I am posting this trip report for folks that are interested to go after the world starts to go back to some semblance for normalcy once we get through the COVID-19 crisis.
Summary:
· Recommend for Kruger National Park visit. Also, recommend for points only redemption (see below) and skip the paid rate that is inclusive of breakfast and dinner (unless it is a much better deal for $ and includes game drives).
· Book safari’s ahead of time as much as possible before arriving here.
We stayed here for 4 nights for our visit to Kruger. We were part of a larger group trip and the organizer booked our rooms through an internet site so we didn’t get any Marriott points or recognition. The trip was part of week keep in South Africa in mid-March before the country closed it is border. Sidebar: we were very lucky to get home.
We received a regular non upgraded room with 2 queen beds. The room was fine and large enough for the family. Asked for an upgraded room and was told they don’t have any renovated rooms with the 2 beds.
As with the rest of the tourist hotels in South Africa, do bring along a UK and EU plug adaptor if you have them. Sometimes they don’t have the South Africa plug by the desk or bedside nightstand and have UK or EU plugs instead.
The hotel gift shop is “Out of Africa” but unfortunately they don’t allow room charging since they are separate. Nor did they honor the 10% gift shop for Marriott Elite members.
The hotel in dining room breakfast buffet is good. If you are leaving early morning for a safari they pack a to go box breakfast/lunch. I am glad they have the boxed breakfast/lunch but the food is not that great and wasn’t a hit with the kids. You have to request the box the night before.
The outdoor dinner area called Lapa. Dinner started at 630pm for us. We were there during March and it was completely dark here during dinner time but they light up the trees and it looks really nice. The main course is to right in the back under the coverings. The salad, cheese trays and dessert at the to the left inside the building. Selection, especially for the desserts, is great. Personally I found the dinner food as lot of quantity but lacking in quality. Just my opinion.
Now folks earlier in this thread, including myself, asked if you can stay for points only at this hotel and not get the food included. Here is my take based on my experience. The answer is definitely a “yes” and if I had to do this trip again w/o the entire group then that is the option I would pick. However, compare with the all-inclusive rate and if you are getting a good safari package included as well.
Safari
Our early morning safari driver left at 5;15am (in the dark) to get into queue as soon as the gate opened at 5:30am. It is really worth going early in the morning. Our group used the company below and their guides are really good and will get on the CB or phone to go the animals you want to see.
https://www.privatekrugersafaris.co.za/
If you are doing an early morning safari, bring along a light wind breaker or even a light sweat shirt. It gets really cold and windy in the back of those safari trunks in the morning. Same suggestion of track sweat pants that you can take off. Layers.
If you are staying on points only rate w/o breakfast then the breakfast box for the early morning safari is not really worth it. There are plenty of places to stop for real breakfast inside Kruger Park a few hours after your early morning game drive such as Cattle Baron Grill & Bistro in the Skukuza Rest Camp. There is even a gift shop at this facility. Just ask if your morning safari will stop at one of these places for breakfast. Also, the gift shop here at the larger 1.5L water bottles (for less than the hotel gift shop).
Bring some cash along for the purchases in the park, especially for the coffee/breakfast items. The further you go into the park, they rely on 2.5 GPRS data devices to charge via credit card. Sometimes the network is not up so they can't charge your bill. Cash comes in handy during these times. This didn't happen in the Skukuza area shops but another one (the name escapes me now).
If you are craving a full breakfast buffet and back to the hotel by 10am then I think it is about ZAR195 (US$11) for the breakfast which isn’t a bad price. Breakfast ends around 1030am.
The hotel has an Activities Desk when you walk in on the right hand side before the check in desk. They will help you book safari’s. Attached is the price sheet they had. I used this desk to do a night safari which was led by a park ranger in Kruger Park. Usually you have go to the gate or pay extra at the hotel to book it. Below is the price sheet.
The night safari is the 3rd row in the top set of rows. It is 2 hours long, the ranger comes to the hotel to pick you up and brings you back to the hotel. We saw wild dogs, owls, elephants, hippo walking around (before even crossing the bridge to the 2nd gate), lions, and even heard a lion roar (the real deal). I would recommend the nigh safari. I was able to book the night safari around 5pm that day but best to do it earlier if possible.
If I figured out this Activities desk earlier, I would have also done the Evening Safar from 4pm to 730pm. This allows you to be in the park (and see things) as it gets dark. It got dark around 6pm during our trip.
Note, since the night safari was a park ranger, and the scheduled duration was only 2 hours there was no stopping for food, drink or bathroom on this trip. If you book via the Actives Desk, it is worth getting clarification on the above if you want to/plan to stop for food/coffee, etc.
Also, I saw big air conditioned tour buses driving through the park doing safari tours. Please don’t pick this option. The smaller 9-10 seater open SUVs can stop and maneuver to see the animals up close. Tour bus is not what you want after you travel this far to Kruger.
Back Pool Deck
The hotel infinity pool deck as a bar/restaurant that serves lunch till about 5pm-ish. This is a good late lunch or supper option if you are staying on points and don’t want to pay for dinner at Lapa.
The other side of this has an infinity pool that overlooks the (dry) riverbed that borders the back of the hotel to Kruger. During the day animals such as elephants do come to visit. That’s where this stock photo from their web-site is taken. Don’t worry there is an electric fence around the hotel so the elephant doesn’t come into the hotel property but I heard it does drink from the infinity pool water over flow area. ;-) By the way, the pool water is very cold (even though it was supposedly 90F outside).
I used the spa 1 day for a massage and it was really relaxing. The prices can’t be beat if you are converting back to US$. I had a person in the group go back twice. Honestly, you can go daily in the middle of the day while relaxing at the hotel. Also, you can’t room charge the Spa either.
In closing 1 think 3 nights/3 days is sufficient here for Kruger. Try to do a couple of early morning safaris, 1 evening, and 1 night safari. I would suggest mixing it up so you have plenty of down time back at the hotel to rest.
Activities Desk Price List