Buffelsdrift Game Lodge

We love it! We will definitely come back again and recommend it to our friends. Good food, clean room, a good place to relax, and get back to nature and animals.

It could be an amazing experience but you can see that the staff are new, and probably also a little unqualified without intuition to make the guest experience enhanced. We had the coldest welcome in our whole South Africa tour, no explanation on any game activities other than a sheet of paper with the titles and price, we had to probe and question the front desk for information around timings, what to expect and where to go, which were given eventually but without a smile. It really felt like we were putting them out by being there and asking questions for the activités that we would pay extra for. Whilst we waited out the storm, we were asked if we would wait for the porter or make our own way to the room as it wasn’t far - we weren’t shown a map or location to our tent so we had no idea where to go. A simple explanation of the layout would have been appreciated and saved us all time. We don’t have highest of expectations however the basics of hospitality would include a warm welcome, a smile, and introduction to upsell their own activités (which were well worth it thanks to their amazing game drive hosts) however the front desk really did that team an injustice by lack of explanation. On top of that, the room wasn’t ready for the storm to come so there was water in the tent, which was also quite dirty already with vintage flies and it was missing some basic items such as a bottle opener for the wine and beers they provide. We asked twice at reception for a bottle opener, both times they didn’t mention they were not provided in the room, instead on the second ask they sent us to the bar, where the lovely bar man said he didn’t have one either and he opened his bottles with his ring. We were finally lended a bottle opener which was for sale in the shop… a basic if you are offering beers and wine in the room no? Overall a great location, fantastic extra activités and game drives, but really disappointing front desk with lack of information and enthusiasm for the basic requirements of the stay. We wouldn’t recommend to our friends coming to SA on this basis.

Buffelsdrift is an amazing. All the staff we interacted with were polite & helpful. A mention for Gareth who was so cheerful all of the time. Food was great with plenty of ostfich fishes on the eveninv menu.Accommodation was very clean & comfortable. Even provided ear plugs if the night time noise from the hippos kept you awake We went on the early morning meerkat safari & were rewarded with seeing the 3 two week old babies come out & play. Then at the end of an afternoon safari we saw another of the meerkat families who had 4 babies. Our guides, Sonia & Ewan, for both salaries were very knowledgeable & were happy to answer questions about the animals. Also made use of the spa & had a very relaxing neck, shoulder & back couples massage. Very relaxing. Will definitely return.

Buffelsdrift is the ultimate escape! Pieter Pretorius and his team runs this game lodge to international standards! From luxurious waterhole glamping to friendly professional and approachable staff, our experience was nothing but memorable. The oohs and aahs from visiting foreigners around us, for the delicious dishes at the restaurant, could be understood in any language! A special shout out for Haylie Coetzee, a field guide who literally walked the extra mile and climbed the extra maintain in search of the illusive cheetahs.

Stayed in a luxury tent. It was complete luxury.... Very well considered rooms with lovely amenities, comfortable and beautiful view. The staff were incredibly friendly and helpful. The restaurant food was top-notch. No complaints at all - super stay and would love to return.

Lodge is beautiful, good meals and service, but the gamedrives are rather poor. Feels like in a zoo, meerkats tour ist not worth the price.