My wife and I spent three nights at the lodge in October 2007. We stayed in one of the Moroccan Suites. The suite was very nice, but was a bit dark...not unexpected because you are in the forest. It was very quiet and relaxing. The shower and bath are fabulous.

However, we did not find the forest terribly exotic or interesting. There is a path you can take to the lower exit of the place, but its a bit boring. Beyond relaxing at your suite or in the lodge common area, there is nothing to do unless you travel from the lodge. The swimming pool area was nice, but the pool is far more decorative than useful.

The food was very good, both breakfast and dinner and the staff and service were great. When we were there, the Chutzpah (Moroccan themed) restaurant was closed for renovations and is now open again. That would add to the food experience. We also had two very good massages at the spa.

As for outside activities: I highly recommend sailing with Springtide Charters...a wonderful half day on a beautiful 50 foot boat. If you like to run, there is a very nice 2 1/2 mile loop around Leisure Island, 90% of it along the water. Finally, do not miss a trip up to the Heads, whether you go to the more accesible east Head or the less accessible west Head.

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 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.

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.