Mkuze Falls Game Lodge — Hotel in uPhongolo Local Municipality

There was good and bad. The rooms are very dated but are spacious and 2 nicely laid out mattresses for a family of 4 without it being cramped. Lovely balcony overlooking the falls and stunning view. The bathroom was very dirty with residue of dirt lying on the toilet, bath, basins, handwash dispenser and a decorative cup with the same dead bugs in it throughout our stay. On our first morning, my daughter forgot her toothbrush in the bathroom. The cleaner put her toothbrush head down into the cup full of dead bugs. The same dirt on the basins from previous guests was visible throughout our stay. Nothing was done either after complaining. The bathroom has a very old bath, toilet and basins inside, offering a lovely shower and plunge pool outside. Lots of fun during the day, however not ideal in the wilderness for everyone if you prefer to take a night shower, rather than bath, after your game drive as you might not know what encounter you might have especially without a light by the shower itself. They need to at least consider an addition of a shower to the bathtub inside. The ice bucket was also very dirty in the room. The breakfast was fair but you feel very rushed to finish as the waitress is impatient if you take your time. She gave me the impression that she wants you done within 40 min. They don't cater with enough food for all the guests at breakfast so if you choose to shower after your game drive before breakfast, I'm afraid you won't find the entire spread. The game ranger was quite rude and arrogant on arrival but warmed up a bit thereafter. The game tracker was extremely pleasant. The game drives are outstanding in that you get very close unbelievable encounters with the animals - very worth it. The ranger's knowledge was reasonable but nothing out of the ordinary without attention to details of smaller insects and animals, which we experienced on other game drives elsewhere. The ranger and tracker seem to enjoy more social time on the drives rather than attention to guests. The high teas and dinners were very good. However, service for dinner is slow with only 2 waiters for all the guests, sometimes forgetting to bring some items. I noticed a lot of chipped and mismatched crockery as well despite it being a 5 star lodge. The biggest disappointment was the non compliance with mandatory Government Covid 19 Regulations. The receptionist and cleaning/porter staff greet you with a mask and sanitiser on arrival and that was it. They don't wear their masks at other times. Only one waiter had his mask on and that too, not always. The rest of the staff do not wear masks and do not enforce mask wearing by guests either in public areas and on game drives. Use of sanitiser is also not mandatory although available outside the bar and restaurant should you require. Excellent in that they change towels twice a day and supply more than sufficient toiletries. Poor catering for vegetarians on game drives even where they know you're the only ones viewing despite information about dietary requirements! Overall a...

My group of 5 friends absolutely LOVED this place. If you're still debating about reserving, book it now. ||||The rooms were traditional in style, immaculate, elegant and luxurious, from the beautiful netting draped over the huge king-sized beds, to the marble bathroom and outdoor shower, to the turn-down service and chocolates left nightly on the pillows. The honeymoon suite was especially spacious and lovely, with a living room space and its own wide back balcony over looking the falls. ALL rooms have a view and the sounds of the impressive waterfalls below. And the cabins are air-conditioned with individual remote controls, so the temperature will be set to your own comfort level, with or without the use of the ceiling fans in each room. ||||The food was absolutely gourmet level, top rate. The talented chef, Chef Wesley Maistry, who cooked for us absolutely knows what he's doing in the kitchen. Creative and delicious dinners were served with personalized menus printed awaiting us, and each of them delighted us over our 3-night stay. ||||There is a separate fully-stocked bar with a bartender on stay, in an area big enough and separate to the dining room to enjoy at times other than meals. There is also a well-appointed common space to lounge in for high tea or between meals, in addition to the pool area, vast balcony that overlooks the falls.||||The staff was super helpful and our ranger, Sandile, was an absolute pleasure to be around. Always eager to please, quick with a joke, and so very knowledgeable about how to identify and track all of the animals, he made our stay that much more special. We had fun with him on every drive and snack break, and he did all that he could to make it enjoyable for us.||||I had a massage at the spa and it was very enjoyable. "Precious" was the massage therapist, and she had truly gifted hands, although I got the only time slot I could take, a mere 30 mins. I wished I could have had more time with her.||||We saw most of the animals we had hoped to, although recent rains caused high grass growth in which some could hide. Herds of some types of gazelles grazed right next to the main path to the cabin, daily. The reserve is big enough to cover different terrain daily, and the guides do communicate with each other to relay and share animal sightings. ||||Overall, it was a top-rated stay and I would...

An incredible luxury bush experience with amazing sightings and the friendliest, most efficient and helpful Mkuze team. We highly recommend Mkuze Falls to everyone! ||Game Drives: Sandile is an expert guide and his extensive knowledge on every animal, bird, tree, etc is remarkable. I'd highly recommend asking for Sandile as your guide. He has a lovely personality and is attentive and considerate to each guest. He really made our bush experience so very interesting, fun and exceptional. He tracked each animal with dedicated perseverance and we were amazed each time at every sighting. See pictures attached. Sandile is outstanding as a guide and as a person and we are so happy to have met him.||Booking: Our booking process with friendly Fezile was very easy and she kept in contact for days before the trip to ensure we would have all we needed. And we did have everything and more once we arrived at Mkuze which we greatly appreciated. Her friendly manner and the biggest smile each time we saw her was so welcoming. Sihle was also so kind and it was sad to say goodbye as they felt like friends.||Facilities: What a stunning place Mzuke remains to be! This is our 3rd visit and there have been lovely renovations done which make meals and free time so much more relaxing. The decked areas are a great spot for animal watching and it's from here that we spotted a hyena, crocodile and hippos! Our chalets are so comfy and fully equipped with all we needed. I appreciate the turndown of our beds at night as we hopped straight into bed after big dinners. The towels, pillows and linen are exceptional as is the view from our deck of the falls. Room 5 is the best!||Food: We were fully catered for during every meal despite each of us having different dietary requirements (vegan, vegetarian and lean meat eater). The kitchen team headed by Mandla created each dish with masterful flair and in a personalised and health conscious way which we highly appreciated. The dining team of Nelson, Nellie and Fortune made every meal so much better as they were always available and responsive to anything we required. Nelson is highly knowledgeable on wines and gins so definitely let him create drinks for you. ||Mkuze Falls is beautiful in facilities and in the experience it offers. Well done to a great team and the kindest hearts... We...