My wife and I visited Selati Camp first followed by Earth Lodge. When approaching Earth Lodge it looks as though you are stopping by an innocuous hill in bush. You walk down a winding pathway into the hill and an amazing lodge awaits through the doors. Whereas Selati Camp has a bit of a rustic feel, Earth Lodge is all elegance. It really feels like they plopped a Four Season's presidential suite in the middle of the African bush. Absolutely beautiful and luxurious.

The staff was pleasant but not particularly engaging. This is really just in comparison to the incredibly friendly and accomodating staff at Selati Camp. Earth Lodge came off as a bit stuffy in comparison.

Overall I would probably do the exact same trip (splitting time between Selati Camp and Earth Lodge). The experiences are different enough that it feels like it is two different vacations.

We visited Earth Lodge at the beginning of November for 4 days and I cried during the entire flight to the next reserve when we had to bid farewell. Earth Lodge is forever etched in our hearts and minds. it is THE BEST PLACE on this planet.

Your personal guide is waiting for you when you land at the air strip and she/he knows who you are. The drive is short to the front door where the great manager and staff are positioned to greet you. ("Boss! the plane!"...It was just like that!)You sit for a warm orientation by Zulch, the manager, and then are escorted to your suite which is really your own house. We were greeted by an elephant in our backyard as we entered our lodge. (I think they paid him in fruit for this showing.) :-) The suite is huge, modern and beautifully decorated with interesting appointments. The living area calms your weary mind...The bathroom/indoor shower and soup bowl tub room is AMAZING and huge. The outdoor shower and plunge pool are completely private and I loved being out there watching over my section of Bushveld....Everything is clean and crisp and they bend over backwards to keep you comfortable. There are unusual treats, plenty of things to drink and the even provide you with the correct electrical plug.

The safari drives are outstanding. Our guide, Brett, and our tracker, Patrick, became friends instantly. Keep in mind that we did go to another reserve after Sabi Sabi so we can do a comparison...The Land Rover is the best vehicle for these long tours, so if you have a bad back, this is your place. Brett and Patrick were extremely knowledgeable, caring, and gave 200% to get us to the wildlife while teaching us everything they know. We saw things we never thought we would see and we had a blast getting to them. Lions, kudos, water buffalo, black belly bustards, spotted hyenas, bush buck, zebras and the leopard....Memories of a lifetime. Brett took us on a private walk where we learned about the bush on a smaller level. The walk ended at the water hole where huge black catfish were mating and the resident hippo got our adrenaline flowing....We still miss Patrick and Brett who always kept us safe and gave us coffee and wine in the bush.

I do not like massages. Don't touch me please.....I had 2 massages (you have to try the Runga!), one long aromatic soak in the huge spa tub, and a complete body scrub by the lady of the spa, Manager Ashleigh. All the spa technicians are gifted and personable and I really felt comfortable being treated. All the pain mended away and my skin felt like silk. So, now, I don't like massages except at Earth Lodge Armani. I should have had that last massage before I left! the lotions and creams are remarkable. if you can handle the weight of a few tubes, take some home because you cannot get them in the US yet!

Someone said that they do not give you enough food. if that is true, I do not know how I gained 6 pounds in 4 days. The food is outstanding. I still long for breakfast after the safari. There is everything between eggs and fruit, pancakes and oatmeal, and cheese to bacon. Throw in some muffins, nuts, dried fruit and granola. Lunch has wonderful choices from normal American fare to vegetarian healthy. (I admit we did not go often because we were still full from breakfast.) Dinner was superb!!!!! We had several chefs during our visit and we could not decide who we liked best. We were given several choices of appetizers,entrees and desserts very night. Some dishes were exotic and I liked them the best. The good wine flowed and the company was as divine as the food. Our guide ate with us very night so we hear even more about his exciting adventures as we ate.

Would we go back? Tomorrow! I am still hoping for a job offer, guys! We rate Earth Lodge a 10 out of 5 and we miss you. Thank you for the trip of a lifetime!

My wife and I had 3 nights here in early November 2011. It is quite different to the other game lodges we have stayed at. On arrival there are no buildings to be seen, entry is gained by going down a ramp and through a set of double doors. Reception is more akin to a hotel than a lodge. It was an extremely hot (45degC) afternoon when we arrived and unfortunately we were not offered a welcome drink, not even a glass of water - a sad omission.

All the buildings are constructed to resemble adobe or mud-hut but in my opinion just looked like 1970s concrete, decorative and sculptural use of wood throughout helps lift the ambience. The guest rooms are the best we've stayed in on safari (concrete look aside) and are beautifully appointed and are very large. The huge bed was extremely comfortable, there is a large comfortable sofa and a well stocked mini-bar. Each room has it's own WiFi router for internet access.

Outside, each room has it's own patio with plunge pool with excellent seats and sun loungers. Due to the way the rooms are arranged, each patio is completely private with a view of the bush. Simply excellent. Each room is also equipped with a pair of binoculars - very useful.

The public areas of the lodge are more hotel-like than we would like but are nice enough but in no way outstanding. Breakfast and lunch are served in a semi-open cafe-like area, the food was good as was the service. Dinner was excellent, we ate with the other guests in our Land Rover who, fortunately were very good company, an Australian honeymoon couple and two American ladies. Our ranger ate with us on every evening, the Aussie couple were given a surprise private dinner on their final evening - they told us this was disappointing as they would have preferred to eat with the rest of us on their final dinner.

The main reason for our visit was, of course, the game drives of which we had six. The Land Rovers were configured for 6 passengers so are not crowded. The game viewings we had were mostly superb - particularly the lion pride we saw on several occasions. However I must say a word about our ranger (senior ranger I think) who I will not name. He told us he didn't want to be a ranger for much longer - he didn't need, to it was obvious. He was knowledgeable, as they all are, but he was unenthusiastic and indifferent towards the guests - he couldn't be bothered to make himself heard when describing what we were viewing. We had three early morning drives (5.30am starts) , on the first two, no tea or coffee were served and on the third we did stop for tea - my wife and I were each give a large steel mug into which was poured an inch of tea - we couldn't believe it. Sundowners were served during the evening drives.

We did see some great sights - including a baby rhino suckling it's mother, the rest of the big five and others.

We enjoyed our stay at Earth Lodge - just not thoroughly. Of the three game lodges we have stayed at in South Africa, Earth Lodge is the most luxurious but our experience was tarnished by an indifferent ranger and it's too hotel-like environs.

I want to start off by saying this review is a prospective of comparing very high end rooms to this one. The suite is enormous very clean. Furniture is tasteful and well kept. The walls are covered in a mud/straw treatment. The décor is interesting. There is a bar/kitchenette with a frig. stocked with varies beverages. There is a den/office with internet connection. They do a lovely job of lighting many tea-lights in the room on one of your night stays. I have a few things that I would like to see improved. There are only sheer drapes in the bedroom. If you want to sleep past sunrise its next to impossible unless you are not bothered with bright light in the morning. There is a two person shower and one of the showers heads did not work on our stay. The room includes a private jeep but on our stay we ended up getting pulled into a trip to drop off another guest which ended up taking one hour that I would have preferred relaxing in the suite. A small issue we had was they do an outdoor group dinner in a confined space with a dirt floor. After ordering your food there is an authentic dance show that is performed very close to the long banquet table. The dancers are very active jumping about and shuffling their feet. This in turn creates a great deal of dust. Several of us could taste the dirt in our mouths which wouldn’t have been so bad but we were sitting to eat. I would suggest they wet the dirt in the dance area or pave the area. Lastly I would suggest anyone considering a room and resort in this price range to look into Vumbura Plains Camp in Botswana which was a much better experience overall.