UKUTULA Lodge & Game Reserve — Hotel in Madibeng Local Municipality

Words cannot describe how amazing our experience at Ukutula was. Everything and every person we met went above and beyond our expectations making for a stay that we'll never forget. As we rounded out our trip to South Africa in late June, we decided to end it in the best way possible with a visit here, one of the best decisions we have ever made.||||Our family of 3 stayed at the 4 bed chalet and were blown away with the accommodations. Not only was there a kitchen stocked with everything we need, we were met with a luxurious bathroom and a private loft for sleeping as well as the bedroom. It was a wonderful experience staying here. All the facilities were clean as a whistle and we spent our evenings listening to the lions roar, definitely one of the coolest things ever. The staff always greeted us with a smile and a hello!||||We started off our stay with the predator tour having Nicole as our tour guide. Nicole was absolutely fantastic, being extremely informative as well as patient and humorous during our tour. The things that they are doing at Ukutula are truly breathtaking in regards to caring for the animals and the research they provide. We left knowing that these animals are extremely well cared for with Nicole answering every question we could muster with a plethora of information. The predator tour was a perfect way for us to be introduced to the dream of a place that Ukutula is.||||After our tour, we had lunch and dinner, which we all 3 ordered a steak sandwich for the former and a filet mignon for the latter. The food was impeccable, cooked to our exact requests and the best meals we had in South Africa so far. They even accommodated our request to have the dinner service brought to our rooms, brought by our tour guide earlier that day Nicole and the always amazing Anna. Service here truly is second to none, I can not say enough about it.||||Our 2nd and final day is where we truly were blown away by the service and people that Ukutula has. We started off our morning with the lion walk, which was a once in a lifetime experience that we will never forget. It felt surreal being able to walk beside these amazing creatures. A minor problem occurred during our visit and despite us telling the staff not to worry about it, they insisted that they make it up to us. They provided for us to go on a bush drive to explore the over 260 hectares of space that Ukutula is situated on, seeing zebras, antelopes, turtles, and giraffes! We also went on the lion waterhole experience, which was great to see the lions interact and swim.||||Perhaps the part that stuck out in our heads the most was the check out experience. Although bittersweet, it was time to say goodbye to the place that we grew so attached to in just a little over 24 hours. On our way to the airport, our driver had a tire pop over the airport. With a flight to catch in a few hours, we were panicked and decided to call the lodge to see if they had any accommodations available to take us to the airport. Not even 10 minutes later, Willi Jacobs, the owner of Ukutula picked us up and drove us the hour and a half - 2 hours to the airport himself. We had never experienced this level of service and dedication to their visitors before in our lives. Willi and his team had went beyond the call of duty during our whole stay, this was beyond anything we could have ever asked for.||||Ukutula may be advertised as a 4 star lodge, but this is a 10 star in our eyes. The service and intimacy that we experienced here was once in a lifetime. I believe that anyone visiting South Africa should have the Ukutula experience as we are blessed to have it. We will be back again, and I surely hope anyone reading this review goes to experience the magic and wonder that Ukutula provides. Again a big thank you to Willi, Nicole, and all the other staff at Ukutula. Our trip to Africa is one we will never forget thanks...

Overpriced, Misleading, and Underwhelming – A Thoroughly Disappointing Experience

At the time of booking, we were told that normal cars could not travel the road to the farm and that a high-clearance vehicle would be required. When I asked about transport options, I was given the contact number of a courier company that could collect and deliver us to the farm. I was quoted R4000 for the round trip from Pretoria — which immediately raised red flags and felt like false representation of the road conditions to sell a transport package.

To verify this claim, I drove to the farm the weekend before our booking. While the road was undeniably in poor condition — riddled with countless potholes — I was able to complete the trip in my own car with slow and careful driving. The road was far from ideal, but it was absolutely passable without a high-clearance vehicle. We were clearly misled.

We were also told that the Saturday group would consist of 15 people, and since we prefer smaller groups, I booked for a weekday instead.

On the day of our visit, my wife and I left work early at 10am to ensure we’d be on time for our 2pm appointment, knowing that late arrival would result in forfeiting our booking and payment. After battling through stop-and-go roadworks and the pothole-ridden tar road, we arrived an hour early. We were ushered to a waiting area and promised fruit juice refreshments — a small but welcome gesture after the long drive. However, after waiting for half an hour, we had to go ask where the juice was. As we took our first sips, we were immediately called to begin the carnivore tour.

We had booked Package 3, which combines the Guided Predator Tour (Package 1) and the Lion Enrichment Walk (Package 2). The standalone prices were R750 and R1200 respectively, but we paid R1600 per person for the combined package — supposedly a discounted rate from R1950.

The Guided Predator Tour was extremely underwhelming. It featured only five animal species, no cubs, and lasted just 35 minutes, far short of the advertised 2 hours. The guide was excellent and patient, which was one of the few positives, but the experience itself did not justify the cost.

The Lion Enrichment Walk, advertised as a relaxed one-hour experience at a leisurely pace, turned out to be a rushed 30-minute walk from 4:20pm to 4:50pm. The guide recited facts in a monotone manner, making the walk feel more like a scripted photo-op than a meaningful wildlife encounter — just enough for tourists to grab some pictures and videos. Don’t expect a small group either; they pack in as many people as possible to clearly maximize income.

In total, we received just 1 hour of actual tour time, despite paying for a 3-hour experience. This is a blatant rip-off.

Final Opinion:

Ukutula Lodge is clearly a tourist trap focused on maximizing revenue at the expense of quality, transparency, and value for money. South Africa has many similar centres that cater to lions and other carnivores — many of which offer far better experiences, ethical practices, and are located at more accessible venues. Ukutula sadly did not live up to its promises.

I will not...

Our guide at Ukutula told us to visit Ukutula to make up our own minds about this place - and this is what I did. If this lodge would only offer educational tours, cheetah interactions and lion walks with adult lions, I would not criticise them. Nevertheless, the greenwashing that is done at this place is nasty and embarrassing. The owner apparently invested R6 million into their research center for artificial inseminations etc. apparently for conservation purposes to inseminate wild lionesses with sperm of "genetically superior lions". Now, we are not at a stage, where the genetic pool of wild lions is too small and also where does the money for investing such large sums come from? Certainly not from conservation. They probably sell their genetic material to other breeders to create beautiful lions (that are large and have big manes) just to be shot by hunters. The worst thing about Ukutula is that they offer cub interactions with juvenile lions. The 2 lion cubs that I saw where bought from other breeders, meaning that they support that business. This is NOT conservation!!! And when asked where they will end up, they say, the lions will stay on the facility. But now the maths doesn't add up. Having several cubs at least twice a year would amount to much more lions than they have at Ukutula. So, they do sell them and who knows where those lions then end up. The employees were dodging my critical questions and they are manipulating you by saying: we will tell you anything and show you how transparent we are! When I saw the research center on a Saturday, 2 volunteers were sitting behind microscopes, acting as if they are writing down things. Now that was just absolutely ridiculous and anyone, who has a bit of a brain, will see that this was as fake as one can be. It is a shame that Ukutula lost the opportunity to be a good and ethical wildlife sanctuary. Also, the enclosures of leopards, servals, hyenas and caracals were a joke - they were very small and poorly equipped. Why did the R6 million not go into the animal's welfare? Because it doesn't generate a profit.. The animals in general look in good condition and shape though. So, I do believe that they take good care of the ones that stay on the farm, but as long as cub interactions are offered you cannot call yourself a conservation center. You have so much potential to be better! I mean the whole place is beautiful and the staff is good, but if you love animals, your heart will break when you visit Ukutula.. Once South Africa prohibits the breeding of captive lions, you are forced to become better and more ethical, so I am hoping for...