The friendly staff and excellent service from the staff

Did not like? Really?Everything was above our expectations

Die Villa bietet das perfekte Safari Erlebnis für eine Familie/Freundesgruppe, die sich gut versteht. Man ist ganz alleine, allerdings mit einem Team, das sich hervorragend um einen kümmert. Bongani und Bali finden alle Tiere (3/5 im eigenen Gebiet mit, Elefanten in Manyaleti und nur selten den Leopard). Das Essen ist hervorragend, aber zu viel … Service, Housekeeping lassen keine Wünsche offen. Zum Spa sind es 20 min mit dem Bus … wird aber alles organisiert.

Everything was really nice. Our host was very good at communicating and showing us the Big Five.

The decor was beautiful, very tasteful and in keeping with the safari theme. The tracker and our guide were very knowledgeable of the area and as such, we were lucky enough to see all of the Big 5. Gym facilities looked great, sadly we didn't have time to utilise. Staff were friendly and helpful, and our welcome was lovely with a drink pre-prepared. I find this a difficult review to write as the staff were so friendly and tried hard, which made it difficult to complain where it is not up to standard.

Booked in 2020 and had to re-arrange following covid. I informed them we were coming for our honeymoon, and we wanted to be allocated the honeymoon suite with the private terrace and eating area looking out over the landscape, which was the same price as the other superior suite. At the time of booking this was called 'Xihloni' also known as suite '8'. However, upon arrival we found that whilst we had been allocated the Xohloni, it had been moved to Suite 7... which was not the suite we had longingly waited for. This was a huge disappointment; we booked AM Lodge specifically after falling in love with that room. Another couple were in Suite 8, so no joy. There were other issues during our stay: Food was not good - I appreciate the awards this place has received, and this played a part in why I booked it, but the food was shocking and more in line with 3*. Poor quality, incomplete, overcooked and often cold. Broccoli was old, hence they cut off most of the head. I am unsure if this was perhaps due to it being early in the season for them (October) perhaps they did not have their usual chefs in? Either way .... it was not acceptable, and we actually skipped a few meals because of this. Communication wasn't great. We would be told various different times when trying to organise safari trips, wake-up calls etc. It was confusing. The staff were so lovely, knowledgeable and friendly but it was certainly more of a 'ask and we'll answer ' sort of establishment, which is not what you would expect of 5* Luxury, I would expect to be told information about the animals and area etc. This goes for lodge staff as well, we were told when we arrived our fridge was empty because until they know what we like, they can't stock up. This however remained the situation and if we ever wanted a drink; water, wine, etc - we had to call the front desk, ask and wait for it to be delivered.