Marataba Safari Lodge

My wife and I spent 3 nights here. We had high expectations since the lodge is steeply priced. This brings me to the next point- Tourist trap!! Local don’t stay here often- perhaps of the price or they know better. The game drives are good. Marnus is a great ranger and has plenty knowledge. The morning drives should start 5:30 am and be back at 8:30 NOT 10am like most mornings when the sun is punishing you. The positives were staff is amazing! Thabang and Tumi are super heroes! Their service were great and cannot fault them! Rooms were comfortable- no views however. Nice beds! No pillow choice. This must be implemented!Coffee in rooms are shocking for a lodge of this standard/ surely Nespresso machines are now a days the new standard. Instant coffee is a slap in my face. Amenities are average - nothing special! The pool was never really available due to maintenance- there isn’t a lot to do besides game drives- The spa is operated by 1 person only so no couples messages are possible. The bar at the lodge is really only a coffee station with few bottles of alcohol. The worst was the food and possible the reason why we went. Breakfast was good but that is where it ended. Lunch menu was a disaster- pulled pork bagels? Really- no pork on the bagel. Salads are disappointing.. !! Why attempt French dinning in the bush?? Dinner was a no gone all the nights. Never had a nice beef fillet or beefy meal. No African cuisine like melktert, koeksisters, paptert. The chef should be fired. The venison was tough Most times. Unfortunately the boma night that rain out but all the food was cold . This was served inside the dining area but sides and meat was cold- No plan B was in place. Quality of meat again bad- wors, lamb chop, list goes on.. A lodge of this standard should up their game by 50%. I normally try to see the best in any place but unfortunately this is a bridge too for Marataba Safari. It has potential but start in the kitchen and bar first.

The most friendly and professional base for big game drives in a beautiful setting in wooded savannah with the Waterberg mountains as backdrop. Food and accomodation excellent, staff friendly and helpful and the bush rangers superb. Impala on the lodge lawn and elephants just down the track!

This was our first safari experience so my views are absolute and not relative. It was absolutely fantastic. Marataba firstly is very convenient to get it from Jo’burg. Easy drive on well maintained roads. The reserve is private, part of the Marakele National Park. On arrival we were massively impressed by how well the lodge blended into the environment whilst also being totally luxurious. The tents are basically luxury hotel rooms with a canvas roof- in theory this is a great blend though it was windy when we were there and I’d advise earplugs if you are a light sleeper as gets very flappy. But getting to the important bit. We had plenty of great interactions on our drives with elephants, rhinos (white and black), giraffe, water buffalo, wildebeasts and much more. Mbongeni our ranger/guide was charming and informative. He made every effort to make each drive fruitful and distinct and the ranger team were super-co-ordinated to ensure everyone got to see any animals that were found. In terms of big cats- we saw lions three of our four days- all up close, no cheetah and leopard and I would guess if that’s your priority there are better. The lodge staff were very professional and eager to help. A massive plus is the food- though the amount of it became slightly terrifying as I lurched from one snack, to high tea, to sundowners to dinner etc. I suspect this level of consumption was designed for people who were very active between meals but it was all too good to turn down. Highlight was the cakes but that’s a little like picking a favourite child- feels wrong and I loved it all. An observation as a now blooded safari goer - and one agreed by my 16 year old daughter and her friend- is that they would not have got as much out of it when younger and there is a lot of slow time looking for animals etc. great if you are looking to relax and enjoy view but younger folks may struggle unless they have developed a passion for nature and are chilled. Marataba has a kids club but that feels- whilst totally getting why and sure it’s awesome- to somewhat miss the point.

Having been to Matataba Mountain lodge the last two Decembers with family and having loved it, when faced with CT or the Bush at short notice for Chris**as for just two of us, one quick call to Natalie at More secured us a three night stay at Marataba Safari Lodge. We were keen to try something different but still experience the absolute beauty of the Marataba property, its mountains, its staff and its abundant wildlife. Safari lodge is magic, the rooms as good as you can get, every member of team were superb, their efforts over Chris**as were wonderful. We are More collection fans across their portfolio and we left Safari Lodge even "more" so : )

What a truly special place. Everyone and everything was so wonderful, value for money verses other lodges we’ve been to also exceptional. Our tour guide Lauren was fantastic, all the staff highly attentive and exceptional. We’ve been to some amazing places around the world and this was top notch. Thank you all

Marataba is top notch! The surroundings are stunning but the staff really made the difference. We have never felt more welcome at any place. Our Ranger lauren was exceptional good in spotting Wild and very pleasant to be around. The service staff made sure that everything was taken care of. Having breakfast while lots of animals passing by for a drink at the waterhole. Together with that dramatic view on the Waterberg Mountains. We stayed for 4 nights and loved it thoroughly.

A complete bush experience. MOre you cannot demand from the staff or nature. We have been to many premium lodges and whilst we were in-house we were thinking of what they can offer that would make the experience better and we were unable to come up with any suggestions. Marataba is true value for money.. We left fully satisfied. Had a fabulous time... just to short...

What can I say The whole deal is fantastic We have been to many lodges but this was the best The staff tami and kg Rabada fantastic, our guide Matt, truly memorable what knowledge this guy has, food fantastic the treehouse bonkers but fun and the game drives were brilliant I will recommend this place till I leave this Earth Thank you to you all

A truly mind blowing experience. Do not complete your bucket list until you’ve been here. Just back from a 3 night stay at Marataba where the staff were amazing, lodges had all amenities even with a well stocked bar for your realaxing end of evening. 2 drives a day plus a walk were full of animal sightings and we were amazed by how close we were to these wonderful creatures. Our guide Mbongeni was extremely knowledgeable about the animals and environment and was really enthusiastic, a real asset to the team. The venue in the shade of The water berg mountain range is incredible and often enhanced by grazing animals. It is impossible to describe just how wonderful it is to be so close to nature. Together with all the wonderful staff this is an exceptional place to visit. On our last evening we went on a boat safari which was mind blowing to see a pod of Hippos bobbing up and down in the water . Dreams can come true