We just finished our stay in the Kruger Park Singita properties and had an absolutely amazing time. However, this was all down to our guide, not only how brilliant and enthusiastic he was, but also down to how well we got on with him, to the point we ended up having most of our meals with him and leave with an actual friend.
In terms of Singita itself, I really had to do a double take on it after the opening night and wonder if I had joined a cult instead. The staff were so unbelievably laid back that it felt like a reenactment of Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, where everything was totally radical and chill. The entrance was completely overwhelming, with so many people lined up to greet us, yet with no idea who they were; this was followed by more people coming up, introducing themselves and then allowing silence to creep in as we wondered what the next steps of our initiation were.
The intro was followed by sitting down and being told an encyclopaedia of information about everything, without bothering to show any of it. Then they paired us up with another family for dinner on our first night, which we politely declined. The staff are free to drink with guests in the evening, and I actually approve of this and feel the laid back approach works as it helps create a bond. But only to an extent, as some of the staff were clearly over the limit.
The over-attention at Lebombo was completely counterintuitive and removed any sense of a personal touch at all, as we just had 5 people asking the same question all the time, with no care at all about the answer. It felt like they were going around ticking boxes to say they had spoken to the guest, rather than wanting to engage in conversation. Robots could have done the same job. It was the first time I've ever experienced this, and just shows how well companies like Aman manage it with a single member of management going around and engaging in meaningful conversation, vs the Singita approach of everyone disrupting your meal every 60 seconds to ask you questions about nothing.
It was completely different at Sweni, where there are 9 less rooms, and therefore a lot less staff, who are completely different age group of employees that have learnt the act of customer engagement.
What also made the experience was having a private vehicle and I would only ever go on safari again if we could have one. We went cage diving with great white sharks a few days prior to arrival and took out a private boat, which meant instead of 33 other people on board, it was just us and some guys from the Discovery Channel. It was absolutely worth it for the one-on-one attention and ability to do as we wished. At Singita, it gave us the same opportunity, meaning we got to see every thing we wanted to, and also got to engage in some great conversations with our guide and tracker.
Having said all this, nothing was ever too much hassle, the room setup was amazing, the rooms have everything I could have asked for, the views are incredible, the food offering is immense and we had a brilliant time.
Singita Lebombo room pics and wildlife: