Jackalberry Ridge By Dream Resorts — Hotel in Nkomazi

We stayed during our trip in the Kruger National Park in Tamboti tented camp and we loved that, so we thought it would be lovely to book a tent during our stay in Marloth. We are truely happy we stayed only one night. It was horrible.||||The reception times are a bit odd, but maybe they have their reasons for it. We arrived at 16:50 and the reception was closed at 16:30. It is really close to Kruger and in winter the gate close at 18:30 so people who visit the main attraction in the area will never meet someone at the reception. This is a strange choice in our opinion, but it wasn't the worst. On the board was a print with a description to our tent and where we could find the key. Note that the gate was open and litteraly anyone could go to the board and check out where new tourists are checking in. Marloth has a safety issue, that is generally known, and we noticed it when we entered Marloth itself, the security lacks. Strange when you think about the recent incident... but oke. We got to our tent and we were stunned. This was not what we booked, or at least, not what we expected. In the description was stated that it was a luxury tent with a bathroom and kitchen. Perfect if you want the experience of a tent, but don't want to go camping. However, this tent was placed on a little building with the bathroom and the kitchen inside. Nothing like the pictures on Tripadvisor or on their own website. Now we still had to go outside the tent to use the bathroom. We did not like the accomodation, that was clear. However there was so much more. The lights outside were broken, a light inside was broken, the door of a cabinet was broken (due to the heavy wind we had that night it kep slamming), there was litter all over the place outside, the seat of one of the chairs was ripped, the velcro in the tent was mostly gone which made it nearly impossible to close a window, the pool was litteraly black. The most disgusting was the bathroom. We come to the bush often and we love insects and we know that the summer time is bug time. We don't care, we adore them. However, this bathroom was covered in lots and lots (think of 30-40) dead house flies. No other insects, just house flies. The tent itself was flimsy. It did not feel safe at all. To make things even worse: when we got back from the restaurant (which was lovely) there was a man on the porch of the reception. He was observing the area. We thought: ah finally someone from this company! We greeted him and waved. Well he was definitely not a part of the Jackalberry Ridge team. The gate was open and anyone could get in. If you feel like someone who doesn't belong there is there anyway and you sleep in a flimsy tent ánd we read in the welcoming instructions that Jackalberry Ridge is not responsible for anything during your stay: well that is just a horrible feeling.||||In the morning we finally met someone at the desk. She was nice, but we had a horrible night, we had an appointment and we were mad about the whole situation so we left as soon as we could. ||||We chose this accomodation based on the great reviews of others, but I guess they have stayed in a different tent, because we go to the bush a lot, we don't have high standards, but we wouldn't wish this kind of accomodation to anyone. For us:...

Jackalberry offers 21 glamping sites. We stayed at an 8 person site no.10 and cannot fault the accommodation. The family we were with stayed in the ground level tent with en-suite bathroom, and we had the upstairs tent above the well equipped kitchen with large fridge/freezer, hob, microwave, toaster, kettle and airfryer and 2nd bathroom and a seating area. There is also a lapa with a large table and chairs and a small private plunge pool next to a braai pit.

The rooms of the tents are extremely spacious with ceiling fans and a maid comes each day to make the beds, clean the kitchen and bathrooms. Also a maintenance man cleans the braai.

Throughout each day, we were visited by Bush Buck, Kudu, Impala and Warthogs, of which some were brave enough to be hand fed. Travelling around Morloth Park to the fence and river, we encountered Giraffe and Zebra too. At the fence on the Kruger side, we saw elephants, hippos, buffalo, giraffe, buck, and crocodile.

If going out for the day, then you must ensure that everything is put away and doors locked as we came back and baboons had opened the outdoor fridge and took a few items, and they are known to open doors to rooms.

The couple of supermarkets that are close by are small and offer only essentials really, not a huge choice if you want to cook something a bit more exciting.

There is a pub restaurant called The Giraffe that offers a good menu that is a short drive away.

Overall, it was a lovely stay in comfortable accommodation and was made special by the daily...

Our first time in South Africa and our first time glamping - both exceeded our expectations. Excellent, comfortable, and spotlessly clean accommodation with all the amenities required to self cater, including an excellent braai area and outside sinks to clean up afterwards. Good “green” credentials, with the only recycling bins I saw in our time in SA and good quality toiletries (I’m converted to the brilliant shampoo bar!). Nice touches like the separate table area with mirror and hairdryer and bright overhead lights, plus the bonus choice of both a bathroom shower and an outdoor shower, which both had good water pressure. Cleaning and gardening staff are thorough, very good at their jobs, smiling and friendly, Animals come right up to the tents - beware the monkeys and baboons that can open unlocked kitchen doors. We made use of the plunge pool and the sun loungers, and were treated to a visit by kudu, mongoose and some noisy warthogs who disturbed our tranquil afternoon, but we have some great photos and memories as a result! Lots of other animals, on other days, as listed in an earlier review. There is something magical about this place. Visit if you can; I certainly...