Pondoro Game Lodge

Hotel

The first choice when it comes to a breathtaking safari experience! Great lodge and great service!

Not crowded like Sabi Sands, a staff that is welcoming and friendly, fantastic food and great guides. See the bush like a local, not a tourist.

My family and I had the most amazing experience at Pondoro! The game drives were magical, the people were very friendly, the rooms were stunning, and the food was AMAZING. Our guides Sam and Eric were so knowledgeable. Highly recommended. I just wish I could give more than five stars. Best experience of my life!

Wow. Incredible staff, food, game drives. Always less than 20 guests altogether. Staff to guest ratio is probably 2-1

Amazing. From the surroundings to the staff service and hospitality to the excellent food! The way they pamper you constantly makes you feel you’re in a special lodge. We cannot recommend it enough! — с J C Morales Davila.

Awesome game lodge! Great safari, food, staff, rooms and views love it.

If you are looking for a luxury experience, I would highly recommend this place! Not to mention the wonderful Safari’s you take twice a day! The Safari guide and tracker go out of their way to try and let you view the most beautiful, rare, and exotic animals that this national game reserve has! We truly have had a once in a lifetime experience! This has always been my wife’s bucket list item and she is experiencing it 100 times over! I also need to say that the staff here go above and beyond to ensure that you are truly taken care of like a king and queen! I could go on and on and on about the lodge, the staff, and wildlife! I will close and just say you will not regret booking your stay and Safari experience with the lovely people and this beautiful lodge!

The most amazing place we have ever stayed. Incredible service, great food (all inclusive), beautiful rooms and location, but the best is the amazing safari experience. We can’t believe how many animals we have seen, and so close! And when we see animals, there is no rush to let someone else share. We can’t recommend this place highly enough.

Absolutely amazing place. Rooms are fantastic, food is amazing and the surroundings are just incredible. The staff go above and beyond to make sure your safari experience lives up to your dreams. Don’t go anywhere else.

One of the most wonderful experiences of all my travels — 5 star rooms, baths and spas with wilderness views, beautiful rooms and Fine dining meals under the stars. Plus wilderness safaris, guided walks and picnics lead by brilliant guides where the animals are in touching distance. Miss this and you need serious therapy.

Great suites on the river and excellent food and wine. Guides and trackers were awesome. We saw all the primary animals.
Highly recommend staying here.

What an amazing experience! Every single one of the staff and trackers made our stay unforgettable. Each and everyone of our group of twelve leave having seen a lot (the big 5 in the first 24 hours and many other animals, birds and flora), having learned a lot and having been pampered. The lodge is beautiful, the rooms are each unique and the housekeeping staff make you feel welcomed every time you get back to your room with sweet notes and attention to detail. The attention to detail by the entire staff is outstanding beyond words.

I almost wish that there were more than 5 stars to check here. The intimate atmosphere of this lodge tucked in amongst the trees and overlooking the river is beyond compare. Everyone on the staff was attentive and friendly. Every single meal is absolutely delicious. If you go make sure Marius and Erick are your guides for the daily safaris. We will be back here again some day and look forward to returning. Thanks to all at Pondoro for a wonderful stay.

Every thing is wonderful. The food, service, scenery and the people.

We were here in November 2012. We had the Treelodge. It was super nice here.

Absolutely beautiful setting, great place for your love one.

Simply amazing! Cannot describe how good the experience of Pondoro was.

There are no words to describe how AMAZING this place is. The service is impeccable! We will definitely return in the future.

Everyday was an unexpected and refreshing experience. A close-knit team in Pondoro reflects the efficiency of how things are being run at the lodge. Customer service staff Licia and Raymond’s attentiveness and service to every individual guest is heartwarming. They would welcome us back to the lodge after every game drive and see that all our needs are attended to throughout our 5 days stay. Dining experience was truly tip-top. Every meal was well planned out by Lize’s team and how they managed to deliver endless surprises from the menu, transporting us to different dining locations and ambience each day. We were fed to the brim every meal both in our stomach and mind. With every game drive, we depart with excitement not knowing what we would encounter as one can never predict what Mother Nature would present you. Our guide, Julius, and tracker, Ramson, however, worked with what Mother Nature gave — and very well at that. With their wealth of knowledge and experience of the bush, apart from tracking the animals, they entertained us with their stories, trivias, safari humour and our trove of questions that we rained on them regarding the safari. We were lucky to encounter the Big 5 at least twice throughout our 8 game drives. Our advise is to stay more than 2 days to increase your chances to encounter them as the wild is always on the move.

We had a fantastic 3 night stay in Pondoro Ldoge! The lodge and the rooms are really beautiful, right on the rivers edge. We had views of elephants, giraffes, warthogs, antelope, baboons, hippos etc, all from the balcony of our room. The lodge picked us up from Hoedspruit airport which was really convenient, about an hours drive, half of which is through the game reserve. On the drive to and from the lodge we saw giraffes and sable antelopes. There are practically more staff than guests, and they make you feel like royalty. The service is amazing and the food was exceptional. So impressed. The game drives were excellent, the ranger and the spotter we had were amazing, Sam and Eric. They tracked lions, cheetahs and leopards, and found them for us! We saw the Big 5 (twice) so they gave us champagne in the evening drive drinks. They also gave us all champagne to toast a fellow guest's birthday which was super cute. Sam the ranger always positioned the car in the best spots for photos and views, and they understood the behaviours of the animals and so where best to go next to get the best view. They drove off the track into the bush, and they got out the car to track on foot. We also had a bush walk with the tracker which was amazing, right to the waters edge to see the hippos.

The place and the people. Exceptional hospitality, atmosphere and gameviewing. Would give more than five stars if I could!

I can't say enough good things about our experience at Pondoro this week. The small staff is warm and welcoming and knows you by name from the time you arrive and the whole setting is very intimate and casual but professional in every way. In addition to knowledgeable drivers and trackers for an excellent wildlife experience, there is plenty to do back at the lodge including a fantastic spa. To top it all off the cuisine is 5 star with opportunity to indulge in many of South Africa's local culinary faves. All in all a top notch experience. It was hard to leave after just 3 days.

The service, staff, guides, accommodations, and everything in between were exceptional at Pondoro Game Lodge. This was one of the best experiences I had and highly recommend a stay at this lodge. Pondoro has the largest area to roam of all the game lodges in the area (10, 000 hectares) so you have a better chance of seeing more animals. Pondoro Game Lodge is an absolute must if you are going on a South African safari.

We had an amazing time. The rides were successful, the lodging was spectacular, the food was gourmet and the staff were super friendly and really cared. Awesome to meet many new friends! They worked in my food sensitivities to every meal and really went above and beyond. Would highly recommend.

Fantastic staff, great kitchen and better facilities! Your safari experience will never be the same! Rul and Andries, the best guides ever!

Can't fault Pondoro in any way. The location is great. The staff are all great. The food is fabulous. And, most importantly, the game drives were some of the best I've ever been on.

It was a moment of my life fabulous, I am not ready to forget this is the the most beautiful lodge in the world. I would certainly return soon!

Fabulous suites — we had the Rock Suite, wonderful decor and so private, yet it felt open too, great views over the river. Staff were always friendly and helpful. Food was delicious, good varied menu each day for each of our meals. For breakfast you just need to mind the Vervet Monkeys though — they steal your muffins and toast in the blink of an eye! Tip is — eat your muffin as soon as it's presented to you. They are delicious and each day they are a different flavour. It would be as shame to lose it because of a monkey! Game viewing was excellent too, in open top vehicles. Our driver and tracker worked hard to find us the Big Five — and we were well rewarded with seeing them all. I was especially impressed with our Leopard sighting, I know how elusive these cats can be, and we were lucky to have a good number of minutes watching her. Sadly the light was too dim to get good photos, but I'll never forget it! And you really can't go past the lions too, really wonderful close experience with them so near the vehicle. Same for the elephants! Well actually all of them really. If you have the chance — do take the option to have a picnic lunch at the hide. It is a gamble as to what animals you will see, but it was worth it for us! They leave you there for a couple of hours, watching over a waterhole. On our visit we watched an elephant come to drink and have a mudbath. Then a troupe of elands arrived with their warthog friends. And finally a herd of Kudu.

Loved the friendly, professional hospitality! Would love to go back again.