Bonamanzi Game Reserve — Hotel in The Big Five False Bay Local Municipality

My wife and I went there on a camping trip, Bonamanzi reception area is refreshing and well maintained, nice and clean and it's got a very pleasant inviting feel about it, the staff are friendly and helpful, we stayed at the standard campsite which was clean and well maintained as a matter of interest all the campsites and accommodation were well maintained of what we saw when we drove around. However there are 2 pools 1 at reception very clean and the 2nd by the campsite the water was clear but every day I went to the pool it was never brushed or the leaves and dead bugs were never removed. The Ablution block at our campsite which there are 6 campsites in a horse shoe shape that share this ablution block, was very clean be as it may that it's dated but everything worked well, so no need to complain except for one thing the water is brownish so although the showers work well you never feel clean after a shower, NB Please don't drink the water at allll. Please note that there was a lone Hyena that came through the campsite scavenging for food so don't leave food stuff out at night, it was really scary but very cool peeping out of our tent at night looking at it roam around before it wondered off into the bush. The overall game viewing was a bit disappointing whilst we were there which brings me to what I would say was my biggest disappointment at Bonamanzi reserve and most probably the big game changer as to whether We will go back to Bonamanzi and that are the Roads and the total lack of signage. Let me start with the roads... If you don't have a 4WD vehicle especially in the rainy season You will struggle, we got a Ford Tourneo Bus which has got good ground clearance and we struggled in the softish sand, you get 2 types of sand 1 is a clay type that is hard when dry but when wet you definitely don't want to be in it even 4x4 vehicles struggle in this when wet. The 2nd is almost like a beach sand and in certain areas it is a bit thick so we got stuck but were able to reverse and go a different route which brings me to my next point signage which is non existent. My advice is that you drop yourself a pin location of where you are staying so that you can use this to get back and pray you have signal, we on Vodacom which was fine most of the time. In my opinion don't try this reserve in a normal passenger vehicle as they charge R1000.00 recovery. So my disappointment was rerouting because of some bad roads then not knowing at all where you are so you spend your time trying to figure out where you are and stressing not to get stuck so you don't enjoy just relaxing and spending time looking for animals. Apparently they are working on it and I really hope they do because this could be such a beautiful park to drive around in. Before I forget if you do walk around which you are allowed to do please note there are ticks around so take...

Bonamanzi is a beautiful Reserve set in lovely savannahs with amazing animal life including the Big 4. The landscaping around the reception area has been done very nicely and the chalets there looked quite nice.

Unfortunately, our experience of the facilities was pretty awful. The game drive was done in a RWD vehicle without 4x4 so we got stuck half way through in a puddle and had to wait an hour for a tractor to pull us out. The guide was young and inexperienced and really did not know much about the animals and had not been trained properly.

Our accommodation was honestly a joke. We were "upgraded" from a Family Tree House to the Tree Lodge which to be honest is a complete dump despite a lovely view. It was built around the 1990s and it is clear that absolutely nothing has been done to it since then. They charge R6500/night for it and I would not be happy paying a quarter of that. The wooden frame of the structure is creaking and nails stick out everywhere and it looks dangerous in places. Half the lights do not work. The WiFi doesn't work. The electrics are shocking. The doorframes don't fit. The braai has no lights and a dirty grid which is also probably 30 years old. There are random fenced off bits with utilities where no effort is made to make it inviting or anything other than ugly. The bathrooms are a disgrace with the showers made of ageing and cracked plastic and shower doors which don't fit. The kitchen cupboards don't close and are falling apart.

It is clear that this place has a major issue with poor management who have utterly neglected the places where we stayed and will not spend any money on upgrades. I am afraid that on the basis of our experience, this place won't be here in 5-10 years' time without some serious investment and a change of senior management.

Very disappointed as there are some really great game lodges in this area which offer much more and way better value.

Maybe it's OK if you camp or stay close to the reception area as the park is really lovely but I doubt it as they got the basics so...

We stayed in the tents, which have excellent facilities. The rooms/tents are clean, the beds are comfortable with quality sheets, the kitchen is well-equipped with everything needed, the hot tub works perfectly and is very enjoyable, and the view is beautiful. (we had a resident rat in one of our 3 tents, but I guess that is normal as you are in the middle of the bush).||However, while we understand and respect that the property has strict rules—which we fully support—the way the staff enforces them can be unnecessarily harsh. Our group was always respectful and compliant with the rules, but we were disappointed by the rude attitude of the staff, especially since we were never disrespectful in return.||We experienced two incidents:||One of our friends briefly had his child on his lap while driving slowly to the tent (a one-minute drive within the property). The owner/director approached him aggressively, yelling that this was against the rules and warning that next time he would be asked to leave. Our friend did not argue, apologized immediately, and assured it wouldn’t happen again.||Later that same day, we played some music during dinner around 7 PM. The owner came directly to our tent, entered without knocking or announcing himself, and told us to turn the music off, stating that music is not allowed at any time. He added, “If you had read the rules and conditions, you would have known by now!”||We believe rules can be enforced respectfully and professionally. While the place itself is lovely and well-maintained, the attitude of the staff unfortunately affected our overall experience.||Important note: the tents are only clean every 4 days, so we need to was our dishes, clena the floor, do the beds etc (this is specified on the website but it case...