R 57 Witsieshoek, 9870 Phuthaditjhaba, South Africa
#1 of 11 hotels in Phuthaditjhaba
Guests' ChoiceBased on 573 hotel reviews
8.1Cleanliness
8.6
Comfort
8.5
Location
9.6
Facilities
8.0
Staff
8.7
Value for money
7.7
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End of dialog contentReviewed: 2 May 2024
Jan
South AfricaThe floor tiles make the rooms seem less clean. The servers in the restaurant are friendly but do not appear well trained.
We hiked from Thendele to Witsieshoek. Then we did the amphetheatre and hiked back to Thendele. Wonderful stop at the lodge.
Stayed in April 2024
Reviewed: 24 April 2024
Mariska
South AfricaRoom is very basic for what you pay, thin walls, no aircon.
View, location, access to trails, friendly staff, good restaurant.
Stayed in April 2024
Reviewed: 22 April 2024
Dean
CanadaIt is definitely overpriced but we enjoyed our stay.
Stunning location with views from the room. Loved the sunset and sunrise. We were here for the Tugela Falls hike and it worked well. The breakfast was ready at 7 so could eat before our shuttle left at 7:30. You have to book the shuttles ahead online. Enjoyed our dinner with a sunset view and the couches were great for hanging out or watching soccer. Small heater in the room which we didn’t end up needing. Decent wifi but not in the room. Staff were friendly.
Stayed in April 2024
Reviewed: 10 April 2024
Keletso
South AfricaElectric blanket was not working only the small heater
Stayed in April 2024
Reviewed: 7 April 2024
Kerin
South AfricaN/A
The view The room The amazing female shuttle driver
Stayed in March 2024
Reviewed: 5 April 2024
Stephen
United KingdomThe food is rather average. Playing darts was fun, but a pain with only 2 darts - please invest in some new ones, and a new dart board. Wifi did not work in bedrooms.
The location is unique and spectacular (when it is not cloudy!), with a view of the Amphitheatre, and they will drive you to the Sentinel car park for the spectacular Chainladders hike to the top of Tugela Falls. This the reason for booking here, and for this it gets 10/10. The dining room and bar have a nice atmosphere when full of fellow nature lovers.
Stayed in March 2024
Reviewed: 28 March 2024
Geebee12
South AfricaFood not great. Breakfast is way below par, especially for the price one is paying. Would be nice if the rooms had a fridge. Drive through Phutadijaba is quite unpleasant due to it being busy and speed humps. (We were on a bike so traffic was probably a bit easier for us).
Most rooms have an amazing view. Even though it was cold and windy outside, the room was quiet and warm. Clean room and bathroom. The staff are super nice. Quiet. Great place to chill, walk, and enjoy a quiet weekend
Stayed in March 2024
Reviewed: 25 March 2024
Sonja
United StatesThe lodge could use more personality in terms of buildings etc but it’s a proper old school mountain lodge vibe
Awesome location, staff, comfortable, good hearty food, just a bit dated looking
Stayed in March 2024
Reviewed: 17 March 2024
Nthabeleng
Abkhazia, GeorgiaThe blankets were torn
The stuff was friendly and the environment is beautiful and so quiet
Stayed in March 2024
Reviewed: 13 March 2024
Jennifer
South AfricaThe staff are badly trained. None of them seemed to know about what needed to be paid for us to hike up the amphitheater and spend the night. The waiters were inattentive. The breakfast buffet had no plates, and very little scrambled eggs - we had to request for both to be brought. The food was average.
Absolutely stunning location. Gorgeous mountain views and benches to sit on to enjoy the view. Our room was comfortable.
Stayed in March 2024
Reviewed: 13 March 2024
Priscilla
GermanyHeating for cold nights
beautiful view of landscape
Stayed in January 2024
Reviewed: 11 March 2024
Justin
United StatesI stayed at this property 5 years ago in one of the Sentinel rooms. I highly recommend staying in one of those rooms, as I didn't book it this time and regretted it as the rooms felt a bit cramped/worn/dated (though still clean). We booked a shuttle at 7:30 to drive to the Sentinel trailhead, and although the breakfast was listed as starting at 7, nothing was out until nearly 7:15, leaving no time to enjoy it before a day long hike, which was an unpleasant start to the day.
Amazing location and breathtaking views!
Stayed in March 2024
Reviewed: 3 March 2024
O
South AfricaRoom had a few issues that could be fixed. The price of the packed lunch was completely unreasonable.
Location absolutely epic. Staff and everyone was nice, informative and friendly. Views were incredible. Hikes were amazing. Dinners and breakfast were great.
Stayed in February 2024
Reviewed: 1 March 2024
Renaldo
South AfricaFacilities are a bit dated, and the room was a bit expensive in terms of what you get. The road to the Sentinel Car Park is also in horrific condition.
Stunning views of the Amphitheatre. Staff were very helpful, informative and friendly. Very organised and efficient when it came to arranging and assisting with the Sentinel Peak hike. The hike itself was very well-maintained, and the guide, Mfundo, was great! We were also very impressed and grateful for all the vegetarian and vegan options for dinner.
Stayed in February 2024
Reviewed: 29 February 2024
Thomas
PhilippinesThe Lodge is a bit run down. It is managed by a local tribe and could benefit greatly from some renovations of the rooms. For instance, the front door was not closing properly.
The location of the mountain lodge on a hill allows unobstructed views deep into the mountains if weather permits. We were lucky and had night rains only, while the days were clear and warm. The surrounding is spectacular, so are the hiking trails directly from the lodge, or after a 45min 4x4 drive to the Sentinel/Tugela Falls hike parking place. Take advantage of the 4x4 service and don't try to drive up yourself. You may possibly succeed with a very capable terrain vehicle, but your nerves and your car will certainly suffer. The drive is not for the faint of heart. So is the hike itself. It starts from the car parking quite leisurely along the lush green mountains. Altitude is well above 2000m and your breathing increases. Even more once the climb begins. It's not difficult, however, a few dangerous spots were unsecured and if you have a wrong step at some points it's going several hundred meters straight down. You need solid hiking shoes, sufficient water (after rain there would be cristal clear water to collect during the hike if required), food and rain gear in case of quick weather changes. Overall the hike is strenuous but very rewarding once on top and once again when you are back at the lodge for a cold beer.
Stayed in February 2024
Reviewed: 15 February 2024
Catherine
South Africa**Nothing to do with the lodge itself but just a word of caution when doing the sentinel hike up the chain ladders. The lodge is great and I must say after this last weekend's events the lodge are doing something about the situation and have been given us updates. They have been very proactive to address the problem. However, still for now, I would advise only to hike up the Amphitheatre in a group and not on your own or in two's. The Basotho up at the top of the Sentinel harass hikers terribly when you get to the chain ladder for food, money and or cigarettes and then again at the Tugela falls area. It's really unpleasant and it's best not to engage with them at all and not to give them any of the above as it's created a huge problem. There were about 8/9 men in total. They're quite aggressive and just a quick summary, one individual attacked an overseas couple the day before for money, by hurling rocks at them as they were hiking down the gulley. They were unfortunately injured from rocks landing on them. They ended up leaving more money to make him stop.
Breakfast was great, very comfortable room and lovely linen. Room had a fantastic view of the Amphitheatre.
Stayed in February 2024
Reviewed: 13 February 2024
Magdalena
PolandToo little information on hiking routes at the reception. Veru confusing nu.mbering of rooms poorly explained. Despite being a group of friends booked together we were placed in rooms far apart.
Prime location and great views. Brilliant hiking routesxariund. Clean, cosy and comfy place to stay.
Stayed in January 2024
Reviewed: 1 February 2024
Dineo
South AfricaNothing. Everything met my expectations
It was clean, serene.
Stayed in January 2024
Reviewed: 28 January 2024
Rm
Germany- A small fridge in the rooms would be very helpful for storing food/drinks on those days you dont want to spend on restaurant food. The food at the restaurant is "hit and miss" where some dishes are good (eg chips, salads, veggie burger) and others are not great (pasta was basically just sauce). More vegetarian options would be great too. - The "shuttle" to the Tugella Falls carpark can be organised better as every ride, including ours, was overbooked. Meaning the driver had to accommodate more people than the car could handle, leaving some guests to fear for their life during the very very rough 20ish minute ride to the Falls. It also worth noting that the road to the Falls has been left unkept on purpose, so the hotel (who owns the property?) can continue to offer these 4x4 "shuttles". Some people in our group chose instead to walk back to the hotel (1hour walk) than take the shuttle back.
Wonderful very private and distant from the villages location, overlooking the mountains and close to the hike to Tugella Falls. The staff at reception, restaurant and bar are very helpful, professional and friendly. We appreciated very much the music selected by the bartender and got to know south african music better. We also noted how professional the staff remained when one (white) guest was quite loudly making racist remarks. The rooms, even-though they are basic and will need some renovation at one point, were quite comfortable, clean and fulfilled most of our needs. The hotel also offers massages and spa treatments.
Stayed in January 2024
Reviewed: 26 January 2024
Adriaan
South AfricaThere was nothing that I didn't like I was just a great destination for a perfect getaway
I loved the hikes around the lodge They were awesome especially the waterfalls
Stayed in December 2023
Reviewed: 17 January 2024
Geoffrey
South AfricaBreakfast wasn't great, toast seemed like it had been there a while, and eggs were liquid y. At times, no staff to be seen in the restaurant on the morning we left.
Beautiful views. Great hikes. Quiet.
Stayed in January 2024
Reviewed: 14 January 2024
Victor
France- I wish the staff would have been more proactive in suggesting us to book the shuttle car to go to Sentinel Peak hike, and that they would have suggested to take a guide, or at least to give us the option and list of guides. We are amateur hikers, and we would have preferred to do the Sentinel Peak hike with a professional guide because it's not an easy one and we got scared a couple of times. I think the staff is a bit too relax about that, or maybe it's not their responsability so they don't care - would have appreciated to know the hours of load shedding. we got several electricity shut off and were not aware and it seems the generator didnt take over well (maybe because of the thunder storm at night) - room a bit small, no tv
- Beautiful view over the Amphitheatre - several hiking paths you can choose straight from the hotel - food at the restaurant is fabulous. And I'm super picky with food. for the price it's really tasty (filet steak, fish and chips, Dom Pedro...) - they sell proper hiking maps
Stayed in January 2024
Reviewed: 13 January 2024
Alida
South AfricaTheir 4x4 transport to the tugella falls hike
Awesome scenery
Stayed in January 2024
Reviewed: 11 January 2024
Heidi
AustraliaThe soup could be homemade and a little bit dated but otherwise nothing.
Lovely location with very comfortable accommodation. Loved the central restaurant especially when it was cold and after a hike. it was lovely and warm.
Stayed in December 2023
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