This trip was so incredible! The accomodations, lodging, food, staff, tracker, guide, spa...all of it was wonderful! I loved details like ponchos in the game vehicle when there might be a chance of rain, and blankets and hot water bottles for the early morning drives. I loved the drink and snack breaks. It was so nice to be on a private reserve. We went with friends and it would be my dream to go back again someday. We loved the weather and the time of year as well. Stayed one night in the treehouse which I highly recommend.
Lion Sands River Lodge is exceptional. From the staff to the food to the exceptional rangers. The highlight for me though was staying in Chalkley Treehouse. You're left in the heart of the bush with a radio, sumptuous meal, whatever you're drinking plus a bottle of bubbly. With no ambient light the stars are incredible. It's wonderful to fall asleep to the night sounds and then wake up to the morning chorus of bird sound.This is a must-do in my opinion
One of the most memorable weekends we've ever had. All members of the team spoiled us and made us feel so welcome. The treehouse is an absolute magical must have experience, the perfect couples getaway!
What a beautiful, beautiful place and location. Food was great…buffets the first night, then menus…..one noon a monkey swiped the top bun of my sandwich, then sat on a bench where we were all able to watch him eat it! Fun, fun memory….our chalet was very spacious, but so comfortable….our guide and tracker were great fun, and took us to great viewing places.
They found the coolest Lions, leopards, giraffes and other animals. They are great trackers. They pointed out the constellations and stars at night. The rest of the staff are very helpful, polite and pleasant. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are great. Ask for an evening with dinner prepared in the bush. The rooms (really houses) are excellent. It’s a wonderful and beautiful place. Rector has a great heritage but he won’t bring it up. It’s an awesome place. Go visit.
We had an absolutely incredible stay at Lion Sands River Lodge. The lodge is a luxurious and modern-chic enclave directly on the Sabie River. The staff is beyond exceptional, and the game drives are otherworldly. We stayed at both River Lodge and Narina, and preferred the vibe at River Lodge to Narina, which is more classic and private. Each morning started with a 530am wake up call, followed by a quick and delicious light bite (fruit, yogurt parfait, warm muffins, and coffee). We had the fortune of having Mitch as our Guide and Rector as our tracker. Mitch is the most fun, affable, and caring guide we’ve had on the 3 safaris we’ve done. He made our time at River Lodge all the more memorable, and Rector’s knowledge will ensure that your game drives are filled with sightings. The game drives were straight out of a National Geographic documentary. Even during rainy days, we saw countless packs of lions - from the Styx pride to males roaming their way over to Sabi from Kruger, and females with cubs; we saw packs of wild dogs, including a pack killing an impala and then being approached by hyenas. We saw multiple leopards and were able to get within a few feet of them. Plenty of giraffes, hippos, elephants, Cape buffalo and antelope. Cruising around in the comfortable, open-air vehicles was tranquil, yet exciting - we constantly had our eyes peeled. The morning drive was followed by a delicious breakfast, before having a good 5-6 hours to relax by the pool, read, bird watch, or catch the hippos fighting each other in the river. A quick lunch or snack then we were off to the evening game drive from 330-7 where you’ll enjoy sundowners and more sightings. Note that on safari, you’re in the car the entire time - no need for hiking boots or hiking clothes! The Sabi is a private reserve, and you’ll barely see any other vehicles which means that your sightings will be private (with no more than 1 other vehicle). Inside the Sabi is the 4000+ acre More family property, making your drives quiet and exclusive. When you return from your drive you can head straight to dinner or freshen up. Dinner is exquisite - and the wine selection is impressive and well-priced (if you choose to go for bottles that aren’t included as part of your rate, those that are included are also delicious). The bathrooms, beds and linens are of 5 star quality, and we enjoyed a restful sleep each night. A huge thanks to the incredible staff: Mitch, Rector, our amazing butler Philly, Fortune (your smile brightens the room!), Billy and Nadia. We can’t wait to return!…
Lion Sands River Lodge not only met but greatly exceed our expectations – which were already high enough from the photos on the website and all the glowing reviews we'd read prior to arrival! The design of the lodge and the individual rooms was just beautiful – understated luxury, really harmonious with the surroundings. We loved the openness, the views and the natural materials used in construction and decoration; really appreciated the eco credentials, too – no plastic to be seen anywhere (even lids on takeaway cups for morning safari drinks were compostable). Also the lighting in the evening was perfect – it was always a pleasure to return to a candlelit welcome at the end of our evening drives. The food was, as everyone says, incredible. Different menus for each meal, every day, including enough options to choose from without being overwhelming. Everything was delicious and beautifully presented, using interesting ingredients. (Only thing I would change would be to include more African dishes.) Our family of five all have different preferences for breakfast so sampled a wide range of dishes, and we appreciated that the lunch menu catered for both lighter appetites and more – two of our children preferred to eat at lunchtime and then just have starters in the evening. I should also give a special mention to the amazing chilli sauce! The absolute highlight of our stay, and what made it so memorable, was the staff, who were without exception welcoming, cheerful and charming. We were so lucky to have Raymond as our guide and Juice as our tracker – they were a great team, and kept us thoroughly entertained. We particularly loved how Raymond didn't overload us with info at any one time, but told us more and more about each animal and bird we saw over the course of our 4 days – this made it easier to remember, and kept it interesting. Not that we were in any danger of losing interest! We saw the 'big five' several times over, but actually some of our favourite spots were the pack of wild dogs that we were lucky enough to see 4 times, including once after a recent kill when they were all in hyper-playful mood. We also loved the warthogs! And the hippos. It was the opportunity to observe animal behaviour and interactions that we appreciated most of all. We never felt rushed, and Raymond seemed to time our encounters perfectly – so much so that at one point we joked that they had someone in a van driving ahead and releasing animals on request! We were particularly in awe of Juice's tracking skills when he spotted a chameleon in a bush, in the dark – not once, but twice. Jeffrey in the restaurant was also a legend, and taught us a few phrases in Shangaan – we kept trying to learn more via Google in the hope of impressing him too. Inkomu swinene, Jeffrey, for looking after us so well. It was unfortunate that it rained for 3 of our 4 days – but actually this brought some of the animals from the bush to the roadside, and since we weren't allowed to go off-road while the ground was wet this gave us sightings that we otherwise may have missed. Anyway, it's a good excuse to plan a return trip in the hope of better weather! We will definitely return one day. In the meantime we are enjoying our photos and our memories. Enormous, heartfelt thanks to Raymond, Juice, Jeffrey and everyone else who made our stay so very special. Finally... I just asked our 15yo daughter for comments, and she came up with the title of the review!…
Everything about this place is INSANE!! The BEST service we have ever received anywhere in the world! Everyone in the team was exceptional!! I can not rate this place highly enough - you simply HAVE to go!!
We had an amazing experience at The Lions Sands Game Reserve! We were celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary which we had been anticipating for 2 years due to COVID! Lions Sands River Lodge did not disappoint! We saw all of the Big 5 several times plus giraffes, wild dogs, birds and many more! The staff go out of their way to be warm, genuine and friendly. Rooms are all immaculate, and very comfortable! Food was outstanding! Our guide, Riaan and tracker, Abraham gave us memories to last a lifetime! Highly, highly recommend!
This stay was supposed to be a warm up to our final destination stay at the Matetsi Lodge in Zimbabwe which we were really looking forward to. As it turns out our stay at Lion Sands River Lodge was MUCH more memorable and we wished we had reveresed the stays having River Lodge as our last destination! Our game drive staff were absolutley outstanding and we saw more animal activity in 3 days than we would have dared to hope for. Abraham our tracker was so cool and collected and super friendly and made excellent coffee and G&T. Our trainee guide Gino was a lovely young man and we hope he will do well in his chosen career. With Lucia our main guide we clicked immeadiatley and had an absolute ball. For someone so young she had so much knowledge and we took her to our hearts immeadiatley and we even said we wanted to adopt her :-) Last but not least was our waiter Elliot, or as we quickly dubbed him, the 'Wine Ninja' our glasses were never empty and we didnt even know he had been to the table. Our stay was for our delayed 10th wedding anniversary and without any prompting from me Elliot set up a private Boma dinner for myself and Sarah and only I knew about it meaning that my wife was super suprised. We love Elliot and hope he and his family will prosper. We are already planning on returning to SA and are looking at some of the other MORE properties now. What a fantastic holiday!…
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