Hotel berhampiran Shik Shack Backpackers, Mopani

I was a little disappointed about the communication. No one notified us that there was no power the first day of our stay. Our friends that arrived before us had to text us and keep us updated, till I reached out to the lodge myself. Our friends that we shared the villa with had to drive into town to charge their mobile phones. We only arrive the day after the power to the lodge was finally restored. The lodge is beautiful but our villa could use some needed maintenance, some baseboard tiles need repair. We could not use some lamps because there were no outlets or no converter plugs for the outlets. The housekeeper said the previous guests had stolen them. I had a lamp on my nightstand that was useless since there was no outlet for it. In the 3rd bedroom was no Aircon or even a fan. At our first breakfast we received a basket with toast and the toast was covered in maggots and other bugs. Give yourself plenty of time since it takes about 30min after placing an order since there is only 1 cook. Otherwise the English breakfast was delicious and the staff were very friendly. It would be nice if the lodge would have blankets for guests that find the thick duvet cover too hot for sleeping. The Aircon’s in the 2 main bedrooms worked great and the WiFi was strong and very reliable. The morning we drove to Kruger Park the cook was kind enough provided us with a warm breakfast and hot coffee at 5am. We really appreciated that. The Boma is a great touch and we enjoy an amazing braii by a fire two of the nights. The groundskeeper keeps the property very clean and presentable. The private wildlife estate was a little disappointing since the only animals we saw were warthogs, nyala’s and impalas. We drove around several times, but that was all we saw. I personally would not stay or invite friends to this wildlife estate again.

Really enjoyed our stay at Bushveld Terrace. It's a lovely boutique hotel. Super comfortable bed and spacious bathroom with a fantastic restaurant - literally one of the best we ate at this entire trip. There's load shedding all across SA these days, but there was seamless use of the backup generator so we were never short of power, light or internet etc. The waiting staff at the restaurant are absolutely lovely and the menu is fantastic. The chef is a really kind young lad who obviously cares greatly about his work (the steak with snails and garlic butter was terrific). As for location, the hotel's literally 200m from Phalaborwa gate into Kruger. The roads between Phalaborwa and Letaba and Mopane aren't the greatest for game viewing in wet season due to the thickness of the bush and trees. But for access to one of Africa's great public parks, you couldn't get better. Would return gladly.