Honeymoon Cottage, 1 Queen Bed | Exterior
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Reviews of Emdoneni Lodge

3.5 out of 5
Emdoneni Lodge
District Road 123, Bushlands, Hluhluwe, KwaZulu-Natal

Reviews

8.6

Excellent

Rating 10 - Excellent. 12 out of 24 reviews" "
Rating 8 - Good. 8 out of 24 reviews" "
Rating 6 - Okay. 3 out of 24 reviews" "
Rating 4 - Poor. 1 out of 24 reviews" "
Rating 2 - Terrible. 0 out of 24 reviews" "

8.8/10

Cleanliness

8.6/10

Staff & service

8.4/10

Property conditions & facilities

Reviews

10/10 Excellent

Karen

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Weekend getaway at Emdoneni Lodge
5 Star service excellence. The staff are all extremely helpful and only happy to assist. The rooms are clean and fully air conditioned which is much needed. The food is exquisite and well done to the chef. Wonderful experience to be up close and personal with the cheetahs and the various cat family.
Stayed 1 night in Nov 2019
Response from Emdoneni Lodge on Dec 2, 2019
Dear Karen, Such a lovely review, thank you so much for giving us 5 stars! I will portray your praise to the staff. Hope to welcome you again. Keep well

6/10 Okay

Arnaud

Liked: Cleanliness
Alright but not exceptional
THe rooms are ok -they could use a refurbishment but are fine. Beds not great. Lights are horrible. The food is really the main issue -tasteless buffet food. Breakfast is alright I guess but dinner to be avoided. The cheetah project is great though, so I would recommend doing it even if not staying.
Stayed 2 nights in Oct 2018

6/10 Okay

Verified traveler

Disliked: Cleanliness
It was an okay stay. Nothing extra ordinary. Good for bush lovers. Not for individuals that love modern lifestyle.
Stayed 2 nights in Aug 2018

10/10 Excellent

Wim, Houston, Texas

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
nice place in the middle of nature
arranged a business trip for one night and game drive in the morning, everyone was very excited about the whole program, the accommodation and the service.
Stayed 1 night in Feb 2018
Response from GM on Mar 12, 2018
Dear Wim, Thank you so much for writing this lovely review. We are so pleased that you all enjoyed your stay and had a relaxing time. All the best!

4/10 Poor

Lyn, Mexico

Liked: Staff & service
Disliked: Property conditions & facilities
False advertising of facilities
we could not touch the cheetahs as shown in their promo video. the other animals were scarce---4 cats , 1 caracol, 2 servals all behind bars---we went into the pen with the cats and could not touch. we are not allowed to see the bay cheetahs. Iffit is better for the cheetahs I am for it----JUST DO NOT ADVERTISE THAT TOUCHING IS ALLOWED.- IT WAS DISAPPOINTING and fraudulent! too much money for not enough. food was OK and staff was nice---just not what was advertised.
Stayed 2 nights in Sep 2017

8/10 Good

D

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Great Playing with the Cheetahs
A well managed establishment that pays attention to detail.

10/10 Excellent

John, US

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Ingrid the host & the staff were simply wonderful
Rustic , comfortable & peaceful in the middle of nature.

6/10 Okay

Verified traveler

Liked: Cleanliness
Disliked: Staff & service
The rooms were very well serviced and the locations is excellent for accessing that eastern coastline, Sodwana Bay, Richards Bay and St Lucia are all within an hours drive. The food is ok, it's all buffet style so some of it is dry/cold/stale. The WiFi was abysmally unreliable, it took about 30 mins to to purchase a birthday card online. The concierge/reception service was absolutely terrible. During check in she told us we could speak to her later on about tourist attractions in the area so we did "What are some of the best things to do in the area?", and the answer we got was "yes". So we probed a little deeper, "can we go whale watching?", answer "yes". "well where can we go whale watching?", "at the sea". It was painful, she took a long time to answer any question, only ever gave one word answers, and hardly looked up whilst talking.

8/10 Good

Verified traveler

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Special Place - should be higher than 3 stars
Fantastic stay. We wish we has booked more than one night. We have stayed in '4 star' guesthouse son our trip that were not as good as Emdoneni. The food and drink was very good and excellent value. The staff were all very friendly and professional and it was no problem for them to organise a very special private tour of the cat project.

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveler

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
first class lodge and staff
We stayed for 4 nights ,my lady and I had one room -double - and my the other room was occupied by her sister. Both rooms were the same and were first class. The pool area was good,the breakfast and dinner was first class.The lodge offers game drives and again these were first class.It was my lady's birthday and the staff made a cake and came out singing-wonderful.There is the cat conservancy next door which again is first class. The only down side was the Wifi. Tip drive down the road to the fuel stop and they have good and free wifi.I would stay at this lodge again and would recommend.

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveler

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Outstanding place to stay. Loved the Cheetah experience. Great to touch beautiful cats.

10/10 Excellent

Donna, Ballito South Africa

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
A once in a life time experience
Fantastic and a great experience

10/10 Excellent

Frederick

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort

10/10 Excellent

Leslie, Ashkelon

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Great stay at a Cheetah Sanctuary
I truly enjoyed my stay at Emdoneni Lodge. Upon arrival, Rebecca was most welcoming, and I immediately enjoyed the afternoon cat feeding session. Gerry was most informative about the serval, caracal, wild cats, and cheetah, and I loved seeing them so close, and being able to actually touch the cheetah. There were zebra walking the grounds, and it was a very relaxing location. Amanda, the manager, is wonderful, and extended my booking when I missed my first night after getting woefully lost. She adores the cats, and she was most helpful in every way, including when I needed a pharmacy in the area. She also arranged for me to visit the Bayete Elephant Sanctuary nearby, and find my way to my next stop. Also--the butternut squash soup was the best I ever had. Best of all, the next day,Gerry took me for a private visit with the 2 cheetah: Raine and Summer, and I was thrilled to have so much one-on-one time with them. It was a highlight of my trip.

10/10 Excellent

Eleanor, England

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Wildlife wonderland
Wonderful experience here, being taken to see the animals in rehabilitation and stroking the cheetah. Extremely professional guide, giving much information on the animals. The bedroom was small but beautifully clean and maintained. You could see zebras and antelope wandering around from the windows, and listen to the birds. The main part of the lodge, eating and lounge areas were great. Very relaxing, the food was excellent and the staff extremely attentive. Well done to the manageress who looked after us so well to make us feel welcome there. We spent the day walking the trails in there and seeing the wild animals, and the beautiful birds around.

8/10 Good

Sarah, Burlington, Vermont

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Comfortable room and great staff!!
We very much enjoyed our stay at this hotel. The chalet rooms were roomy and clean. The food and staff at this hotel are wonderful. The lodge is about a 40 minute drive from Saint Lucia and they have game drives leaving from the lodge. We also enjoyed the cat rehab tour that was free if you stay at the lodge. They even let you take picture with 2 of their Cheetah's. Fun!!!

10/10 Excellent

A Benzon, Natal South Coast

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
all in all: 10 out of 10!!!!!
it was a lovely birthday present from my wife!

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveler

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort

8/10 Good

Henrik, Lund

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Interesting cat project, great food!
The rooms are very chic in design. The beds are comfortable. However, the aircondition was not good enough to make the room cold enough. There are trees right over the cabin and nuts drop on the roof all the time, and since it is a metal roof, there is very large sound every time a nut drops and we woke from it some times. We had breakfast and dinner two nights and the food is really amazing! One night there was a great buffet and the other night a la carte where I ate a perfectly made steak, don't eat anywhere else! Breakfast includes scrambled eggs, bacon, toast, sereals etc. They have good wines for a good price. A minus that of the three desert wines that they had by glass in the menu, the two best ones weren't available. Come here for the cat experience, great service and totally amazing food! The pool looks a bit dirty so wouldn't jump in. The cheetah experience is very interesting, and you are aloud to pet cheetahs and also meet some other cats.

8/10 Good

Muriel Danilo

Liked: Staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort

8/10 Good

herbert, wien

Liked: Cleanliness
Disliked: Room comfort
there is a lot do to improve quality !!
Ingrid! She was the friendliest, kindest and most helpful highlight of our stay. And the cats. And the really good food. And the pool. The lodge is frequented by bus tours with all the downsides of large travel groups. So the lodge is not really as exclusive as you might expect from the price you pay.  The chalets are close to each other, with a lack of privacy. They are old and not too comfy. Plastic stools on the tiny concrete porch. No international plugs in the room. Internet very unstable. Highway close and a bit noisy. Some of the staff could definitely be friendlier.

10/10 Excellent

Samia, Waarder

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Uitstekend
Zeer correct en behulpzaam personeel. Veel geleerd over de 'katten' en knuffelen met de luipaarden was uiteraard onvergetelijk.

8/10 Good

Stefan, Stuttgart

Liked: Staff & service
Schon einmal einen Geparden gestreichelt?
Die Anlage ist sauber und die Angestellten sind sehr nett. Das Highlight sind die aufgezogenen Geparden, die man im Rahmen einer Tour streicheln kann. Ist schon ein lustiges Gefühl ein so große Raubkatze in einem weitläufigen Gehege zu streicheln.

8/10 Good

Verified traveler

Liked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities, room comfort