We returned to Amanzi Lodge after a five year break and loved it just as much. Cathy and Simon are wonderful hosts (we were a bit apprehensive as we were looking forward to seeing Helen again) but their knowledge on the local area is extensive and they are just lovely people. Our room (3) has a fabulous large balcony looking out over the lagoon towards the heads and is just stunning - especially now it has a second bathroom with huge shower added on. Beautiful, peaceful location with bikes and canoes to borrow - but you do need to drive to get to the main area of restaurants on the waterfront in Knysna town. Two restaurants within walking distance on Leisure Isle are both excellent though for your non-driving evenings out. Don't even think of staying anywhere else in Knysna!

We were sold on this place the second we entered our room. What do I say about a view that's beautiful blue lagoon by day and wide beach by night?! We canoed by day in the same place we walked across at night. Wonderful room with 2 bathrooms, (one of which had two showers in the same cubicle!) which we just loved! Simon and Cathy were brilliant and it was really a pleasure staying with them. Simon's amazing if you know you're cricket, you can spend hours talking to him about it :)
Do listen to to their recommendations about Knysna and around, they're spot on.
And honestly, don't stay anywhere else, they have everything you'd want from a top class hotel.

My wife and I traveled to Knysna (as part of our Honeymoon) after a very busy week of tourism in Cape Town and chose Amanzi as our quiet getaway sight-unseen. We chose it based on the reviews we found here on TripAdvisor and we could not have been happier about our choice.

We booked the Garden Room for our stay, as we had just splashed out in Cape Town and all of the rooms at Amanzi looked nice enough. It was a wonderful surprise to arrive at Amanzi and find that we had been upgraded to one of the most beautiful rooms on the property. Our room had a spacious balcony that overlooked The Heads, an incredibly comfortable bed and a bathroom which had shutters that opened up to the bedroom, so you could bathe and take in the gorgeous sunsets.

The style and décor at Amanzi are perfectly suited to the Leisure Isle location - it's elegant, yet beachy. Quaint, but roomy and comfortable. The managers, Simon and Cathy, are a wonderful couple and were there to answer all of our questions and make recommendations for us. They were very warm, personable and helpful. They were the perfect hosts and we enjoyed their conversation, as well as all of their recommendations.

They also serve a killer breakfast each morning and the property is extremely well-maintained, clean and ideally situated only a few km from the city centre. We took bikes out each day (for free) and journeyed 20 minutes into town to walk around to all of the charming shops, cafés and restaurants Knysna has to offer.

After a full day, we would venture back to our little oasis at Amanzi for sundowners and to relax. In our whirlwind 3-week tour of South Africa, including Jo'burg and Cape Town, I'm tempted to say that Knysna was my favorite spot, largely due to Amanzi and its wonderful staff. If we ever return to Knysna, we'll be sure to stay at Amanzi.

The hosts are helpful and resourceful. They went out their way to make sure we had all the info we needed. Our room over looked the Lagoon which is bath water warm, you can borrow their canoes, bikes and other bits of kit. based on Leisure Island you are 3Km away from Kynsna it self however i was grateful as it was far more beautiful than Knysna itself- which is hard to beleive as its stunning too.

The whole lodge had a nautical feel to it with modern interior design to the highest quality. The breakfast was perfect and accomadated my tricky diet.