Jozini Tiger Lodge — Hotel in Jozini Local Municipality

I recently stayed at this so-called “five-star” establishment, and it was hands-down one of the worst experiences I’ve ever had. The only thing remotely similar to what’s advertised on their website is the view – and that’s literally the only thing you’re paying for.

Let’s start with dinner. The service was horrific. We were overcharged not once, but twice, and when we tried to query it, we were met with unhelpful, rude staff who seemed completely uninterested in fixing their mistake. I waited over an hour just to get a simple drink. No apology. No urgency. Just blank stares and phones in hand.

The food? Even worse. There was absolutely no variety – you could immediately tell they used the cheapest possible ingredients for the buffet. Everything was so bland it might as well have been boiled cardboard. The chicken and pork chops were so dry and overcooked, they were inedible. I genuinely could have thrown them at someone, and they might’ve done damage – that’s how hard they were.

The dessert was a disaster. The so-called chocolate mousse was made with water, full of lumps, and tasted like raw cake batter. It was disgusting. The rest of the dessert table? No better. It looked like they had just thrown leftovers from a kid’s birthday party together and hoped no one would notice.

Then there’s the room. The bed was rock hard – might as well have slept on the floor. The bath was filthy, and to top it off, there were only two towels in a four-bed room. No extra towels, no bath mats, no care whatsoever.

Breakfast was a complete joke. Again, no variety. Just a sad selection of vegetables and a few random scraps. I ordered an omelet, and the cheese inside wasn’t even melted – it looked like they’d just thrown cold ingredients onto an egg and called it a day. The fruit juice was so watered down it tasted like cheap Oros, and there was no milk in the cappuccino machine, so no coffee either. The pancakes were old and dry, and the muffins were dense and heavy like they’d been sitting out for days.

The staff were absolutely useless. Not once did anyone offer us a Coke, coffee, or even check in to see if we needed anything. Instead, they just stood around on their phones, completely disengaged. And when you asked for something, it felt like you were inconveniencing them. They were rude, dismissive, and clearly not trained in any form of hospitality.

Even the table setup was wrong – our table didn’t have any big spoons while every other one did. It’s just another example of how disorganized and careless this place is.

This place is a disgrace. It is absolutely not five-star – I wouldn’t even give it two. The food is well below average, the service is non-existent, and the staff are lazy and rude. I would never come back here, and I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone.

The only thing this place has going for it is the view – and even that’s not enough to make up for the pathetic experience. Save your money and stay somewhere that actually cares about its guests. This place is a...

Great views of the dam. Lovely staff. Full stop. When you want to see the hotel management, stay close to the buffet - they only commute between their messy office and the buffet. So they know very little about the poor state of the hotel or the omnipresent filth. For the entire time of our stay, a massive cockroach was lying on the stairs to the Spa. Next to an old toothpick, hair and dust. Not once were the stairs cleaned. After day 5, I asked the duty manager if they had any intention to clean the stairs. He came, had a look at the cockroach, said "cockroach" and disappeared. On day 7, it was still lying there. On arrival, our room had apparently been cleaned, but was still dirty. Pubic hair on the pillow, white stains on the quilt, dust and hair behind the door, no towels. There was no remote for the TV, we asked 4 times in 3 days to get it sorted. No action taken. So room 109 has a TV but has no TV. Spa couple treatment: One therapist is dressed properly, the other comes in street clothing. The basin in the treatment room full of old towels. Nice. Life guards who should watch kids on the slides are sitting in shady corners and play on their phones. They know that management will not check on them. No milkshake for the kids on the first 5 days (sorry, no ice cream). Outside lights by block 1 mainly broken. Floors dirty. Water features broken. Tables around pool sticky, not cleaned. Old floaties in pool. Super dirty "Welcome" floor mat at main entrance. Show some respect for your guests by greeting them with a clean mat. Only 8 pool chairs for 60 or so rooms.

There's not much to do in the area. Jozini is a very dirty little town. Great for getting a tyre fixed (which we did). Dam is pretty much inaccessible. Mkuze game reserve is nice and worth a trip (1.5 hour drive).

Jozini Tiger Lodge could be much better if they had proper management, staff is not to blame.

Last remark: if management bothers to reply to reviews, it's always the same pre-written blabla. Clearly showing their lack of interest in...

Stayed at Jozini Tiger Lodge and Spa for four nights. The biggest let-down was the buffet, the food was tasteless and unappetising. If you stay for longer than 2 nights you start to get the feeling that the food is simply regurgitated from what you had on the first night. For the amount of money the Lodge asks per night, one would expect decent food, this simply wasn’t the case with our stay. I’ve had better meals at a fast food joint. If you are a family that has children ensure you bring your own cool drinks as the prices are ridiculous, basically three times the amount you would pay at a supermarket. In actual fact bring your own beers and wine or whatever you drink especially if you’re on a budget, as the Lodge prices are way over the top. This is not a place to take kids, other than the pool there is nothing for them to do and they will drive you crazy. The game parks are not just down the road, they are far to drive to. So if you want a family holiday with fun for the kids, this is not the place for you. The room was clean and comfortable. My only real gripe is with the basin, the one where you stand and brush your teeth into. The basin isn’t the problem it’s the marble counter into which the basin fits, let’s just say that the person who designed this counter never tried it out once it was fitted or else they would have recognised there mistake. Enough said about this design disaster, if you stay at the Lodge you’ll know what the problem is. How the tourism council grades this lodge as a four star I have no idea especially with the poor...