Pestana Kruger Lodge — Hotel in Nkomazi

I am a guide and operator and went to scout tourism product offerings in the Malalane area. I booked a midweek two-night stay at Pestana Kruger Lodge, but it was a horrible disappointment. On check-out I mentioned it to staff and a member of management (I assume) contacted me to for more information.||On Monday 25 November I sent her an email (no reply or receipt acknowledgement) with the following:||It took a while to get a clear indication of your establishment’s charges via email. Ironically, I resorted to email at the time, because I simply could not hear what the staff member was saying over the phone. And even then, an accurate reply took some time and effort.||Booking in was a pleasant enough experience, with very clear directions to our accommodation.||Our accommodation was satisfactory. The air-conditioner could almost keep up with the heat of the day. I want to suggest that this kind of amenity be serviced regularly to ensure its efficiency.||Although the Tourism Grading Council expects even one-star establishments to have window dressings “large enough to draw easily and completely across the width and height of the window”, the curtains did not reach the bottom of the entrance sliding door. Your establishment is in Malalane, known for its heat. Surely you would understand that the idea behind this stipulation is also climate control, not just privacy. Maybe the air-conditioner would be more efficient if you had the correct curtains installed?||The shower is a mess and has clearly not been checked on for quite some time. The Tourism Grading Council specifies that showers should provide “a strong and easily adjustable flow of water”. The shower in unit 210 does neither.||The first night's dinner was a little disappointing, but that can happen anywhere and anytime, and I wrote it off to a possible overload of guests. The beef stew was tough and the chicken had obviously been cooked too quickly. But I need to mention that the dessert table was right next to the door to the deck, and it had been a fairly hot and somewhat windy day. The cakes on display had been dried out by the time that we got to dessert.||I was informed that breakfast is served from 7:00 to 11:00 and did not think it would be necessary to rush in early. We arrived for breakfast at around 9:45, at which time the kitchen seemed to be busy with lunch preparations. My wife and I ordered eggs, and it took between 10 and 15 minutes for our respective orders to be delivered to our table. I find this perplexing, as the orders were simple and could, at best, be described as “short-order cooking”.||The fruit offering was especially disappointing: summer and winter melons (not yet ripe), some watermelon and some grapes. This is the Lowveld, home of bananas. Is this fruit offering the best we can offer our guests in the Lowveld?||On the way out after breakfast, we asked the front-desk officer for an information piece on the spa. She had taken a bite of something just as we arrived at her desk, and it took a while to understand that she was directing us to the spa. I repeated that we knew where the spa was, we wanted information or a pamphlet on the spa and its offerings. She directed us to a counter that had pamphlets on it. The spa pamphlet turned out to be a very bad colour copy.||The second night’s dinner was an absolute disgrace. The same menu as the evening before, and again the same results: tough and dried-out beef, same chicken, which I had seen being cooked before 11:00 that morning. The pumpkin (butternut) was mostly burnt. Not “caramelised” — burnt. The jacket potatoes were excellent, though. Again, the dessert table was right next to the open doors of the deck, and it had (again) been a hot day.||We arrived at 9:20 for Friday’s breakfast and it was clear that the staff had completely lost interest in any guests. There was basically no cheese left, there was no milk in sight of the cereal, and staff members were noisily packing away cutlery at the other tables. We wanted to sit at a corner table with a view of the river, but the table had already been cleared.||After complaining about the milk and cheese, staff members were very eager and attentive, but the truth is that no guest wants to fight to get service.||I have been wanting to scout locations and accommodation for upcoming tours. I am a born Lowvelder and would love to have guests spend more time here on long tours. I thought your establishment could be ideal, although I feel the pricing is not great. The location is ideal and the view from the desk around sundown is spectacular.||But I think you have been banking on location and view too much and lost interest in the rest. The food is not disappointing, it is bad. It would have been better for us to take a taxi into Malalane and to eat at the Spur. The food is much better, the service is very good, and the pricing is excellent. You charged me R380 per person for supper and you should be ashamed!||The tables do not have tablecloths. And they are needed, as the varnish on the tables are sticky.||There are no linen napkins — in a so-called four-star establishment! And there are not enough cheap paper serviettes on the table to even try to make up for that.||I will never take guests back to your establishment. If I had had guests there last week, I would have cancelled the booking and taken them somewhere else. I would have taken the financial loss, because that would be preferable to the embarrassment you would have caused me.||As a matter of fact, you did embarrass me. I brought my wife along for a “mid-week break” as a treat while I scouted. And it was an embarrassment. I could have taken her to a Formula-1 hotel and have expected mediocre service and accommodation. And saved a lot of money.||We live in the Lowveld. You could have gone to Malalane Spar and gotten fruit. With a little effort, you could have gotten avocados, pawpaw, and even litchis. But your lack of management and direction, and your staff's very apparent lack of interest, mean the guest is of secondary importance.||I do not understand why your establishment shows four stars. I have never stayed at a four-star establishment that offers so little — and what it does offer, offers it so badly. I will suggest to the Tourism Grading Council that a review should be done of your grading, it cannot be correct.||I intend to share my impressions and experience as a review on every relevant website, as I feel tourists should be warned about the atrocious offering that Pestana Kruger Lodge is. I feel it is my duty as a guide and operator, and as a proud Lowvelder.||This was — without a doubt — the worst R4 875 I have...

What a beautiful staying my Wife and I had in Pestana Kruger Lodge. We went there to celebrate our honey moon and we couldn’t have asked more then what we got. On our first day we went to the Spa which we recommend them highly, the Swedish massage and the Aromatherapy massage were amazing, the therapists are very professional and all of them are super lovely, We had 2 safaris booked, a Sunrise safari and a sunset safari, both were an amazing experience, very well coordinated and we were able to see an amazing variety of wildlife. One day after dinner we arrive in the room and had flowers and candles on the floor guiding us to our bathroom where a bath was ready for us, without any of us asking for that, was a beautiful “touch” from the team and we really appreciated it! Staff wise, amazing, always with a smile on the face and always ready and happy to help us with anything! Our last recommendation, choose one of the room with river view where you can enjoy the view with all sorts of wild life passing in front of the room and roaming across the river margin! Unforgettable! We highly recommend staying with Pestana...

What a fantastic stopover! We were route from Kruger and needed a stop over. I called in the morning and made a reservation telephonically. The gentleman was polite and helpful and when we arrived after six in the evening, they knew who we were without even having to tell them our name. We were offered a welcome drink and check in was seamless. We arrived just after sunset but had the most beautiful view over the Crocodile River and Kruger beyond. Dinner was a delicious buffet on the deck under the stars. Our room was spotless and very comfortable. Breakfast was also a buffet which we had on the deck from where we could see hippos. I even had a mimosa and a delicious orange cake with my breakfast, because it was there and I was on holiday!! The staff were excellent, very friendly and the attention to detail was outstanding. All at the sane price as a Kruger Park rest-camp bungalow and dinner and breakfast at the camp restaurant. We were tempted to stay another night so we could relax at the pool and go for a spa treatment! All in all...