady from the room next door to mine where the management wanted to relocate me! Hamiltons is above my price class and I should have stayed away. But I am over seventy myself and like to give myself extra comfort whenever possible. Hence,...

I do not recommend, overpriced for the safari set up.

We were at Hamilton tented camp for 3 nights. On internet it is advertised as a private game reserve of approximately 10 k hectares. We ended up doing half of our drives in Kruger public part crowded with private tourist vehicles. The reason to go public side was that the guides were saying there was a lot less animals on their private side. It is not the experience you expect at this price point. On the public side, it is not possible to off-road when you see an animal. It highly impacts the quality of your sightings and for me it is the main reason to pay the high price of the private lodges. We also couldn’t off-road on the private side. As a result we had 2 leopards sightings of 3-5 seconds each and weren’t able to follow to view them longer. This poor game drive set up is the same at their 3 lodges Imbali, Hoya hoya and Hamilton tented camp.

Our fist guide was also not great with communication of trying to find and stop for animals that interested us and we requested to change. He also drove the exact same road twice 2 days in a row when there was other options we told him we were interested to see. The second one, Hali, did a great job. It is the reason I put 2 stars instead of 1.

The lodge, room and food were good. Our problems was with the game drive dynamic for the price we paid. Also a few items were not 5 star level, for example the placemat and tissue napkin were stained and looked unclean at every single meal. The alcohol selection included is very limited.

We were in contact with management to request to leave 1 day earlier and get a refund as we felt we didn’t get the experience we were sold. The camp was also almost empty so it is not like the lost a sale. They were not...

I stayed at Hamilton’s Tented Camp for three nights in July as a couple, and it was hands down one of the most incredible travel experiences we’ve ever had. If you’re looking for the ultimate authentic-but-luxurious South African safari experience, this is it.

From the moment we arrived, the staff made sure every detail was taken care of. Warm, attentive service managed by Thomas that went above and beyond without ever feeling forced. The tented suites are absolutely stunning—spotless, stylish, and incredibly comfortable. It’s all the adventure of being in the wild, without sacrificing a bit of luxury.

The camp offers two safari drives each day (morning and evening, about 3 to 3.5 hours each), and you’re right in the heart of Kruger National Park the moment you leave camp. No long drives from the park gates—it’s all happening right there. You genuinely feel like you have the park to yourself, and the early morning drives gave us the first chance to spot the Big 5 before the crowds even entered the park. Huge shout out to Hali the safari guide who is a true subject matter expert in tracking, all things bush and just fun guy to hang out with.

The food deserves a special mention. We came in with realistic expectations, but the chefs at Hamilton’s blew us away. This isn’t “camp gourmet” this is actual fine dining, three times a day, with carefully thought-out menus and multiple options at every meal. Every dish was beautifully presented and absolutely delicious.

If you have the budget, staying here is miles ahead of the typical lodge experience, whether it’s outside the park or even one of the other lodges onsite. Hamilton’s delivers the kind of once-in-a-lifetime luxury safari that you dream about—and then actually exceeds...