aha Bongani Mountain Lodge

Fantastic ride up and down the mountain with breathtaking views. Quiant village with little thatched cottages. Lovely staff, very friendly and helpful. Complementary concert of traditional African songs on the day of arrival. Animals come and go all the time, we've seen impala, bush baby and lots of monkeys.The rooms looked professionally designed. The bed in our double room was enormous, and there was a bathtub in the bedroom as well as two showers - inside and an outside one. But the wall between the toilet and the bedroom did not go all the way up to the ceiling, and it really was quite awkward - this was the only disadvantage, but the beauty of the place makes up for it.

From the time we arrived to the time we left the staff were very hospitable and attentive. Our accommodation was clean and comfortable. Having the beautiful nyala, baboons and vervet monkeys around the lodge made for good entertainment. The food was delicious and with full catering, we wanted for nothing. Our guide Simon and tracker Zakele shared a lot of useful information on each game drive. Though the terrain is mountainous, we enjoyed each bumpy ride through the reserve. Simon has a keen eye for birding and knew each and every bird spotted, which was a treat for me. Apart from seeing elephants, wildebeest, giraffes, buffalo, impala and klipspringer, a highlight was witnessing two male lions stalking down a herd of buffalo! Between game drives we enjoyed the two swimming pools. If you go without expectations of seeing the large animals, you'll have a lovely time enjoying what the lodge has to offer.

We had a fantastic week at Bongani and I can't speak highly enough of the staff we met and the experience overall. The lodge is very well set up, and the rooms were very comfortable.It was amazing to see so many wild animals close up, particularly the elephants, rhinos and giraffes. All in all it was one of the weeks that will stay with me and my family for the rest of our lives.

Absolutely incredible, one of the best hotels I've ever stayed in, the staff were extremely friendly and when they were told it was another guest and my birthday they brought out cake and the whole kitchen staff sung and danced.The room was phenomenal, literally everything I could have imagined our own hut looking out across the jungle, the bed was very comfy and you had everything you could needThe safari guides were excellent really made the experience for us, I would love to go back one day. Would highly recommend here.

The rooms are comfy, I have 3 bathing options in my room, indoor shower, outdoor shower and bathtub all in one room!The location, mountain top scenery is beautiful, the air is fresh and animals are closer to us. The catering was wonder 3 well prepared buffet meals per day.

The people were really friendly. We stayed there for safari for about a week. I liked the food, which was served inside or outside. We stayed in cabins, which was exciting for us. Unfortunatly they could have been cleaner. The animal sightings in the camp und during our drives were wonderful. During the stay we had to start early in the morning each day because of our booked program, which we enjoyed really much. A little minus was, that they provided no water bottles in the cabins during our stay. In general, we recommend the place and people!

Such amazing service and stunning views. The staff are all very good but Jabulani went out of his way to make our trip for our anniversary special. Thank you Jabulani for being so thoughtful. Simon and Wonderboy are also excellent guides. We have been on many game drives but none as exciting as the ones at Bongani Mountain Lodge

We loved Bongani 10 years ago and I'm very happy to report it's every bit as good as we remember, maybe even better.The service is top notch, food is very good and the quality of the accommodation is super. Rooms are clean, beds are comfy and the views from the lodge are spectacular, especially if you decide to soak in the beautiful pool overlooking the reserve. And the spa... Oh you have to try it out.Although Bongani is a Big 5 park, because of the mountainous terrain, it's a bit more difficult to find animals on safari. Animals are also not that prolific so when you go in a safari, your might not see a lot, but the 4x4 routes are fun and the views are just to die for.Even when the game viewing is a little scarce, your ranger will do a good job keeping you engaged. Aaron and Sandile where or two guides and they were great, especially with how patient and accommodating they were with the kids on the safari vehicle. Kudos to them!Two minor gripes that I do have:1 - Smoking is allowed on the upper deck of the lodge, which is where people also sit and eat. It's annoying to smell cigarettes when you're trying to enjoy a meal and there isn't anywhere for smokers to go where they don't stink out the rest of the guests.2 - I understand monkeys and baboons are tough to control because this is their home afterall, but the baboons in particular are quite brazen in the eating area and we watched one steal food right from guests' plates. No staff or rangers were on hand which is a little disappointing because baboons, especially, can get aggressive and cause very bad injuries.But, other than these two issues, we still love in at Bongani and we'll most certainly be back!

Good place and nice safaris. Cottages are nice and clean, you can see animals around it and also can go to the pool which has got fantastic views. Bar can be opened more time and so the souvenir shop, meals are nice, staff can be more friendly. Need to hugely improve their WiFi system.