Vuyani Safari Lodge

Terrible honeymoon experience We booked a honeymoon package, no honeymoon additions were made even after they admitted they forgot it was our honeymoon. supposedly 5 star. The honeymoon room is average at best. The bed is hard and uncomfortable, cheap towels, broken sunbeds, paint on cushions, dirty pool, areas inaccessible. Poor finish to the entire place. Nothing to do between safaris. No entertainment, people wondering about looking for anything to do. the spa treatments don’t exist on site, they are a 30 minute drive away but no vehicles to get us there. We were advised by the property to book excursions on arrival only to then be told there was nothing available. The alernative option they advised was to get drunk. Food isn’t even on par with Wetherspoons Save your money and book somewhere else, the staff couldn’t care less that we weren’t satisfied We paid £600+ per night. We are not the only guests with these issues. I spoke to another guest that can’t get internet in his room and wants to leave after 1 night

Visited Vuyani for 5 nights at the start of November with my sister and partner. It’s hard to put into words how good it was. We shared Honeymoon Suit 1 (HM1) and they setup an additional bed for my sister. The rooms are quite spacious and you never feel you are getting under each other’s feet. The little plug pool was well used on the hot sunny days. Each room has a small fridge containing a selection of beers, cider and some soft drinks as well as a few bags of crisps, all of which are topped up every day. Some wine would have been nice as I’m not much of a beer drinker, I suspect I could have asked for a bottle but drinks are available all the time from the bar and it really wasn’t a deal breaker. I saw some reviews that said get Peace as your tracker. You are pre allocated a tracker and driver for your stay and we lucked out and got Peace and Jannie who were both amazing. In fairness, everyone said their driver and tracker were amazing, Yuyani only hire amazing people so you are in good hands no matter who you drive with, but we certainly had the most fun. I think in total there are only 10 rooms at Vuyani so it’s very personal and comfortable. Everyone knows your name and preference and it feels like a big family rather than big impersonal hotel. Game drives take place twice a day, one in the morning and one in the evening. Depending on the time of year, we were getting up at 4:30am to be ready for 5:15am. Animals don’t appear on demand and it’s not a zoo so you need to be ready when they are active. The game drives are a lot of fun as you never know what you are going to see, they are a mini adventure. It’s quite a thrill to jump in the 4x4, drive for 100 meters and see giraffes, elephants etc and then get a call to say lions have been spotted. All the guides work together to find the animals and driving off road was a lot of fun. We saw so many amazing sights. Lions pulling the head off breakfast, elephants so close you could see your reflection in their eyes. Stopping for drinks with crocodiles, hippos, hyenas and a leopard all less than 100m away. My sister was on a call back home and I overheard her say, “I have seen things you wouldn’t believe”, that pretty much summed it up. I took on average 200 photos every day and I could write another 50 chapters on the experience. Just book it already.

From being picked up at Johannesburg Airport to welcome and stay at Vuyani everything went smoothly. The staff were very friendly and helpful, nothing was a problem for them. Huge thank you to Alissa, Russell, Chriswell, Witness, Godsave, Bennett, Andrews to name a few who made the whole trip wonderful and to help organise champagne and special dinner as we arrived on Dave's birthday. The safari drives with in the reserve didn't disappoint, the knowledge of the guide passed on was informative and interesting. The boat trip in the 3rd biggest water canyon was great, the guide on our boat was funny in a good way. Alissa organised for us to go to a local day spa for a massage which was one of the best. Trip went all too quickly, will definitely go back.

What started as a once in a lifetime trip ended with “when are we coming back” We were able to fully relax each day while the staff took care of everything. Jannie and Peace made each drive special and entertaining to say the least (tip: never miss a game drive, each one is different!) As some mentioned before dining is communal however we found this to be pleasant and made some wonderful friends along the way! Henky and Chris remembered our names and orders which just added to the personalized experience. The chefs keep things interesting and fresh each day, everything was exceptional. My husband asked to try some local side dish (pap and Chakalaka) which was accommodated with pleasure.

Well, our 3rd visit and it won't be our last. The service, cleanliness, friendliness, drives and food are fantastic. I would add that you get what you want from this. If you want a quiet time, it can and will be provided, however, if you want the full experience, you can immerse yourself and will get the rewards of great company and laughs with new friends. We have made some new friends on this trip who will remain good friends going forward while Jannie and Peace (our guide and tracker) are friends from before and who ensure a great time is had on every drive. Thanks all, we will be back!