So we arrive after having been at Belvedere River lodge which is rated 4 stars and thinking that this 5 Stars establishment would "wow" us as the 4 star Belvedere River lodge was amazing.

We walk in and are greeted by the polite faces of the Lodge Staff whom are very happy to see us. we are shown to our rooms and then head out for the day. We are given keys on departure and told that we will have to open the lodge when we arrive back from our day out.

We arrive back from a whole day excursion to find the place empty and no lights on. After scrambling around to find light switches and controls for the air conditioners as It's almost 30 degrees in the house we eventually head to our rooms and settle down to start unpacking,

I headed into my bathroom to find a sink, small shower and toilet. The bathroom was the size of a six foot prison cell and when stepping up to my basin I could not lift my arms as I was now stuck between the glass of the shower and the wall. After having to fetch my own soap as there was no hand soap I found that there weren't hand towels either!

The shower looked as though it needed a good clean. The door to the bathroom did not close properly and the light was far from bright enough to see yourself properly in the mirror.

After seeing this i headed back into my room to check out what other interesting amenities I had the use of. After finding out that I had a bar fridge honesty menu but no "Bar Fridge" I decided that it wasn't the end of the world as I was sure everyone else's rooms would be perfect and I would simply just ask to move rooms.

Well I was wrong!

I walk into my girlfriends room which is next door to mine and find that she has her 'Bar Fridge' but no and towels or hand soap either. She has two robes that look like they would fall apart whilst putting them on as they are so old and withered. Thinking that I may just be looking for problems as my room was so putrid, I walk into her bathroom. Her bathroom is at least 3 times bigger than mine and has a Shower, Basin, Toilet and a Bath!

So where is my bath? ( I'm not paying any less than her and her mother).

Oh and lets not forget the tiles missing on the wall above the door to walk back into the bedroom. Theres at least 5 tiles missing and plain plaster showing in the bathroom.

The air conditioners in the lounge do not work apart from one of them. The one in the kitchen does not work either. Try cooking at the stove with 30 degrees heat and no air conditioner and a fan that is so weak that your hand waving past your face would make you cooler.
There were no drying up clothes or washing clothes except for a hand dispenser of dishwashing liquid and a plate washing brush.

We wake up to find yet again that there is no one in the house to help me with any questions I may have. Come 8.30am and the staff arrive. Both very polite and happy. Breakfast was supposed to be ready by 9am and well we sat down at 9:30am which normally wouldn't have been the end of the world but we were looking to drive into the Kruger early for some game viewing before the mid-day heat!

We left for the Kruger and ask the staff to please have breakfast ready at 7am the following morning and were given a reply of a "maybe" which just isn't good enough when you have a drive from Malalane to Johannesburg and you have to be in time for your flight.

We arrive back from the Kruger to find our "hand-towels' all neatly packed on the couch in front of the TV in the lounge.

The house is a sauna and once again there is no-one here, what a surprise!

Oh wait, there is a security guard standing outside but am I expected to go ask the Security guard to help me turn on the air-conditioner? I thought that was why I was staying and paying for a 5 star establishment!

As a whole,
The food that we did get was really good!

The cleaning and kitchen staff were very polite ( a whole two of them! )

The views are amazing.

The bed on which I was supposed to sleep sounded like it was at least a hundred years old and had been passed from generation to generation. As I rolled in the night, my girlfriend next door could hear me! To say I had 4 hours of sleep would be pushing it! Never mind the backache!

The Bathroom that I got was pathetically small!

The Establishment is beautiful but there is no one around to help with anything!

There is another TV in the fourth room but it does not work and is simply forms part of the decor.

This is not what I'd expect from a 5 star rated tourism board establishment.

This thatched establishment was well kept with a lovely garden. The rooms were clean and my room had a queen sized bed. There was a hospitality bar with and coffee however there was no place to plug the kettle in – an unfortunate oversight! Should you want to boil the kettle however you could move it to your dressing table – not an ideal location for a steaming kettle.
The floors very very slippery and my daughter and I slipped several times. The loose carpets and mats were not secured and this was not safe, you had to walk carefully in your room.

I asked to meet the owner when I arrived as there was a discrepancy with what we had been charged. He did not have credit card facilities and used another establishment's facilities that he claimed was a sister lodge. It was not in fact a sister lodge at all as I spoke to them to enquire about being overcharged. He was on holiday. When I called him he was very polite but uninterested in assisting until he got back from holiday. He claimed to not remember what we had been charged and claimed not to remember much about our booking, he stated that he did not have my details with him. I found this very strange as he had sms'd me in the morning to confirm my booking. If he did not have my details, how did he sms me? He insisted that he attend to it when he got bak from holiday and was not interested in resolving the matter with me over the phone. He stated that I could have been overcharged die to having paid by credit card. It was a disappointing and unprofessional start to our stay.

There was a very friendly cleaner who gave me a key to the front door however her English was not very good so communication was very difficult.
I wanted a key for my bedroom however she could not provide me with one. There was a safe in our room however she had the master key. We had to take our valuables with us every day when we went out which was most inconvenient. It would have been preferable if there had been the owner of the establishment to have been available to discuss this. He did not answer any more of my calls or sms's.

Once we arrived back we notices that there were no hand towels in our bathroom, nor was there any soap. I had been so looking forward to a refreshing shower, however there was not a bar of soap to be found. Again I called the owner to assist however he did not respond to my sms's nor did he take my calls.

No internet facilities
No TV in the bedroom
No one available to give suggestions regarding the surrounding area. There were a few pamphlets suggesting limited activities. We went to Belvedere around the corner and the owner kindly gave us several options and suggestions, none of which were available from Khandizwe.

After dinner, we relaxed on the coach in the lounge, I was unfortunately bitten by something several times while sitting there. It was not mosquitos however…not sure what it was.

Value for money: in my view, there were many other places to stay within walking distance of this place that were far more reasonable. There is a lovely place called Belvedere that is also on the River near by, the service and hospitality was superb and it cost far less.

5 stars require a representative to be contactable 7 days a week as well as an onsite representative - there was no one available by phone or sms after lunch. Prior to that there was a cleaning lady.


Khandizwe River Lodge is overpriced for the offering and is by no means a 5 star establishment by a far stretch of the imagination!

Outstanding location....service and definitely worth the dollar bills. being left alone yet being taken care off is a wonderful constrast. Have already decided that this is definitely a place we would visit again. Thanks yet again

Choose Khandizwe for your stay near Kruger Park, you won't be disappointed. It's a beautiful lodge with spacious bedrooms and a view to die for. The first morning of our stay, we found a hippo grazing on the river banks. A few hours later a flock of elephants crossed the river and we got to see them from very close. It's like staying inside of Kruger park, but only better (cause it's cheaper and there are no other tourists around disturbing you.)
The ladies of the house (Elsie and Sipiwe) are very kind and helpful.
You can cook your own meals in the kitchen (and buy stuff in the nearby Spar.)
All was perfect at Khandizwe. The only thing not being perfect was us having to leave on our 5th day. We would've preferred staying longer! So try to stay at least 3 to 4 nights: you'll surely need this time to visit Kruger and to enjoy the lodge.