Went for breakfast at The Tree restaurant at Satara camp. Waited 15 minutes to be acknowledged and only then when we called loud enough. The "supervisor" took our order we waited again and eventually had to go into the drinks area ourselves and get our drinks and then waited again for our breakfast which did not materialize, we then noticed a large group that arrived after us, getting their food before us. when we inquired as to why , we discovered that our order had not been placed. When raised with the manager he gave us weak excuses and tried to brush us off instead of doing something about it, his "wife" or the manageress just stood there as people complained all around us. and we eventually ate an hour and a half later. and to top it ff they tried charging us for food we did not have. if this is an example of South Africa's top tourist site, then it fails miserably.

As others have said Satara is getting very dilapidated but it is the best camp for game viewing by far. As long as your expectations are not high and you know what the accommodations are like you will be fine. The units are older and in need of updating. We found the service and the cleanliness to be fair, and we were really only in the bungalows to eat and sleep. The majority of the time should be spent searching for animals.... after all you are in a game reserve.

The family cottages are spacious and are a good way to go if you have a group. It works out to be a bit cheaper than getting separate bungalows.

We found the park itself not so interesting, and less taken care off then the other parks. It looked more like a wilderness then anything else. also the rooms/lodges were of a lesser quality. There is need for management to take a close look and follow up on this resort.

It is unfortunate that I feel the need to give Satara a poor rating, since this restcamp is actually ideally situated for game-viewing. On the evening of our arrival, during a sunset game-drive (with ranger) we came across a lion devouring a recently killed buffalo - right on the roadside - whilst another exhausted male recovered nearby. The following morning, during our sunrise drive, we saw several hyena at the kill-site, another lion pride at a different site also close to the road, followed by yet another lion further off in the distance - all on the loop drive around Satara Camp.

First stayed at Satara with my wife in November 2002 and we found the location to be good but the camp infrastructure a bit dated. Clearly there has been no renovation during the intervening nine years. Our unit was pretty dilapidated, the mosquito window-screens were rusted and did not open or close properly. The airconditioner was old and very noisy and was barely able to combat the high ambient temperatures. The smell of the bed-linen gave us to suspect that the sheets had not been changed since the previous occupant had checked out. Either that, or the pillows etc were in urgent need of laundering. Not sure that they clean the units properly or regularly - an unpleasant odour and small droppings in the bathroom suggested that a family of rodents had taken up residence - although we never saw any of the little critters. Satara is in a great location and has a lot of potential, but is in urgent need of a make-over. Should note that we expressed our dissatisfaction when they emailed us a customer's satisfaction survey, but we never received a reply....