Oceana Beach and Wildlife Reserve

This is a hidden gem of the Eastern Cape. It offers both the beach and wildlife, a rare combination overall. I stayed in the Ocean Suite which offered a 180 degrees of seaview from the balcony. The rooms are quite spacious and beautifully pointed. Staff offered a great service and are always attentive to guests. My experience exceeded my expectation and I would highly recommend this resort.

Trevor and his staff at Oceana were wonderful. They met our family of 17 at the gate and transferred us to 2 land cruisers to finish the last stretch (about 5 minutes drive from the gate). We were greeted by staff with welcome drinks at the bar and provided paperwork to sign and get our room keys. Then an array of wraps and quiche for a late lunch knowing we’d be hungry upon arrival. With 17 people we used most of the rooms at the resort. We had 6 older teens using the Private Villa House which was perfect, 3 lodge rooms for 2 couples and a pair of young boys and 2 ocean suites for the grandparents and a couple with a young child. There were a few other guests during our 2 night stay but we were given the large dining room to ourselves for all our meals. The 3 lodge suites have a common area (there was a slight musty smell from the carpet) and could hear the furniture moving around when preparing for meals. The rooms were cleaned daily with turn down service and lovely welcome and bedtime notes from management. The staff was quite lovely including Zet and Kayla on the game drives and Max coordinating the food and schedule. Food was good and the views were spectacular. We went on 2 game drives (late morning and afternoon) with lots of animal sightings. The giraffe and zebra come to the watering hole you can view from most room balconies and the lodge. We used the pool a little but it’s not really for kids to swim (making pool towels available near the pool would be helpful, we had to ask). The pool is 2 levels and there is no where to sit near the larger upper level - we didn’t mind as the kids also could use the plunge pool at the villa and we didn’t have much time for sitting by the pool. The staff arranged for a luncheon on the beach which was delightful. We braved the long, hot walk from the beach platform (where we were dropped off and ate lunch) to the Indian Ocean - about a 10 minute walk over large dunes and hot sand - definitely not for everyone but we appreciated the opportunity to swim in the ocean - waves were large but manageable for our teens. The beach lunch was lovely! All in all we had a wonderful stay - Oceana is beautiful and different than a big 5 African safari. But the views are unbelievable and it was a nice place to recharge on our South African trip. Thanks for taking such good care of the 17 of us and for everything!

We stayed in the three bedroomed house which was lovely but needs some updating. The food was good but service could be better. No extra effort made for special occasions like an anniversary that they were aware of which was disapointing. Lovely views from throughout the property.

This place is really terrible. Do not come here. I timed how long it took them to bring our dinner tonight. And it took one hour and a quarter. You cannot order side dishes. The food will not fill you up. There is no ability to choose the type of meal you want and it’s unbelievably slow. We had to leave in the end before our desert came. I don’t know what they’re doing in the kitchen, or what the waitresses are doing, but they’re definitely not trying to make this a five star hotel. The service is like one star. Nothing in the room works. We paid top dollar for the private 3 bed house. Of course, none of the TVs work, there is no cutlery in any of the drawers in the kitchen. It’s all formover function. You can’t get to the beach on foot. It’s a 10 min drive followed by a 15 min walk. The pool is tiny. The beer in the fridges is not cold. Everyone here is fast asleep. Save your money. Stay at home.

My husband and I had the most amazing weekend at Oceana Wildlife. All the staff treatment from welcoming, check in, restaurant/dining, bar, room service, office support/reception, spa and game/beach drive was outstanding. Our room, in and out was top quality. It was truly a 5 star experience and I’d really recommend it if you want to unwind with a partner, friends or family. There are dining spots to accommodate a group ideal for big families, group of friends or colleagues.

A thoroughly enjoyable end to our Cape Town/Garden Route holiday. They really know how to look after you with everyone being so friendly from Wilson on the gate to Kayla on the game drive. Accommodation is huge with two large bathrooms and a large balcony with comfotable seating. The view was stunning overlooking the deer ostriches etc and the beach and sea beyond. All the meals were really good . Unfortunately the weather was not kind enough for us to take up the offer to have lunch on the beach. Any time you are in the area do spend a few days here - you won't regret it. To everyone at Oceana thank you for making our stay so enjoyable.