Esther Ruempol

Amazing guides, and activities

This lodge was truly impressive. Their service excellent, and I love that they took every opportunity to surprise and exceed our expectations

Rooms were good, breakfast was amazing

Enjoyable experience. We had a very spacious and clean room, staff was helpful and kind. Breakfast was tasty and has a good selection. The location is a little bit out of town, but easy to get a taxi.

This was an okay stay: nothing special, nothing terrible. The rooms are a little outdated, and our shower and tap water was brown. Staff seems a little uninterested, but in the end helpful. Food was okay. In conclusion: good for one night.

A very relaxing, beautiful stay. The room was spacious and clean. We had a babbler room right on the river bank, so great views too! The buffet dinner is good - quality food and variation. Breakfast was maybe a little limited/small. The staff is super helpful and accommodating. We did the Moremi game drive with them, and our guide NT was the best guide we had on the whole trip. He was incredibly kind, extremely knowledgeable and just overall a fun human to spend the day with.

We were sad to be only staying one night! Such a wonderful guesthouse: great staff, good food and beautiful room!

Definitely the most gorgeous stay of our trip. You feel like it's just you and the Waterberg Plateau when you're in your room/chalet. You can't see anything or anyone else. We also loved the big windows to maximize the views. Staff was super attentive and kind. We did a horseback ride with Nelson - such a great guide. Not only did he give a lot of explanation about the area, he also taught us how to ride better. We had dinner at the lodge (a set menu), and it was probably one of our favorite dinners on the trip. They also were very accommodating with dietary restrictions.

Not much to be excited about, except the waterhole. The rooms need renovated, the restaurant needs better chefs, and the property needs better staff. We arrived (early!) for the afternoon game drive that was booked for us, only to get told it was overbooked and we couldn't do it. All they offered was a spot on the next afternoon's game drive. It wasn't until we contacted our travel agent that they came up with a better offer to compensate for their error. We were "lucky" to be staying two nights, but if we only had one night, we would have been out of luck! It's nice to be able to stay inside the park, and seeing the animals at the waterhole (especially at night) is amazing, but the rest is just bad.

Beautiful environment and fun lay-out of the buildings. Our room was a little small, but it still had everything we needed. The dinner buffet was good - variation and good quality food. We didn't have lunch included, so paid for it on the spot (there aren't really any lunch options nearby) and thought that was a little expensive. We did the ephemeral river drive with them - knowledgeable, attentive guide and overall fun experience.

Such a cute place! Great location, within walking distance from the center. Staff was extremely helpful, answering all of our questions and helping with bookings. Clean and spacious room - one of our faves on the trip.

Quite a distance from the national park, but the lodge is still in a beautiful location, so you don't even realize it. Staff is wonderful, and the food is great. It was our favorite buffet food of the trip. The lodge offers (self-guided) hiking trails and guided activities. We did the scorpion/stargazing tour - very cool!

Authentic home stay in a remote village in Lesotho.

I highly recommend staying at this hotel. The hospitality is some of the best I've ever received. The staff is very warm and welcoming.

Excellent. Rustic and expensive but how they manage to maintain the offer in such challenging conditions is astonishing.

Very expensive but very very good and astonishing for where it is located.

Don’t buy the inclusive dinner for travellers. It’s a poor second to the full menu which is not expensive in any event.

About as good as an airport hotel can be (which are so often deeply disappointing)

Very nice resort on the Indian Ocean. Spectacular location. Staff were lovely. Very friendly and accommodating. Unfortunately can't remember the name of a few special staff. Food met expectations. We upgraded to all inclusive - were a little confused as the all inclusive had exclusions. Evening entertainment was very good. Room/cabin on the beach was very nice. The food at the Indian restaurant was spectacular.

The lodge was not fenced so wildlife such as monkeys and antelope could wander through which was fun. Location on a river was great. Waiter, Daniel took us under his wing. Service was excellent. Buffet food was good. Jane at the front desk was very helpful. Internet service could be improved. Our driver Sam was great taking us on game drives. Extremely knowledgeable about the wildlife, very experienced guide and it showed. We were very fortunate to have him as our private tour guide for our 5 days in Kenya. We would love to go back to Mara Simba.

Thanks to Sam, our dedicated driver and guide from Nairobi to Maasi Mara, we thoroughly enjoyed our introduction here. A scenic setting with good food and accommodation that Sam made into a great introduction to Kenya safari drives. Thanks to all the helpful staff*****. The lodge seemed older compared to other accommodations?

Good for our brief overnight stay after airport arrival. Good for sleep, shower and breakfast. No time to check out other amenities. Please provide water as necessary in a liberal way - namaste.

How can a lodge in such a remote, difficult access spot get 5 stars?! Well, because of how extraordinarily service-oriented they are! Fabulous people. They cleaned our boots post gorilla-extravaganza when we would have been unable to; they went above and beyond with food, drinks and service for dinner, breakfast and bar, despite being in a rural situation. They saved my (Rosella) life with a post- gorilla trek deep tissue massage in our room - thanks 'Maria', I know that's not quite right - sorry.

We ended up being here for a whole day and night instead of a couple hours as a result of a missed flight to Bwindi and a revision of our itinerary. Scenic location with good amenities - we took advantage of the downtime and sat by the pool after walking around the site, which was under renovation. The room, the balcony, the Lake Victoria view, the restaurant and the bar were perfect. We would go back in a minute - Immaculate*, please be there to help us - you are a treasure! Ronald, you're also a rock star - thanks for your assistance with storing some luggage for us while on restricted transport - that was so helpful and kind.

Once again, we did not expect the magnitude of what we received. Superlative site for luxury stay in a scenic environment with wild animals and unique birds in their natural habitats. Four excursions were included in our two nights - a sunrise and a sunset river bird game cruise, a Falls guided walk, and a land game and bird drive. OMG! We somehow won the lottery to get Jeremiah for all 4 excursions! We benefitted from his vast knowledge, experience and attitude to safari living as well as to life in general. Thank you. The food and staff were extraordinary - so friendly and helpful and interested in their clients. The added breakfast at their associated restaurant on the gorge - wow! Luckily, or maybe not, no elephants drank from our pool while we were in it!!

Camp Shawu in Kruger was our first safari camp ever - how lucky were we to be here for our initiation into game drives and safari camp life!! The people**** wow! Steven, Sifiso, Bellinah, Harold and the fabulous cook were extraordinary beings. Steven the camp manager could not have done more to make our stay amazing - above and beyond! Sifiso was like an animal in another life with how in tune he was with so many animals in the vicinity. He was connected and knowledgeable and understood their behaviour and life - this allowed us some fascinating experiences. Thank you Bellinah:) Thank you Cook for local meats for our inaugural tries. Harold, you also are connected at a deep and spiritual level with your role - wow! We would stay anytime we could.

Sadly, it was short and sweet. The building, site, room, and furnishings were world class. Wine tasting was outstanding; recommended restaurant was superlative. Thanks to the owners for going above and beyond.

Perfect although short at one night. We would definitely go for longer. Gorgeous scenery and walks. Good welcome wine:)

Good location, helpful friendly staff, good facilities, great breakfasts. We wanted to live there!

This hotel has everything you want for a visit to Cape Town. Stunning views of Camps Bay and the Twelve Apostles, gorgeous modern rooms, delicious breakfast and lunch and amazing staff who go out of their way to help you. We will stay here again, we can't wait to go back to see more of the area! We arrived late in the evening on a Sunday and there weren’t many food options available. We ordered on Uber Eats but had some challenges getting our food. Kinearr, the night guard, was incredibly supportive and understanding. He stood in the street with me looking for the driver and helped me give instructions. When the driver never showed, he rounded up some food for us from the kitchen, peanut butter and bread. We are so grateful for his kindness. One note: there are other locations with the same address (33 Victoria Road) when looking up in Google Maps or within Uber. It would be great if that could be cleared up <3

This was a lovely place for a short visit to relax and recharge before our next adventure. The staff made us feel so welcome, the food and decor are a wonderful mix of modern and traditional elements. We loved the spa treatments, full day Panorama Tour with the incomparable David, outdoor dining and morning game walk with Jeramia. Highly recommended!

The highlight of our trip was 4 days on safari at Sabi Sands Game reserve, staying at the incredible Umkumbe Safari Lodge (Riverside) and celebrating my birthday. Our guide Michaela and tracker Moses were the best we could have hoped for. We were privileged to see lions and leopards every day, along with so many other animals up close. We have some amazing photos to share with our friends and family. On my birthday, we saw a pangolin, the best gift I have ever received! I cried happy tears. Back at the lodge, my room was beautifully decorated, the staff made me a birthday cake and sang happy birthday to me in two languages at dinner. BEST BIRTHDAY EVER!

The HYDE hotel is stunning in it's design, food at the Proud Mary restaurant and service by an excellent staff! When we arrived, Tamara and her staff had a birthday surprise for me waiting in our room: champagne, red velvet cake and balloons. They went out of their way to make the first part of our trip special. The interior design of this hotel and restaurant are just gorgeous and the rooms are spacious with all the amenities. The location is perfection. The only reason we're giving it 4 stars is because when we were checking out, the staff member asked us if we had taken a towel. Apparently they tag all their towels and we walked through the security gate with a group of people so they couldn't tell who had removed a towel. Instead of looking for the guy who went to the gym or the other people, they implied that we had stolen a towel and had it in our suitcase. This was extremely insulting and coming at the very end of our stay, it soured the entire experience. Why would we take a $10 towel when we were on vacation and was it worth it to end our otherwise great experience on a sour note?

We loved the concept of this activity, the staff was excellent and knowledgeable. However, the time of the activity was moved to earlier and we had to drive a long way in the dark to get there from Camps Bay in Cape Town. We're from Oregon and have a wonderful coastline with whales and such. We didn't see much that was any different on this tour except a small copper shark. In hindsight I would have preferred to do something else.

Beautiful place, stunning garden, views and excellent food! Don't miss it.

The highlight of our trip was 4 days on safari at Sabi Sands Game reserve, staying at the incredible Umkumbe Lodge Riverside and celebrating my birthday. Our guide Michaela and tracker Moses were the best we could have hoped for. We were privileged to see lions and leopards every day, along with so many other animals up close, we have some amazing photos to share with our friends and family. On my birthday, we saw a pangolin, the best gift I have ever received! I cried happy tears. Back at the lodge, my room was beautifully decorated, the staff made me a birthday cake and sang happy birthday to me in two languages at dinner. BEST BIRTHDAY EVER!

Our guide David was one of the best private guides we have ever had, so knowledgeable and open-minded. We had some wonderful conversations and shared information about our home as well. We visited the stunning Blyde River Canyon, Lisbon Falls, Bourke's Luck Potholes, God's Window, the Three Rondavels and had a fun lunch at the Chubby Pig. 6 stars!

I had a massage and a facial, both were excellent! Highly recommended as a relaxing treat in the middle of a long vacation.

Andrees from Drifters was so fun and knowledgeable! He took us to all the places we wanted to see, provided a lot of information and context. We visited The Apartheid Museum, Constitutional Hill and the Maboneg neighborhood. I had been reading Nelson Mandela’s autobiography Long Walk to Freedom so I was able to connect more closely with the history of South Africa. I think it is important to learn about the countries we travel to and I felt that we got a good understanding.

Our driver Isaac and guide Luguile of Lebdo’s Backpackers shared their experiences of life in the township with us. They gifted us with a real experience and connection with the history of Johannesburg and the ongoing impact of the Apartheid system. We enjoyed the delicious food and hospitality of the backpacker lodge after the journey. 6 stars!

Greeted warmly at the airport by Nokuthala and driven to our hotel by driver Roy.

Beautiful and amazing staff taking care of your every need.

Beautiful place, every and everything was great.