Our trip to the Kruger had been effected by the intervention of Tropical Storm Freddy. Our original Lodge (Hamiltons) was impacted by the storm & closed. As luck would have it we were offered the chance to stay at Imbali instead. Stands to reason that the Location is Superb and although the 2.5 hour trip from the local airport was arduous it was interspersed with animal sightings all along the way-a safari in itself! Facilities are excellent-12 units all isolated from each other. Staff are so helpful & friendly always assuring you of their best attention.Nothing appeared too much trouble. We were immediately invited to join in with the afternoon game drive-each drive a different experience but augmented beyond the norm by the extensive knowledge displayed by your driver-Andrew. Communal meal times were a highlight with a range of options delivered in a stylish fashion. There are no critical points to dwell on as the entire undertaking is very well managed & implementation of their ethos is excellent. A marvellous highlight-totally recommended. …
Our family party of 7 plus our tour guide stayed at Imbali for 3 days in late December - the party included our grandchildren aged 17 and 11 year old twins. This safari lodge is simply stunning. The accommodation huts were very comfortable, the reception, dining and deck area of the main building were very well designed to integrate. The kitchen staff led by chef Marco, and the wait staff, were excellent and the food served up, and the choice of drinks, were of the highest quality. We were lucky to celebrate New Year's Eve at the lodge and the staff, after serving up a magnificent dinner, provided a highlight by singing and dancing for us as the old year turned over and the new year began. The cross cultural connection demonstrated on the night, between a group of African and Australian people, was an absolute highlight! The daily safaris were conducted under the expert guidance of Jay who was very passionate and knowledgeable about the animals and their conservation and provided excellent information on our daily drives through Imbali's private concession. Imbali is not cheap but the daily rate includes everything - our grandchildren will remember their Imbali experience for the rest of their lives. Highly recommended and simply the best.…
My husband and I stayed here for 2 nights. We had a wonderful stay and safari experience! All the staff were helpful and our safari guide Mark was fantastic! He truly made our first South African safari experience amazing! The food was tasty and spa massage so relaxing!
It was a full disappointment with my stay at this lodge .Starting from the transfers just old minibus with AC not working when it s 34 degrés outside noisy and shaky during 2 hours trip . The welcoming was nice , the lounge very average not at all a 5 stars , swimming pool really old scratchs in the bottom not inviting to go there . The floor and fourniture really aged and not this type of 5 stars , let s be generous 3 stars . The room was nice and clean .but the small swimming pool same state not very inviting. The food was ok , the service provided by Mary was lovely . The drives were great with Marc , excellent Ranger very friendly and highly skilled and very caring thank you Marc. The checkout as was discussed on check in due for 11 am regarding the transfer but the day of leaving 16 of December just back from the drive by 0915 am that I have to leave at 10 am !!! I had to rush my shower and breakfast taken half to be ready for 1030 am . For worsening my stay when I left the hotel I realised that was stolen 600 USD from the safety box which in 30 years of travel I never ever have had this nasty experience. The feedback of the managers of the lodge was said we are very sorry all the investigations were clear from our staff !!!! Who took this money then !!!i do not think this lodge is one a 5 stars and worsening the stay by stilling money from safe box as they have the key to open the safe box even you are putting your secret code . Unfortunately I will not recommend this lodge at all with the price paid 1200 USD for 2 nights 14 to 16 of December 2022 . My advice is do not go ! …
I have visited this establishment for the past 3 years. It just gets better with every visit. Ursula and staff just the best. Every single staff member is highly trained. It is absolutely safe!! The game drives always have something new to see. We never missed a single game drive. The food is the best!! The rooms after n long game drive is like a piece of heaven waiting for you to come and relax. And afternoons next to the pool, just the best. This is a go to place, highly recommended
The Imbali Safari Lodge is a fantastic Kruger destination. Aothough the entire staff is super friendly and the overall service is excellent, Winston, one of the main lodge servers, was a stellar example. I can't praise enough! The tiki hut style rooms are very comfortable and include a nice 4 piece bathroom, private deck with plunge pool, lounge chairs, mosquito netted king bed, coffee and a fully stocked fridge. Food is excellent with buffet style breakfast and lunch. Dinner selections are served in courses and have been delicious. Game viewing from the main deck has been great as well. I have attached just a few game pics. Wonderful to enjoy a beverage while witnessing nature's wonders. The game drives are also a great experience. Victor, our driver always greets with a friendly smile and shares a wealth of knowledge. Couldn't hope for better! Many lodge photos already posted so limiting to just game observations from the main deck and a coffee stop on a game drive. …
We had a wonderful 3 night stay at Imbali Lodge on our Honeymoon. Everything about our stay was perfect & we couldn’t have asked for a better experience. The setting with the lodge looking over a watering hole is stunning & we were lucky enough to see a herd of buffalo, baboons, a herd of elephants & a couple of solitary bull elephants at night which was a great sight. Despite the bad weather during our stay, we couldn’t have had a better time on our game drives & our guide Mark went over & above with his level of service. In total over our 6 drives we were out for over 24 hours & we were lucky enough to see the big 5, as well as Wild Dogs, Hyena, Cheetah, Warthog, Ostrich & many other things along the way. We even were lucky enough to see a White Rhino, which are very rare near the lodge, thanks to some great driving from Mark. The highlight for me personally was the amount of elephants near the lodge, as I think we were lucky enough to see over 150 different elephant, including a lot of babies which was great to see. The food at the lodge was brilliant & everything was cooked well & we had no complaints. For every meal there was a vegetarian option & my wife was very happy with the selection. Once you had finished dinner, the perfect way to end the day was sitting by the fire with a drink before going off to bed before the 5am wake up. Our room was spacious & very comfortable, with the bed being the biggest bed we’ve ever stayed in. From our outdoor seating area we managed to see some Buckbeak & Baboons, which was cool to see. The plunge pool was very cold, so we could only use this for about an hour when the temperature rose a little bit. The bath never got hot enough to use which is a shame, but no problems with the shower which has a view of the valley which was a great way to start the day. At night the staff come in & prepare your room for bed by putting down mosquito nests & leaving a chocolate on your pillow & a story for you to read. I wouldn’t have any hesitation recommending Imabli Lodge to anyone who wanted to stay in the region & it was the perfect start to our Honeymoon, so thank you to all of the staff there. We will hopefully be back!…
There was a lot I enjoyed though a few management choices that sadly impacted our over all experience. Location is excellent and food was very good. Rooms are spacious, clean and decor is stylish and in keeping with the overall experience. Sadly power shedding ( loss of power) is a SA reality during our stay was not unexpected HOWEVER magnified as the back up generator had broken down the week before - WHY management hasn't invested in purchasing a rechargeable light source for each of the 12 rooms is disappointing e.g. large butterfly torch. Instead we were left in the dark on return from our PM safari and unable to organise items for the AM Safari - 12 rechargeable lights is not a great expense considering the daily room rate !!! One of our group had a SA power adaptor however it did not fit the Imbali Lodge power sockets - despite asking multiple times we were told they didn't have any power adaptors I found out the morning we were leaving that they had a drawer full of them :-( We were incredibly disappointed that Victor out Safari guide with 25+ yrs experience was NOT allowed to join us for our last evening meal. He had spent more time with us than any of the staff and made the greatest impression. I noticed even in the morning while he waited he often assisted the other staff with guests morning tea/coffee requests. The only reason I didn't INSIST Imbali staff that he join us for dinner was fear of embarrassing him and creating a riff between him and his colleagues.…
From the moment you arrive, you feel completely content and spoiled. Julie, Ursula, Andrew and the boys are so good at what they do. Felt like family. I'd left my passport on the plane and only realised when we were close to the Lodge. Of course, I was in a huge panic, but Julia said she had contacts and would chase it up. and guess what - she did! it was back in Cape Town on the plane and Julia organised for it to be flown up, driven out (3 hours drive) and handed to me. I will never forget her kindness. Then there is the Lodge. WOW - was a perfect space with views over the animals all day long and that beautiful pool plus our own pool with our rooms. Couldn't recommend Imbali high enough, plus we saw 3 Leopards in one day and 10 lions one evening. Bliss.
This place is so wild that past 7pm you have to be escorted from your room everywhere you go, just in case you get swept away by a leopard, it's pretty wild here 😅 🛏️ The Room: The Room we stayed in was lovely, a little dated I would say but they certainly made an effort once they knew it was our honeymoon and made it very pretty on a few occasions. ⚠️ There was also a warning next to the pools in the lodge and outside our room, that if you use them, it's at your own risk if you get attacked by animals! 🍴The Restaurant: Everything we had tasted great, the breakfast was your typical buffet breakfast but lovely all the same. For the evening menu it was a set menu to choose from which was a lot more fancy, the steak I had in particular is easily one of the best steaks I've ever had! 🚙 The Location: The location was perfect and right in Kruger National Park so you really couldn't get any closer to Wildlife if you tried. In the evenings we could genuinely hear lions and hyenas outside our room, it was insane. 🦁 Game Drives: We saw all of the big 5 and a whole lot more, one of the rare finds was seeing wild dogs which apparently are very rare and all of the rangers from other camps were going crazy to see them too. We had Andrew as our ranger for the duration of our trip, a really lovely guy. He was more of the quiet reserved type compared to what we experienced in our previous camp. He was certainly good at finding all the animals but maybe could have been a bit more talkative/informative about the wildlife. 🗻 Overall Experience: We thought this place was pretty special and everyone was very friendly and welcoming, now I've got to be honest we literally came from a 10 star resort in Camp Jabulani where we got married and we couldn't help but compare. The only criticism I would say is that our holiday was planned since 2020 from the moment we arrived to the moment we left, and my husband made special requests to each location as it was our honeymoon and there was initially no effort made at all until speaking with management so it was a little disappointing and awkward when we first arrived but things did certainly improve once we met Ursla. 🐘 We have to give a special thanks to Ursula who then kindly arranged some very special and thoughtful suprises for us once she realised it was our honeymoon, which we will never forget. There was very little planning and attention to detail on their part so I think if I was to share any feedback it would be for them to pay closer attention to their guests, not just when guests ask them too, it avoids any awkwardness if it's a special occasion. Imbali was absolutely lovely, we would definitely come back even if it was just to say hello to our favourite waiter Weston. The sounds and the views are worth the visit alone from the lodge, it is a very relaxing place to be 🙌 Hayley and Wayne…
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