Ezulwini Game Lodge — Hotel in The Big Five False Bay Local Municipality

If I could give Ezulwini 100 stars, I would! I was lucky enough to win this safari trip at Ezulwini, and I knew the first day that this was going to be my favorite trip of all time. Fran was incredibly helpful with my planning and answered questions, some more than once, to make sure I was very well-prepared for the trip. She made everything very easy when we were en route, and everything worked seamlessly. Nicola was our driver from Hoedspruit to River Lodge, and she was sooooo friendly and informational. On arrival at the lodge, there were Sue and Glory to welcome us with a tequila sunrise and get us settled into the most luxurious rondavel. At our gourmet lunch, the first of many meals prepared buy the indescribable chefs, we met the other guests, and our wonderful experience was under way. After lunch, we were off for our first game drive, and it wasn't minutes before we were into a herd of elephants and some giraffes. Hector and Richard, with over 40 years of experience between them, never failed to show us the best of the animals up close and personal, and we saw the big five by the end of the next morning. I could write an entire essay about this experience. From the three days at River Lodge to the next three at Billy's, where we met the very fun Knox, Frans and Conrade, the entire trip was first class all the way. Ange, Craig and the entire staff of housekeepers, hosts, chefs, drivers and spotters are beyond friendly and experts at providing the best hospitality, service and amazing experiences in the bush. I definitely plan to return!...

The first night's sleep was as one would expect from a stunning and well-maintained establishment that it is. The second night on going to bed late night we found that the 'Topper (Mattress combiner)' that was on the bed was removed without informing us. The main bed mattress was not ample to support our bodies and within a half an hour of trying to sleep we were really hip sore. I removed the sleeper couch mattress and placed it on top of the bedroom mattress which was then similar to the night before and we could comfortably sleep. On discussing it with the office manager the following morning, I was told that the 'Topper' should not have been there at all which is a bit of a concern as the permanent mattress is not sufficient to sleep on. We were in room 22. Aside from the bed issue, we will definitely go there again in a heartbeat, it is one of the most beautiful places I have been to in a long time and I travel...

Nous avons passé 2 nuits dans ce lodge rustique, dans un bungalow en bois. Cet endroit pourrait être sympa mais il est très mal situé (30 mn de route de l’entrée la plus poche de la réserve d’hluhluwe, 15 mn de la ville, 1 h 20 du centre ville de St Lucia ...). Bref, il n’y a rien à faire à proximité et peu (aucun ?) d’organisateurs d’activité peuvent venir vous chercher sur place. Et il faut absolument prévoir un téléphone car l’ouverture de la porte d’accès à la propriété s’obtient en composant un n° local : nul ! Quand au coté réserve, il y a quelques herbivores mais pas énormément et on ne peut pas faire le tour de la réserve sans 4x4.||||Niveau prestation, le wifi est payant, le repas du soir (à éviter, il vaut mieux de faire un dîner dans le logement qui dispose de quelques équipements) et le petit déjeuné sont très basiques et il n’est pas question de bénéficier d’un breakfast en cas d’early Check out (par exemple si on souhaite se rendre à la porte du parc d’Hluhluwe pour un safari comme ce fut notre cas). ||||Quand aux activités proposées, la structure propose de vous emmener faire un safari 4x4 de 3 h aller retour à Hluhluwe mais le 4x4 dispose de 4 places passager et il faut payer les 4 places au prix fort (plus cher qu’un game drive organisé par Hluhluwe) pour bénéficier du service : manque de pot nous étions 3 dont un enfant... quand à la piscine, il s’agit d’une pataugeoire peu engageante. ||||Pour le reste, la literie n’est pas bonne, les couchages ne sont pas tous équipés de moustiquaires, les portes ne sont pas parfaitement jointives et on a eu droit à la visite d’un scorpion dans la chambre qui s’est caché dans une chaussure (catastrophe évitée par chance). Mais bon, la présence de scorpions fait partie des charmes de l’Afrique. ||||Enfin, pour être complet, la structure reçoit des groupes qui aiment chanter en plein air au coin du feu ... Notre bungalow était situé loin de la structure principale donc on a pas été gêné mais en résumé, on n’y...