Ngalali Retreat

This was the best place we stayed during our entire trip. Lorenza, who takes care of the guests, made us feel genuinely welcome and comfortable from the moment we arrived. Xander, who leads the game drives, gave us an unforgettable experience — we were lucky enough to see rhinos and lions and other animals. The game drives were amazing and successful, the food was outstanding, and the whole place is incredibly beautiful. It is also LGBT-friendly, with a warm and relaxed atmosphere. Staying here felt much more like visiting friends than staying at a hotel. We would happily come back and highly recommend it.

Nothing! We had an amazing time.

Eveything was perfect! Xander and the rest of the team did everything to make the stay and safaris unforgettable. Good location, fine room, great food, fantastic safaris and lovely people. I can recommend everybody to stay there. Good luck with the lodge Lorenza, Xander, Helen, Rebecca, Eli and the rest. Thank you very much. We already miss you. Michael and Saskia

I am a perfectionist, so always I see improvements. But this time I really cannot tell them.....

Breakfast was excellent but the people were always late. When they supposed to come at 8:30 am they’d come at 9:30. In all though everything was perfect and splendid.

Be on time and ask if people at red meat or pork. Don’t cater pork for people who don’t eat it. Braai would also be preferred sometimes in the bush.

we saw a lot of lions. young ones. the pool is nice. the dogs are lovley. the communication with other lodges about sightings is quite good. i would say its a nice place to see animals, but i would compare it to other lodges and check airport transfer prices, game drive prices and so on. you can also check transfer services for the area and there is also a bus which can bring you to the gate. just look it up. you can also leave your room unlocked here, no one will take anything, they are all quite honest. in some other lodges in the area sadly things and money "disappear" out of your room when you don t lock your door. its safe here. rooms are also very clean and cozy. staff is friendly.

i did stay here the 2nd time because when i did stay there the 1st time i did like it a lot and i thought i found my happy place to relax and to be in nature. i did like the people a lot who run the lodge. - they raised the price for an airport transfer to Hoedspruit from 800 rand to 1500 rand. so, i can tell you, thats the most expensive so far in the area. usually its around 500 - 800. - on game drives, it was not much information about the area or the animals this time, it was more about gossiping about other lodges, the staff and people in the reserve. if you have an issue with someone, you talk it out in person. bringing it up to guests will not clear the situation between you and other lodges or people. you talk directly, which i also tried here. - people come for the animals. lodges know that. they usually offer you a game drive and ask you if you want to do some and on which date. as a guide, its on you to offer game drives to the customer and not expect that the customer runs after you for a game drive every day. if you dont want to do a game drive, get a 3rd party in. - food is quite expensive for what you get. comparing to many other places now. - game drive times are quite late in the afternoon. many other places go at 3 pm, this one goes at 4 pm. at other places, we found lots of lions moving around in the afternoon around 3 pm in the reserve right next to Grietjie reserve, Maseke. game drive times at other lodges are also more flexible. when i did ask for going a bit earlier than 3 pm, i got called "difficult". look, its just a question. there is no reason to be rude. if you go earlier, you have more fun, more animals, more daylight. also you come back earlier. so, i dont know why being more flexible is an issue. but it seems to be one. - i got told in the face that south african food is "not for me". look, let european people try it. - he did complain that i also stay with other places and not just with them.