Aquila Collection Head Office

Our tour guide (Trevor) was one of a kind. Really great interactive experience. We managed to see Elephants, Rhinos, Hippos, Zebras, Giraffes and the mighty lion in their natural habitat. We actually got a couple meters away from the male lion. The location is scenic and great for photos, even before you start the safari in the main complex. The buffet lunch was very good. Arrive early so you avoid queuing as it gets quite busy when everyone goes to fill up their plate. No need for hiking shoes or anything, you will mostly be on the safari truck with a quick stop for refreshments.

My fiancè and I had a great time in Aquila! Excellent service, food and accommodation. You can see the Big 5 close by and it's a beautiful experience. Highly recommend! We visit Aquila every year and never disappoints us. Beautiful game reserve.

Great safari drive, friendly staff especially the ladies ay the buffet, Osborne the porter and Zaid our safari ranger. Rooms were clean and of great standard... unfortunately the food let's down the whole beautiful experience. For an all inclusive price the food is as best mediocre bordering depressing. Bland and minimal variety... I kept expecting better at the next meal that dis not come. Assumed also that basic drinks like cola, water and juice would be inclusive but none of the drinks were which was a surprise cost... it's a great place so advise that food situation is sorted... read a few reviews and ot seems to be coming up a lot so should be taken note of.

I don't usually leave online reviews, but I enjoyed my time here so much that I thought I should. Would very highly recommend. I booked a one night stay in a luxury cottage, which included three meals (pay for drinks) and two game drives. I had a late arrival, and the staff were very helpful with reshuffling my itinerary so that I could get both of the included game drives in during my stay.The accommodations are definitely rustic, but I don't go on a safari in Africa expecting my accommodations to look like the inside of Buckingham Palace. I think the 4 star rating is earned by the quality of the service and the amenities. My cottage did have an outdoor shower, it was winter when I went, and I had absolutely no issues showering outside in winter at the break of dawn and sustaining an appropriate body temperature. Kind of the same principle as visiting hot springs in Iceland; the water is hot, even if the air is cold...Indeed, if you object to having an outdoor shower, just don't book a room with an outdoor shower.The food is included in your stay and is served buffet-style. It's good, and there's lots of it. Not like the kind of fancy fare you would get in Constantia or the Waterfront in Capetown, but very edible. If you order drinks, it can sometimes take a minute to get your bill -- but that seems to be my experience in most of South Africa, not just this facility.As for the drives, I did one at dawn and one at mid-day, which was a slight variation from the usual itinerary of one afternoon/sunset and one morning drive. The staff were attentive enough that the driver noticed after the sunrise drive that I had not been on the previous day's afternoon drive and made sure to tell me about drives I could go on instead so that I could experience the full tour, which I thought was very nice.The sunrise drive is shorter and does not include all the sights. The mid-day/late morning drive was the full experience. I saw zebra, springbok, eland, and lions on the sunrise drive and all those as well as giraffe, elephants, rhinos, ostrich, hippos, and all kinds of birds in the mid-morning. Yes, the lions are in a separate enclosure within the reserve, for good reasons which are explained on the tour, but the rest of the animals are free-roaming. The lion enclosure is very large and you drive through it. I did not have any expectation that I would be seeing these animals as a part of an intact and functioning greater ecosystem; I think if you're looking for that, you should go to Kruger or Kgalagadi or Serengeti, which are large enough to actually support that. This, though, was a great opportunity to see these animals in their native environment in a fairly short period of time and not contained within artificial exhibits as they would be in a zoo. The lions are fed because they are not allowed to hunt the game, and the grazers are supplemented with hay likely because the amount of vegetation on the property wouldn't otherwise sustainably support the herds.As far as I can tell--and I did try to do some research--Aquila is also a reputable reserve that does not breed its large predators and does not participate in cub petting, lion walks, or canned hunting. Their lions are rescues from the captive breeding industry and are on the reserve because they are unfit to exist in the wild. This was a big part of my choice to come here over other facilities.I also spent a day at the spa for a massage, and it very much met my expectations for a 4 star facility. Out of the spas I've been to, I'd rank this one's facilities second only to my local Ritz Carlton for both the quality of the service and the amenities available.

It’s a great place. Nature is perfect

Booked a 3 night stay with 3 kids under 12. They were bored by day 2. Very little for them to do other than mini golf. Wifi was very bad, no TV, no signal.Food was bland had to have every food item dished on your behalf due to covid so only 5 guests served at a time. Yet one could make their own toast and tea.No room cleaning service due to covid, waited hours for towels.There was a clear lack of management presence. The staff was friendly.Checked out a day early.Game drive was fantastic

The safari itself is more like a zoo than an authentic Kruger experience. The lions are caged off and the environment is very controlled and predictable. The buffet food was mediocre. I thought The lounge and pool were nice, until I saw multiple roaches in the bar area. Then the next day the roaches were spotted in the bread in the buffet. It was a lot. It’s was gross. It made me lose my appetite (obviously) and it made me feel gross. I wish I could erase these memories :(

Very disappointing visit and don't think its worth the money. Don't think you will ever see the big five as one of the species has not been seen in 7 years and would have expected a better stocked reserve. It is the small things that matter like not having enough coffee for all people at the end of the game drive and told sorry just is what it is to no power in our room on our return and having to go to reception to ask this to be fixed and told we know about it but did not fix. The food was not the greatest, serving area very disorganised with not enough plates bowels ect on hand at all time, and as far as the service goes not the best seemed were were bothering for asking for a cup off coffee. As a first time visitor it was to commercial and reception staff were more worried about chatting to each other than the guest not what I am used to from a 4 star facility and felt like I was been a bother. Our room was out dated and need some maintaince and wood supplied for our indoor fire was mostly green so it smoked out the room. Overall not a great experience and not worth the money as a hard working SA citizen ,support local they say mmmm. On the positive side our game drive guide was very good and certainly tried his best to make it a nice experience until no coffee. When leaving you are generally asked if you had enjoyed your stay but to no avail was not asked just presented with the drinks bill and then on your way. Quite sad.

Long story short, do NOT leave any of your valuable in the room while you were at the game drive. When you are back you may have lost a few bills from your wallet. (I did) but they don't take all of it because then you will understand immediately...And in these game drive time periods makes it %100 sure you won't come back to your room. Very easy time to do anything. Other than that it is an okay place if you want to lose some. Oh and they do check the cameras but there are 4 rooms in the same entrance that the cameras see and magically they say the staff went to other room not yours...