One of the best places I’ve ever stayed. Everyone treated us so well and our game drives were out of this world. 100% recommended.

We booked this based on the excellent reviews and it exceeded every expectation. The staff were fantastic and every aspect of the accommodation was amazing. The game drives and bush walks were beyond what we could have hoped for and we will definitely be returning. It was a truly magical holiday!

Nothing

Room had lovely decor and comfortable bed. Food was delicious with good presentation. We visited six years ago and fell in love with Elephant Plains. The facilities and experience was as wonderful now as before. Animals plentiful in the area.

Roads getting to the lodge are full of potholes for miles, stressful driving. Our game driver was hard to understand and his stories were rambling and generalized, the only minor disappointment from our previous visit.

It had been a a lot of rain the last period before we arrived. So much that we were not sure it would be possible to go on gamedrives!? But during our stay, there where no more rain, and we got much more then what we could hope for! A huge thanks to Chris- our tracker, and Nicholas- our guide, to make the drives (and walkes) some of the greatest drives we've experienced! Very knowledgeable in all animals, birds and plants. Elephant Plains is a place we felt at home, in a very relaxed atmosphere! Great food, great accommodation and a lovely staff!

Everybody was very helpful and knowledgeable

The very very poor road conditions to get to Gowrie Gate

WOW WOW WOW!! I wish I could give one million stars. I’m already thinking of when I can come back. The place is absolutely perfect, the lodge is modern, clean, beautiful, in the perfect spot. I saw elephants and rhino right from the pool. The monkeys were adorable too. The staff were amazing, they made the experience so personalized, and really paid extra attention to every detail, even my many food allergies. The food was amazing, and I’m an extremely picky eater. Drinks were awesome. And of course most importantly the drives were awesome!! Doctor and Colbert went above and beyond to find us every animal we wanted to see. I was blown away at how close we got to the animals, especially the lions. Doctor is extremely knowledgeable and experienced in the bush. I stayed in the upgraded rooms and it was unbelievable. The other smaller rooms looked a bit dated, but the type I stayed in couldn’t have been better. The only thing I could say would be an improvement is if they warned people how long the drive in is. On gps it will say it’s a short time but it was actually over 2 hours longer than it said due to poor road quality. There weren’t many signs on the route, so it felt like I was completely lost many times, you really have to track the kms on each road listed by the map that they send. Overal I can’t believe it’s only listed as 4 stars, because it’s a 5 for sure. I don’t want to go anywhere else in SA now!

The staff was great, everyone from Nicholas and Dumi our ranger and tracker to the reception, kitchen, bar man… everyone was excellent! Food and drinks were amazing, game drives were incredible. I have only good things to say about this lodge.

great staff and amazing game drives

-

Our stay was fantastic! Safaries with Deniz and Chris were real fun with lots of animals which we could not find in Kruger during self drive.

We stayed for a single night and managed to see all the big 5. Dylan (our guide) was great, He definitely did the extra mile to make sure we all are satisfied and happy with our game drives.

Our fourth time visiting Elephant Plains which has many returning guests. Lovely staff. Relaxing atmosphere. Excellent position in the Sabi Sands and traversing rights with neighboring properties. If you want to see leopards this is the place! Excellent game drives. Not cheap, but still the best value in the Sabi Sands. Would return again.

Rondavels are showing there age where as Suites where renovated around 4 years ago.

The staff is great, without any exception. The game drives are unforgettable; we see a lot of wild animals. The food was excellent.

nothing

Beautiful facility. Comfy beds, Too much delicious food. Amazing game drives with Kayleigh(sp?). Loved the off road explorations to get close to animals

I would recommend a better map with photos of the route approaching Gowrie gate. It would be very reassuring to know that you are on the correct route. As a solo traveler, still amazed I found the place

Wonderful stay at EP, the drives in particular were amazing. Staff very friendly, food fantastic.

nothing

Location. Sabi Sands never disappoints .

The rangers could have been more interactive and of an evening an escort back to the room (for security purposes) would have been appreciated.

10/10 recommend! Best value in Sabi Sans - amazing property (especially the suites which were huge and had stunning views), the safari guides were great and guaranteed access to the best animal sightseeing. Sabi Sans is apparently unique in that the animals are used to the vehicles and therefore don't mind when you're near them.

Vegetarian meals could have been better, as I often just got extra sides instead of a real entree. Also, definitely not a big deal, but in the suites, the bathroom/shower don't have full enclosure (e.g. some room at the top of each door to the main area) We drove from the Skukuza rest camp, and getting there via dirt roads and villages felt pretty sketchy!

honestly, everything was perfect during our stay. the staff were very friendly and hospitable, the safari guides were exceptional and really made the trip. the food was restaurant quality every day, cannot fault a thing

both excellent but roads to location exceptionally poor Ranger very adventureous.

We had an amazing stay! The food was absolutely delicious (and portions are HUGE), and rooms stylish and comfortable. Will never forget the experience of having a shower overlooking the watering hole. And the game drives were just out of this world.

We loved everything about our stay.

Very good setting and view over the riverbed.

Not all game drives were acceptable. On the last drive, though it was drizzling for 2 hours on end, we enjoyed the atmosphere in the outdoors in a very different way. Sadly this quiet experience had been spoiled by an overbearing guide chatting endlessly to his tracker. We had done countless drives on game farms previously and know “the rules and behaviour “ on these game drives. The usual rule is not to talk unneccessary only for pointing out sightings and answering questions. This continuing chattering in a foreign language for us at least, was extremely irritating. When trying to ask the guide a question I had difficulty in catching his attention as he was talking continuosly. The earpiece in his ear could not get the blame as there were no radio conversations at that time with other vehicles.And I was sitting right behind him!

Everything. The meals are delicious, the staff is very friendly. And excellent game drives, with a lot of animals and information

There is nothing I didn't like

Great all-inclusive experience. Delicious food and big portions. Excellent game drives. Luxury accommodation (had some issues, though). Awesome staff! Just be prepared for a challenging drive to the property (it took about 1,5h from the Orpen Gate and the road is hell :)

The room I got (Rhino luxury villa) had a gap under the bathroom outside door which let a lot of insects in when the light was on in the evening - and the staff couldn't do much about it.

The common areas are beautiful and so are the cabins, which are very well appointed, extremely friendly staff, personal attention and focus on detail. The game drives and the bush walk were very good, even saw leopards and lions. We enjoyed the hearty breakfast and outstanding dinner served outdoors around and open fire.

All was very good.