FlyerTalk Forums - View Single Post - South Africa: BA F, BA J, SA Y, Johannesburg, Cape Town, Safari and Garden Route

Jun 24, 2017, 2:53 pm

#7

stevieed

Join Date: Jul 2012

Location: London

Programs: BAEC GCH, CXMP Gold, Amex Plat, HH Gold, Accor Plat, SPG Gold, Carlson Gold

Posts: 1,106

Sipping on my sparkling wine whilst looking over the watering hole I already knew I was going to enjoy my stay at Jamala Madikwe. The lodge itself is tiny, with just 5 villas you will enjoy your stay with a maximum of just 10 guests in total this leads to a really personalised service and an odd feeling of staying at your mates really special house, but without having to make your own drinks. The facilities, well, in truth they could barely be better, there’s no swimming pool as such, but considering the size of the lodge it’s actually remarkable what they do offer. There’s a spa that offers a myriad of excellent treatments, a small but functional gym, bar, library and each villa has its own plunge pool. In reality, all of these were pretty much wasted on me, as I could have sat on the terrace overlooking the watering hole all day without distraction.

Let’s get back to the lodge. After finishing our drinks we were given a tour of the lodge by Nico and guided us to our rooms; villa 1 for my parents and villa 2 for myself. On entering the room I was greeted by a bottle of wine (hurrah), a decanter of brandy (hurrah) and a personalised greeting (how sweet).

Pathway up to my villa

Personalised greeting

Brandy!

The rooms are wonderfully styled and huge! Every villa is identical and gets a small sitting/dining area, dressing room with fully stocked, and free, mini-bar, large bathroom with shower and bath, bedroom (of course), plus an outdoor shower, plunge pool and large decking area. The rooms really are not lacking in any way and there’s clearly a huge amount of thought behind them, I particularly liked that they appeared very traditional and in no way “bling”.

Lounge area

Main room

Dining area

Main room

Dressing room and mini-bar

Bedroom with a wonderful view

Huge and extremely comfortable bed

Bathroom

There are numerous delightful treats on offer in your room, such as the aforementioned mini-bar, wine, brandy and also personalised notes each evening. It’s really the little things such as these that make the difference between an excellent stay and a great stay. In fact, the entire ethos of the lodge is unobtrusive sublime service. The staff is pretty small, as you’d expect for such a small lodge, however, what really struck me is that the majority of staff have been with the owners since the lodge opened some 8 years ago; this says a lot.

Personalised welcome note

Going back to the villa briefly, each one includes an outside shower, a large decking and a plunge pool. I didn’t get to use the plunge pool, but the outside shower was amazing; showering whilst watching a herd of zebra and elephants walking past is an experience I shall never forget.

Outside decking and shower

Outside shower

Decking area and villa

Plunge pool

Plunge pool and sundeck

The main lodge reminded me of a hunting lodge, it was an extremely comforting place to spend your day. There are numerous seating areas available including the famous “sofa safari” where you can spend an afternoon sipping a Gin and Tonic whilst watching herds of animals take their turn sipping from the watering hole.

Main entrance to the lodge

Lodge foyer

Library and seating area

Sofa safari

Dining area

The room rate is fully inclusive, meaning that only spa treatments and non-house beverages such as high-end wines and spirits require payment. So what exactly is on offer and how does the general day evolve. The wake-up call is at 05:30 where you will groggily have a quick shower before heading to the main lodge for coffee and a snack, The morning game drives start around 06:00 and last until approximately 10:00, meaning you have your full breakfast on your return to the lodge. There’s then an afternoon quiet period until high tea at 15:00 before the evening game drive starting at 16:00 and lasting until approximately 19:30. Dinner is served on your return to the lodge, swiftly followed by bed as you’re pretty exhausted by this point.

Gym area

Hide viewing area

Breakfast and dining area

Main lodge decking

Boma outdoor dining area

Safari vehicle and driveway

Safari vehicle ready to go

So how to rate Jamala Madikwe? Well as you’ll be seeing in the next chapter, the food is sublime, and as you’ve read in this chapter the lodge, offerings and service are impeccable. Can I rate it 10/10 across the board? Not quite I am afraid and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. I have given facilities a 9/10 as there is no swimming pool, not that it really detracts from the experience at all, and I have given the food a 9/10, as I have eaten in a handful of better restaurants. But given the closest supermarket is probably an hour drive away the food that Nico and his team put out is incredible and equal to many Michelin star restaurants that I have dined in central London and beyond.

Last edited by stevieed; Jul 10, 2017 at 2:36 pm

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