R49, Wonderboom Gate, 2840 Madikwe Game Reserve, South Africa
#5 of 12 hotels in Madikwe Game Reserve
Guests' ChoiceBased on 20 hotel reviews
9.6Cleanliness
9.5
Comfort
9.4
Location
9.7
Facilities
9.5
Staff
9.9
Value for money
9.2
Each review score is between 1-10. To get the overall score that you see, we add up all the review scores we’ve received and divide that total by the number of review scores we’ve received. We are currently testing a weighted review system in Malta and Iceland (excluding hotel and vacation rental chains). For properties in these countries, the more recent the review, the bigger the impact on the total review score calculation. In addition, guests can give separate ‘subscores’ in crucial areas, such as location, cleanliness, staff, comfort, facilities, value for money and free Wi-Fi. Note that guests submit their subscores and their overall scores independently, so there’s no direct link between them.
You can review an Accommodation that you booked through our Platform if you stayed there or if you arrived at the property but didn’t actually stay there. To edit a review you’ve already submitted, please contact our Customer Service team.
We have people and automated systems that specialise in detecting fake reviews submitted to our Platform. If we find any, we delete them and, if necessary, take action against whoever is responsible.
Anyone else who spots something suspicious can always report it to our Customer Service team, so our Fraud team can investigate.
Ideally, we would publish every review we receive, whether positive or negative. However, we won’t display any review that includes or refers to (among other things):
To make sure reviews are relevant, we may only accept reviews that are submitted within 3 months of checking out, and we may stop showing reviews once they’re 36 months old – or if the Accommodation has a change of ownership.
An Accommodation may choose to reply to a review.
When you see multiple reviews, the most recent ones will be at the top, subject to a few other factors (what language a review is in, whether it’s just a rating or contains comments as well, etc.). If you like, you can sort and/or filter them (by time of year, review score, etc.).
We sometimes show external review scores from other well-known travel websites. We make it clear when we’ve done this.
These guidelines and standards aim to keep the content on Booking.com relevant and family-friendly without limiting expression of strong opinions. They are also applicable regardless of the sentiment of the comment.
Contributions should be travel related. The most helpful contributions are detailed and help others make better decisions. Please don’t include personal, political, ethical, or religious commentary. Promotional content will be removed and issues concerning Booking.com’s services should be routed to our Customer Service or Accommodation Service teams.
Contributions should be appropriate for a global audience. Please avoid using profanity or attempts to approximate profanity with creative spelling, in any language. Comments and media that include 'hate speech', discriminatory remarks, threats, sexually explicit remarks, violence, and the promotion of illegal activity are not permitted.
All content should be genuine and unique to the guest. Reviews are most valuable when they are original and unbiased. Your contribution should be yours. Booking.com property partners should not post on behalf of guests or offer incentives in exchange for reviews. Attempts to bring down the rating of a competitor by submitting a negative review will not be tolerated.
Respect the privacy of others. Booking.com will make an effort to obscure email addresses, telephone numbers, website addresses, social media accounts, and similar details.
The opinions expressed in contributions are those of Booking.com customers and properties and not of Booking.com. Booking.com does not accept responsibility or liability for any reviews or responses. Booking.com is a distributor (without any obligation to verify) and not a publisher of these comments and responses.
By default, reviews are sorted based on the date of the review and on additional criteria to display the most relevant reviews, including but not limited to: your language, reviews with text, and non-anonymous reviews. Additional sorting options may be available (by type of traveller, by score, etc.).
This service may contain translations powered by Google. Google disclaims all warranties related to the translations, express or implied, including any warranties of accuracy, reliability, and any implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose and non-infringement.
End of dialog content
Showing 1 – 20
Reviewed: 15 March 2024
Lev
Australia-
I would like to thank the entire Last Word team for the unforgettable stay we had there. Everything was beyond excellent. I wouldn’t be able to make the word limit here if I wanted to list what we liked about our stay. Gold standard of hospitality - I’ll tell you that. For those who are interested mostly in the game drives - I can assure you Damien is the best in this business, simply unbelievable skill and knowledge of the subject - you are guaranteed to learn something new about the wildlife. Thank you a thousand times Team!!!!
Stayed in March 2024
Reviewed: 1 March 2024
Sanders
NetherlandsFriendly staf, excellent food, wonderful game drives and an amazing garden with frequent visits of elephants, zebras etc
Stayed in February 2024
Reviewed: 26 February 2024
Livia
BrazilI wish we stayed longer hahahaha
The Last Word Madikwe was simply fantastic, impeccable, far beyond our expectations. The room was wonderful, comfortable, and beautifully decorated. A highlight of our stay was the care and attention of the staff, which made our stay unforgettable. All the staff members are very attentive and pleasant. Damien was our ranger and went above and beyond to ensure that we had the complete experience and saw the big 5 and more. Every day, they left sweets, poems, and other treats in our room. The hotel is fantastic. There are only 5 rooms, which makes the experience very exclusive and unique. Because it's so exclusive, we ended up interacting directly with the other guests, making the atmosphere lighter and more enjoyable and allowing us to make new friends. A unique feature of the Last Word Madikwe is the Hide, which allows you to see animals drinking water in the river literally 1 meter away. It was incredible. One night, we saw a herd of buffalo drinking water while enjoying a glass of wine and the starry sky! The safari was amazing! They divide the guests into two cars, so it's super comfortable! We loved the surprise breakfast in the middle of the savannah! What an incredible experience! We will definitely come back and recommend it to all our friends! Thank you very much, Last Word Madikwe! We already miss it!
Stayed in February 2024
Reviewed: 27 January 2024
Thomas
United KingdomN/a
Very low key and amazing watering hole on sight to see animals
Stayed in January 2024
Reviewed: 13 January 2024
Philipp
GermanyWe booked this resort at short notice because there were problems with our original booking. That was an absolute stroke of luck. The resort is unique in many ways. The staff are incredibly friendly and courteous and the guides on the daily game drives (5.30 a.m. and 4 p.m.) are incredibly knowledgeable (especially Damian). But the absolute highlight is the waterhole directly at the resort. There is a kind of peephole or trench that you can go into. From there you can watch the animals that pass by very regularly (elephants, kudus, zebras, buffalos, lions etc.) from a distance of just 4-5 metres. It was particularly nice that South Africans who have been going on safaris for 20 years were also guests at the resort. And they also said that this peephole and the entire experience is truly outstanding and unique. Perfect all round.
Stayed in January 2024
Reviewed: 10 December 2023
Kai
GermanyWe enjoyed the extraordinary privacy! Outstanding! Courtesy of the employees!
Stayed in November 2023
Reviewed: 21 November 2023
Elba
SpainNothing it was perfect
Look no further, this is the lodge for your safari experience. Getting to the place from Johannesburg is very easy by car, they are in touch with you in case of any event. The lodge is just wonderful. This is the only safari I have been on but I think this is a very unique place. The place is very beautiful, service is top knotch, you feel at home but also you know you are having a premium stay. What is most unique about the lodge is the waterhole in front as many animals come during the day to drink water and you can witness this súper up close through an underground hide. It’s amazing and completely safe. The other unique aspect of this lodge is your game drive ranger. Damien is just the best. He goes the extra mile so that you see the most exciting sightings, we had so much fun.
Stayed in November 2023
Reviewed: 14 November 2023
Kathy
United KingdomThe patio was our only private sitting area and it wasn’t the best. Not particularly clean and not at all in keeping with the high standards of the rest of the property.
Beautiful surroundings. Extremely comfortable bed. Fabulous staff. Exceptional food. Highly knowledgeable driver/guide Shaun. Underground hide at the waterhole a magical experience.
Stayed in November 2023
Reviewed: 23 June 2023
Anne
Francenothing
Magical place
Stayed in June 2023
Reviewed: 9 May 2023
Leon
United KingdomWe had a five night stay at The Bush House and we were truly blown away. It was genuinely one of the best experiences we have ever had and we can’t even begin to put into words how special it was. We had the most magical time and the memories that we have made will truly last a lifetime. The Bush House was simply stunning, the lodge itself was so homely, our room was incredible, the food fantastic, the gardens were absolutely beautiful and of course there were the stunning views of the watering hole. The hide is incredible, you get so close to the animals and it’s truly a wonderful experience. The staff were outstanding and made our stay so special. They were absolutely fantastic in every way, looking after us, going above and beyond and always with a huge smile on their faces. A special shout out to Caitlin, Jodi and Roxy - nothing was ever too much trouble and they made us feel like The Bush House was our home. The game drives were so so special, we saw so much and it was really thanks to our amazing Field Guide Damian whose knowledge was incredible. The Bush House is such a special place, thank you again to everyone - an incredible team in one of the most stunning settings in the world. We really hope to be able to visit again in the near future.
Stayed in May 2023
Reviewed: 26 September 2022
Lia
NetherlandsNothing
Waterhole, underground hide and hospitality were great! Also the diners en the game drives. We've seeing all of animals! Thnx to the staff!
Stayed in September 2022
Reviewed: 18 April 2024
Jan
South AfricaRoom service such as replenishing the fridge was poor
The water hole
Stayed in April 2024
Reviewed: 30 September 2021
Kinya
South AfricaTap water is said as potable, but only on first day of our stay it smelled a bit strange. My wife felt sick after drinking such tap water. Need to care when staying.
I can recommend staying this lodge, because staff is quite kind and friendly and all facilities are luxurious. Furthermore, it is so exciting to meet all the magnificent animals including very rare species in this special private game reserve. Especially, hide beside a pond in the premises is marvellous to wait and see animals!
Stayed in September 2021
Reviewed: 14 February 2024
Jan
South AfricaThere are no comments available for this review
Stayed in January 2024
Reviewed: 4 December 2023
Ryan
United KingdomThere are no comments available for this review
Stayed in December 2023
Reviewed: 9 February 2023
Sally
AustraliaThere are no comments available for this review
Stayed in February 2023
Reviewed: 12 October 2022
Susie
United KingdomThere are no comments available for this review
Stayed in October 2022
Reviewed: 24 June 2021
Brett
South AfricaThere are no comments available for this review
Stayed in June 2021
Reviewed: 31 May 2021
Remi
South AfricaThere are no comments available for this review
Stayed in May 2021
Showing 1 – 20
Bad Lippspringe, Germany
Hierden, Netherlands
Playa de Palma, Spain
Ban Phe, Thailand
Pisa, Italy
Malmedy, Belgium
Hayti, USA
Taipei, Taiwan
Booking.com is part of Booking Holdings Inc., the world leader in online travel and related services.
We have more than 70 million property reviews, and they're all from real, verified guests.
1
The only way to leave a review is to first make a booking. That's how we know our reviews come from real guests who have stayed at the property.
2
When guests stay at the property they check out how quiet the room is, how friendly the staff are and more.
3
After their trip, guests tell us about their stay. We check for naughty words and verify the authenticity of all guest reviews before adding them to our site.
If you booked through us and want to leave a review, please sign in first.
End of dialog content