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The Phantom Forest Eco-Reserve: Traveler Reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Reviews

Reviews of The Phantom Forest Eco-Reserve

( 6-10 of 11 )
“Lovely - if you're into Ants!!!”

The Phantom Forest Eco-Reserve

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2 of 5 stars
Bagheeralouis
Nov 23, 2007
2/3 found this review helpful

We were booked to stay in Phantom Forest for two nights on our honeymoon... we were expecting it to be glorious, but to be competely honest, we were quite disappointed. The room was lovely, but a bit chilly (weather wasn't great at the time), the food and restaurant were lovely and the staff were nice, but overall impression was one of shabbiness and there were gaps around the windows and under the doors. Needless to say, we got a lot of night visitors in the form of ants and bugs, and spiders. I don't mind insects myself, but it got a bit much when they were crawling all over the bathroom! My husband hates insects and spent the night in a jumper, trousers and socks and had to get drunk to sleep!! We actually left the next day and stayed in Port Elizabeth instead for the second night, rather than stay. My advice... give it a skip if you're not into camping type things!

  • This TripAdvisor Member:
    • Liked — The food was good, although you didn't get a choice on some courses
    • Disliked — The bugs! The accommodation wasn't great, and it was noisy (v near main road)
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Bagheeralouis's Summary
Date of Stay: November 2007
Traveled with: Spouse / significant other
Visit was for: Honeymoon
Age group: 25-34
Member since: November 16, 2007
  • My ratings for this hotel are:
    • 3 of 5 stars Value
    • 3 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 3 of 5 stars Location
    • 1 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 3 of 5 stars Check in / front desk
    • 3 of 5 stars Service
Would I recommend this hotel to my best friend?
probably not
I do not recommend this hotel for:
Young singles, An amazing honeymoon, A romantic getaway, Girlfriend getaway, People with disabilities
I selected this hotel as a top choice for:
Spa
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“Amazing”

The Phantom Forest Eco-Reserve

Nov 19, 2007
3/3 found this review helpful

This is a stunning hotel and experience. Could have happily stayed a week. It's totally true to the website, so best to check it out there. The design with glass walled double-showers and outdoor baths is creative and original.

Would highly recommend using the spar treaments as they are great value and the setting is beautiful.

We were gutted to leave.

This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
PippaandMatt's Summary
Date of Stay: November 2007
Member since: November 19, 2007
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“Wonderful experience at the Phantom Forest”

The Phantom Forest Eco-Reserve

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4 of 5 stars
Dublin,Ireland
Sep 28, 2007
5/5 found this review helpful

My husband and I stayed at the Phantom Forest for 3 nights as part of our 3 week honeymoon in South Africa. It is situated in a very enchanting location high on a hill side overlooking the Knysna lagoon, with beautiful views of the sunsets, coupled with entertaining visits from the forest's residential vervet monkey troope. We really enjoyed our stay, 3 nights was a perfect amount of time. We particularly enjoyed the massage treatment that was part of our package, and the canoe outing with packed lunch that was also part of the deal. The food was excellent, and the menu changed every day we were there. I would recommend it most highly.

  • This TripAdvisor Member:
    • Liked — Food, the view from our room (Cheesewood)
    • Disliked — The bubble bath wasn't very warm and you have to turn it on yourself an hour before!
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
AppleDapple's Summary
Date of Stay: March 2007
Traveled with: Spouse / significant other
Visit was for: Honeymoon
Age group: 25-34
Member since: September 28, 2007
  • My ratings for this hotel are:
    • 4 of 5 stars Value
    • 4 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 5 of 5 stars Location
    • 5 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 5 of 5 stars Check in / front desk
    • 4 of 5 stars Service
    • 2 of 5 stars Business service
Would I recommend this hotel to my best friend?
absolutely!
I recommend this hotel for:
Young singles, An amazing honeymoon, A romantic getaway, Tourists
I do not recommend this hotel for:
Girlfriend getaway, People with disabilities, Older travelers, Pet owners, Families with young children, Families with teenagers
I selected this hotel as a top choice for:
Outdoor / Adventure, Great food / Wine
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“Overpriced for average accomodation”

The Phantom Forest Eco-Reserve

Mar 28, 2007
4/4 found this review helpful

We stayed at Phantom Eco-Reserve in February, and to be honest, found it a little disappointing. The food was fabulous and the staff were lovely, but we felt the place was rather tired and in need of a re-vamp. Certainly the glossy brochure does not really depict the pool area. We also heard the traffic from the main road which wasn't particularly relaxing.
Overall pretty pricey for rather average accomodation.

  • This TripAdvisor Member:
    • Liked — Food was great
    • Disliked — accomodation needed updating
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
brady72's Summary
Date of Stay: February 2007
Traveled with: Spouse / significant other
Visit was for: Quality time with family
Age group: 25-34
Member since: March 28, 2007
  • My ratings for this hotel are:
    • 3 of 5 stars Value
    • 4 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 2 of 5 stars Location
    • 3 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 4 of 5 stars Check in / front desk
    • 5 of 5 stars Service
Would I recommend this hotel to my best friend?
probably not
I recommend this hotel for:
Young singles, An amazing honeymoon, A romantic getaway, Tourists
I do not recommend this hotel for:
Young singles, An amazing honeymoon, A romantic getaway, Girlfriend getaway, People with disabilities, Older travelers, Great pool scene, Pet owners, Families with young children, Families with teenagers, Tourists
I selected this hotel as a top choice for:
Beach / Sun, Outdoor / Adventure, Great food / Wine, Spa
Was this review helpful? Yes No
“A real luxury hideaway”

The Phantom Forest Eco-Reserve

Feb 23, 2007
6/6 found this review helpful

We visited the Phantom Forest for three nights as part of a 3 week tour around South Africa. Having stayed in a few cheap places leading up to Knysna, we though we would pamper ourselves and the Eco side of the resort really attracted us.

Arrived late at night due to a delayed flight, you have to park at the bottom of the hill and call up to reception out of main hours to get someone to fetch you. This they do very efficently in their 4x4 (the track up to the hotel is not really suitable for anything else!)

Once at the main reception everything is so peaceful. Were shown straight to our room which was just fantastic, a large cabin on stilts amongst the trees with everything you could want.

Previous review metioned the main road but we couldn't here anything from our room, they are spaced very far apart so you can't really see any other rooms and are totally surrounded by forest. It may be an idea to ask for one that doesnt face over the road even though it is some distance beneath you.

The food was excellent and when we visited the place was pretty empty so we had the run of the sauna/hot tub area to ourselves whenever we wanted. My girlfriend visited the spa and said it was one of the better ones she had visited. Just be careful to take all your stuff in from your private balcony/bar area or the monkeys will have it away!

All in all a fabulous place to get away from it all but still close to Knysna, would return tomorrow if I was visiting SA.

This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
StarsailorUK's Summary
Date of Stay: April 2005
Traveled with: Spouse / significant other
Visit was for: Romantic getaway
Age group: 25-34
Member since: February 22, 2007
  • My ratings for this hotel are:
    • 4 of 5 stars Value
    • 5 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 5 of 5 stars Location
    • 5 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 4 of 5 stars Check in / front desk
    • 4 of 5 stars Service
Would I recommend this hotel to my best friend?
absolutely!
I recommend this hotel for:
An amazing honeymoon, A romantic getaway, Girlfriend getaway, Families with young children, Families with teenagers, Tourists
I do not recommend this hotel for:
People with disabilities, Great pool scene, Pet owners
I selected this hotel as a top choice for:
Great food / Wine, Spa, Other
Was this review helpful? Yes No

Reviews of The Phantom Forest Eco-Reserve

( 6-10 of 11 )
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Off Phantom Pass, Knysna 6570, South Africa