Reviews of Pumba Private Game Reserve 5 stars
Highlands, 6140 Grahamstown, South Africa
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Reviewed: 4 September 2025 · Stayed in September 2025
Verified reviewSo natural and intricate detail in such a beautiful natural setting, just remarkable.
Reviewed: 28 August 2025 · Stayed in August 2025
Verified reviewReviewed: 21 August 2025 · Stayed in August 2025
Verified reviewBeautiful setting and stunning architecture which fitted in perfectly with its natural surroundings.
Nil.
Reviewed: 6 August 2025 · Stayed in August 2025
Verified reviewExcellent overall, good value. The little extras were great and the food was excellent. Phillip our ranger was great company for the whole time and we saw 4 of the big 5 plus many more.
Thank you for your wonderful feedback! We're so pleased to hear you found your stay to be excellent and great value. It's always the little extras that make a big difference, and we're glad you enjoyed them — along with the food! Phillip will be thrilled to hear your kind words, and we're delighted you got to experience 4 of the Big 5 and so much more. We hope to welcome you back for another unforgettable adventure soon!
Thank you for your wonderful feedback! We're so pleased to hear you found your stay to be excellent and great value. It's always the little extras that make a big difference, and we're glad you enjoyed them — along with the food… Show more
Reviewed: 31 July 2025 · Stayed in July 2025
Verified reviewWonderful location, great rooms, excellent staff. Really enjoyed my stay here with my daughter.
I would’ve enjoyed a little bit more variety with the food choices
Thank you for your lovely feedback! We're so glad to hear you and your daughter enjoyed the beautiful location, your room, and the service from our team — it means a lot to us. We appreciate your note about food variety and will certainly take it into consideration as we continue to improve the guest experience. We hope to welcome you both back again soon for another memorable stay!
Thank you for your lovely feedback! We're so glad to hear you and your daughter enjoyed the beautiful location, your room, and the service from our team — it means a lot to us. We appreciate your note about food variety and will certain… Show more
Reviewed: 23 July 2025 · Stayed in July 2025
Verified reviewThe staff were exceptional
Thank you so much for your kind words! We’re delighted to hear our team made such a great impression — your appreciation means the world to us. We hope to welcome you back again soon!
Reviewed: 20 July 2025 · Stayed in July 2025
Verified reviewWe liked everything about the property, lovely big rooms with fire lit at night to welcome us after dinner. Hot water bottle placed in the bed. The safaris morning and night were well organised and got to see a variety of animals. Guides very friendly too. All staff were welcoming. Food was of high standard as well
Nothing
Thank you for your fantastic feedback! We’re so pleased to hear you enjoyed every aspect of your stay — from the cozy rooms with the welcoming fires and hot water bottles to the well-organised morning and night safaris. It’s great to know our friendly guides and welcoming staff helped make your experience special, and that the food met your expectations. We truly appreciate your kind words and look forward to welcoming you back for another memorable visit!
Thank you for your fantastic feedback! We’re so pleased to hear you enjoyed every aspect of your stay — from the cozy rooms with the welcoming fires and hot water bottles to the well-organised morning and night safaris. It’s great to know o… Show more
Reviewed: 13 July 2025 · Stayed in June 2025
Verified reviewBeautiful lodges, two game drives a day with incredible sightings, lovely staff and amazing food. A very special experience
Thank you for your kind words! We're delighted to hear you enjoyed the beautiful lodges, thrilling game drives, friendly staff, and delicious food. It means so much to us that your experience was truly special. We look forward to welcoming you back for another memorable stay!
Thank you for your kind words! We're delighted to hear you enjoyed the beautiful lodges, thrilling game drives, friendly staff, and delicious food. It means so much to us that your experience was truly special. We look forward to welcom… Show more
Reviewed: 7 July 2025 · Stayed in July 2025
Verified reviewLoved it all.
Nothing
Thank you so much! We’re thrilled you loved everything and hope to welcome you back soon!
Reviewed: 13 June 2025 · Stayed in May 2025
Verified reviewEverything.
Thank you for the review!
Reviewed: 11 May 2025 · Stayed in May 2025
Verified reviewExcellent service, food and facilities.
A bit dated rooms and furniture
Thank you for your kind words about our service, food, and facilities—we’re so pleased you enjoyed them! We appreciate your feedback on the room and furniture, and we’re continuously working on updates to enhance our guest experience. We hope to welcome you back again soon!
Thank you for your kind words about our service, food, and facilities—we’re so pleased you enjoyed them! We appreciate your feedback on the room and furniture, and we’re continuously working on updates to enhance our guest experience. We ho… Show more
Reviewed: 7 May 2025 · Stayed in April 2025
Verified reviewVery big rooms. 2 Game Drives per day. Good food.
nothing
Thank you for your lovely feedback! We're so glad you enjoyed the spacious rooms, daily game drives, and delicious food. It’s wonderful to hear you had a great experience, and we hope to welcome you back for another memorable stay in the wild!
Thank you for your lovely feedback! We're so glad you enjoyed the spacious rooms, daily game drives, and delicious food. It’s wonderful to hear you had a great experience, and we hope to welcome you back for another memorable stay in th… Show more
Reviewed: 1 May 2025 · Stayed in April 2025
Verified reviewIt was a beautiful setting and had fantastic food. Staff were so lovely and the games drives very dramatic and amazing!
Nothing - just suggest booking for longer than one night - our stay was too short!
Thank you so much for your lovely feedback! We’re delighted you enjoyed the beautiful setting, delicious food, and thrilling game drives. Our team will be happy to hear that they made your stay special. We completely agree—one night is never enough! We look forward to welcoming you back for a longer, even more unforgettable experience soon.
Thank you so much for your lovely feedback! We’re delighted you enjoyed the beautiful setting, delicious food, and thrilling game drives. Our team will be happy to hear that they made your stay special. We completely agree—one night is neve… Show more
Reviewed: 29 April 2025 · Stayed in April 2025
Verified reviewThe staff, the accommodation and Denise our ranger were all great
Very disappointed with the dinner which was not very good. The lamb chops were uncutable.
Thank you for your feedback. We’re so pleased to hear you enjoyed the accommodation, our team, and your experience with Denise—she’ll be happy to hear your kind words! We’re sorry to hear that dinner didn’t meet your expectations, particularly the lamb chops, and we appreciate you bringing it to our attention. Your comments will be shared with our culinary team to ensure improvements.
Thank you for your feedback. We’re so pleased to hear you enjoyed the accommodation, our team, and your experience with Denise—she’ll be happy to hear your kind words! We’re sorry to hear that dinner didn’t meet your expectations, particula… Show more
Reviewed: 14 April 2025 · Stayed in April 2025
Verified reviewGreat facilities and excellent rangers. We got to see all the animals we wanted to and would definitely go back
Thank you for your wonderful feedback! We're thrilled you enjoyed the facilities and had a memorable experience with our rangers—and even got to see all the animals on your list! We look forward to welcoming you back for another unforgettable visit.
Thank you for your wonderful feedback! We're thrilled you enjoyed the facilities and had a memorable experience with our rangers—and even got to see all the animals on your list! We look forward to welcoming you back for another unforge… Show more
Reviewed: 12 April 2025 · Stayed in April 2025
Verified reviewAmazing location , amazing staff , amazing food & service.
Nothing to fault
Thank you so much for your fantastic review! We're thrilled to hear you enjoyed the location, staff, food, and service. We can’t wait to welcome you back for another amazing stay!
Reviewed: 23 March 2025 · Stayed in March 2025
Verified reviewThe Bush Lodge (2 nights) is in a nice location and is peaceful. Staff were generally very helpful. The rooms themselves were stunning, very large with lots of nice touches. From the terrace you could watch animals. The safari trips were well organised and I liked that you stayed with the same ranger/group for your whole visit, meaning viewings were well organised. I appreciated that staff/management did their very best to try and resolve the disappointment with our room, although ultimately it could not be changed. The Water Lodge (1 night) was stunning, overlooks a large lake with hippos and rooms were brighter and the whole lodge just felt more luxurious. Overall rating reflects the combined experience of both lodges, would have been higher if we had just stayed at the water lodge!
At Bush Lodge we were allocated a room with a view of the 'bush' - it was dark, dreary and offered no chance of viewing game. Plunge pool was dirty and uninviting. This is unacceptable when all rooms (view/no view) have the same pricing. There was nothing not to like at Water Lodge! At both lodges food was disappointing compared to other places with visited, just not very high quality. Breakfast at Bush Lodge was better than Water Lodge.
Thank you for your thoughtful and detailed feedback. We’re glad to hear that you enjoyed the peaceful location, the stunning rooms, and the safari experiences, especially the opportunity to stay with the same ranger and group. We're also pleased that you appreciated the Water Lodge’s location and luxury feel. We apologize for the disappointment regarding your room at Bush Lodge and the plunge pool condition. We understand how important the view and the quality of the room are, and we’re sorry that we couldn’t accommodate a change for you. Your comments about the food quality have been noted, and we will work on improving this aspect to ensure a better experience for future guests.
Thank you for your thoughtful and detailed feedback. We’re glad to hear that you enjoyed the peaceful location, the stunning rooms, and the safari experiences, especially the opportunity to stay with the same ranger and group. We're als… Show more
Reviewed: 17 March 2025 · Stayed in March 2025
Verified reviewSecond time - the most fantastic setting, staff and animals
Zero
Thank you for your amazing review! We're so glad you had another unforgettable experience, especially witnessing the cheetah hunt up close! It's wonderful to hear that the setting, staff, and animals made such a lasting impression. We can’t wait to welcome you back for even more incredible moments!
Thank you for your amazing review! We're so glad you had another unforgettable experience, especially witnessing the cheetah hunt up close! It's wonderful to hear that the setting, staff, and animals made such a lasting impression. … Show more
Reviewed: 1 March 2025 · Stayed in December 2024
Verified reviewReviewed: 23 February 2025 · Stayed in January 2025
Verified reviewLarge and clean room with a great view of the pond! We enjoyed our stay very much and were quite happy. We saw white lions and got some great photos. The landscape is heavily covered in brush and does not have as many open savannahs as some other resorts. So the animals are sometimes harder to see and to track.
We're so glad you enjoyed the large, clean room with a great view of the pond, and that you had the chance to see the white lions and capture some amazing photos. We understand that the landscape is more densely covered, which can sometimes make wildlife spotting a bit more challenging. We appreciate your understanding and hope to welcome you back for more memorable safari experiences!
We're so glad you enjoyed the large, clean room with a great view of the pond, and that you had the chance to see the white lions and capture some amazing photos. We understand that the landscape is more densely covered, which can some… Show more
Reviewed: 18 February 2025 · Stayed in February 2025
Verified reviewPumba is five star all the way! We were truly delighted with our four night stay there . Our room (Impala Chalet #1), is exquisite with high end yet comfortable furnishings and a fantastic view over the lake. It was a thrill to sit on our private balcony, watching the animals coming to drink from the lake. And we were happy to dip in our little plunge pool ! The staff were exceptional - Chantal and Vuyo in reception; our wonderful waiters in the dining room; and Mabhuti, our guide were all second to none. We thoroughly enjoyed two game drives per day in Mabhuti's care. We learned so much about the animals and the reserve from him and really appreciated his humour and knowledge. We feel very fortunate that he was our guide! The food was tasty and the menu changed every day. Everything is included so we could get iced coffees, snacks and other treats in between the set meal times. There is a generous hospitality bar in each room - loaded with wine, beer , soft drinks, water, snacks, coffee (a REAL coffee maker - not instant coffee!) and a jar of homemade cookies which was restocked daily, There was nothing lacking. We met Roland, the manager, who was friendly and helpful and he clearly cares deeply about his guests. Overall, we can't say enough about our time at Pumba other than we wish we could have stayed longer!! Do yourself a favour and treat yourself to a stay at this wonderful , magical place! Thank you to everyone at Pumba!!
Nothing, everything was wonderful!!
Wow, thank you for your fantastic feedback! We’re absolutely thrilled to hear that your stay at Pumba was such a memorable one. It’s wonderful that you enjoyed your room with the lake view, the plunge pool, and the daily safari drives with Mabhuti. We’ll be sure to pass along your kind words to Chantal, Vuyo, Mabhuti, and the rest of the team—they’ll be so pleased! We’re also delighted that the food, hospitality bar, and other touches made your stay extra special. Your recommendation means the world to us, and we can’t wait to welcome you back for another magical stay.
Wow, thank you for your fantastic feedback! We’re absolutely thrilled to hear that your stay at Pumba was such a memorable one. It’s wonderful that you enjoyed your room with the lake view, the plunge pool, and the daily safari drives with … Show more
Reviewed: 15 February 2025 · Stayed in January 2025
Verified reviewThis is an exceptional property. The accommodation is outstanding, as are the staff and service. All food was amazing. Our ranger Wesley was excellent; knowledgeable, informative and great fun.
Thank you for your wonderful review! We’re so pleased to hear that you enjoyed the accommodation, service, and food. We’ll be sure to share your kind words with Wesley—he’ll be thrilled to know you had such a great experience with him. We hope to welcome you back soon for another exceptional stay!
Thank you for your wonderful review! We’re so pleased to hear that you enjoyed the accommodation, service, and food. We’ll be sure to share your kind words with Wesley—he’ll be thrilled to know you had such a great experience with him. We h… Show more
Reviewed: 2 February 2025 · Stayed in January 2025
Verified reviewGreat sraffAmazing sightings.Beautiful accommodation
Thank you for your great feedback! We're so glad you enjoyed the staff, the amazing sightings, and the beautiful accommodation. We hope to welcome you back for another fantastic stay!
Reviewed: 2 February 2025 · Stayed in December 2024
Verified reviewReviewed: 25 January 2025 · Stayed in January 2025
Verified reviewStunning location and original
Nothing yo dislike
Thank you for your lovely review! We're thrilled you enjoyed the stunning location and the unique experience. We look forward to welcoming you back soon!