Reviews
Map
Sleeping areas
{ $store.general.updateOpenTray('establishment-rates', 'Rates and availability for Mabalingwe\u0020Elephant\u0020Lodge\u0020Unit\u0020253\u0020Eagle', 0, false, 90, false, true, {"establishment_location":"Mabalingwe Nature Reserve","tab_names":{"overview":{"en":"Overview","af":"Oorsig"},"rooms":{"en":"Rooms","af":"Kamers"},"map":{"en":"Map","af":"Kaart"},"rates":{"en":"Rates","af":"Tariewe"},"reviews":{"en":"Reviews","af":"Resensies"},"enquiry":{"en":"Book","af":"Bespreek"},"post-enquiry":{"en":"Successful Enquiry","af":"Suksesvolle Navraag"},"permanently-delisted":{"en":"","af":""},"temporary-delisted":{"en":"","af":""}},"tab_links":{"overview":"\/accommodation\/mabalingwe-elephant-lodge-unit-253-eagle\/","rooms":"\/accommodation\/mabalingwe-elephant-lodge-unit-253-eagle?tab=rooms","map":"\/accommodation\/mabalingwe-elephant-lodge-unit-253-eagle?tab=location","rates":"\/accommodation\/mabalingwe-elephant-lodge-unit-253-eagle?tab=rates","reviews":"\/accommodation\/mabalingwe-elephant-lodge-unit-253-eagle?tab=reviews","enquiry":"\/accommodation\/mabalingwe-elephant-lodge-unit-253-eagle\/book","post-enquiry":"\/accommodation\/mabalingwe-elephant-lodge-unit-253-eagle\/success","permanently-delisted":"\/accommodation\/mabalingwe-elephant-lodge-unit-253-eagle\/","temporary-delisted":"\/accommodation\/mabalingwe-elephant-lodge-unit-253-eagle\/"},"robots":"noindex","cancellation_policy":{"type":"strict","details":[{"period":"1 month","percentage":"50","minimum":false},{"period":"2 weeks","percentage":"25","minimum":false},{"period":"2 weeks","percentage":"0","minimum":true}],"name":"Strict"},"rates_grid_json":"{\"units\":\"[{\\\"id\\\":231414,\\\"room_name\\\":\\\"Mabalingwe Elephant Lodge Unit 253 Eagle\\\",\\\"exact\\\":true}]\",\"room\":1,\"adult\":2,\"child\":0,\"child_ages\":[],\"start_day\":\"24\",\"start_month\":10,\"start_year\":\"2024\",\"element_hack\":\"grid\"}","has_reaction":false,"include_pensioner_specials":false,"bookings_at_establishment":false,"is_favourited_establishment":false,"address":"Off the R516, Mabalingwe Nature Reserve, Bela-Bela, 0480, Limpopo","selected_special":null,"static_map_url":"https:\/\/maps.locationiq.com\/v3\/staticmap?key=pk.fd2e632d800e3cb7cf76826d11411c41&size=730x470&zoom=14&format=png¢er=-24.823009507944,28.061699592609&marker=icon:small-black-cutout|-24.823009507944,28.061699592609","overall_review":{"average_value_score":"3.1","average_service_score":"2.8","average_cleanliness_score":"2.7","average_location_score":"4.3","average_safety_score":"3.7"}}); }, 800);">
Rates
Mabalingwe Elephant Lodge Unit 253 Eagle
Mabalingwe Elephant Lodge Unit 253 Eagle
Mabalingwe Elephant Lodge Unit 253 Eagle
-
The double-storey house comprises 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, a kitchen, and a lounge. One of the rooms is furnished with a queen-size bed, and the other 2 rooms each contain twin beds. Each of the bathrooms has a bath and a shower. For convenience, bath towels are provided, and guests please need to bring their own swimming towels.
The open-plan kitchen is equipped with a stove, an oven, a microwave, a fridge, cutlery and crockery, as well as tea- and coffee-making facilities. Guests can enjoy their meals at the dining table, and relax in the lounge that is equipped with a TV with selected DStv channels.
The unit has a private boma for a braai under the stars, and unfortunately, pets cannot be accommodated.
Mabalingwe Elephant Lodge Unit 253 Eagle is approximately 400 m from the main swimming pool, mini-golf course, tennis- and squash courts, playground, restaurants and shops. Activities in the large Mabalingwe Nature Reserve include night- and game drives, sunset tours, bird watching, safaris, and more.
The double-storey house comprises 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, a kitchen, and a lounge. One of the rooms is furnished with a queen-size bed, and the other 2 rooms each contain twin beds. Each of the bathrooms has a bath and a shower. For convenience, bath towels are provided, and guests please need to bring their own swimming towels.
The open-plan kitchen is equipped with a stove, an oven, a microwave, a fridge, cutlery and crockery, as well as tea- and coffee-making facilities. Guests can enjoy their meals at the dining table, and relax in the lounge that is equipped with a TV with selected DStv channels.
The unit has a private boma for a braai under the stars, and unfortunately, pets cannot be accommodated.
Mabalingwe Elephant Lodge Unit 253 Eagle is approximately 400 m from the main swimming pool, mini-golf course, tennis- and squash courts, playground, restaurants and shops. Activities in the large Mabalingwe Nature Reserve include night- and game drives, sunset tours, bird watching, safaris, and more.
Features
Reviews (39)
39 guests' feedbackFor £100 for 6 sleepers, it offered tranquility at its best.
Very quiet and relaxed.
We were booked for Elephant Lodge 253 but stayed in 254. The house is wonderfully spacious, although it needs a lot of maintenance and there were no bowls, tongs etc. not.
Place has a lot of potential, but needs an urgent "upgrade". There wasn't even a tong. Cleanliness was not very good. Kettle can be descaled regularly, you can't even make coffee in it.
I won't repeat what all the other reviewers have already said. The unit requires attention and maintenance.
The unit was dirty, had a terrible stinky smell like something dead and was only sorted out after the 3rd day of complaining. The interior doors are broken, taps leak, weeds everywhere on the pavement, oven and stove not working properly, one fridge not cooling properly, sofas in poor condition, one in room chewed by rats. Kitchen does not have plastic bowls or bowls with lids. Most of the windows' curtains are in poor condition or not even there anymore. No provision for load shedding. Furniture and boma different than in photos.
It was a great experience.
The hot water was not enough for all of us. Include iron in the room please.
See stars
The bones of the house are great, but nothing is maintained and the place was extremely grubby. Unclean linen, grimy toilets, leaky taps and shower doors that were covered in soapscum, just to mention a few. The main entrance door's lock was broken so our unit did not lock, but it didn't matter because the sliding door came off the rail and jammed so we couldn't close it anyways.
Upon arrival we found that the main door could not lock. The one sink in one of the bedrooms overflowed because the plug was pushed in and the tap was leaking. The bed linen was not freshly made and the unit was still dirty. I spoke to one of the women, Christa, who then told me she would send the manager to come and check. Unfortunately it took a while and we were on our way to go swimming and she said he would come by the next day but no one was there. We just used a rope to "lock" the tall sliding door from the inside. It rained a little this weekend and every bedroom in the unit has a leak. I think the unit has a lot of potential but the maintenance is not done. I also feel that if you stick to your check-in time and your accommodation has not been cleaned yet one feels disappointed.
Loved the park, pools, restaurant and play areas for the kids. The unit we stayed in was not nice at all, needs extensive maintenance and cleaning.
Tried walking into a dirty place - front door broken, place still not clean on arrival, all 3 bedroom door handles off, broken, filthy dirty stove and oven broken, microwave rusted, master bedroom fan on in June but no batteries in remotes to to be able to turn off. Fish moths all over beds and whole house covered in ants! Baths dirty, toilet seats crooked, only 2 people can shower then water is finished, cabinet under sink broken and crooked, wall plugs open, no broom, bedding old, lights without bulbs. Or broken light bulb shields. Is the house never gone through and checked? We were extremely disappointed, cutlery for 6 not there, pots dirty and old, now still waiting for maintenance person! We expect to be contacted personally for such extremely poor circumstances. Felt ashamed to take my grown children to such a place.
Definitely an experience with wildlife passing a few meters in front of the house. The unit is equipped with everything that will be needed. Restuarant is close and very convenient for children to play at the pools/putt-putt etc. to play. The game drives were very affordable. Will definitely want to use the Spa on my next visit.
The chalet was tidy but the cleaning services are not up to standard. The blanket was not clean. We asked the lady and she said she could only provide 1 clean blanket. It would be good if there is a broom in the unit.
There were problems with 2 of the toilets when we got there, which were then sorted the next day.
All the bathrooms (ablution blocks) need urgent attention. All 3 leak and are unsanitary. One toilet bowl does not draw water and has to fill itself with buckets. Big water wastage due to faucets leaking in all the bathrooms - replace washers! Loft bathroom's one faucet is gone.
Unfortunately there was only 1 shower in the main room with hot water over the 2 nights so a bit disappointing for 6 people to share 1 shower. I did report on Sat. morning to housekeeper and the leaking toilet. For R2000 per night I would not expect either.
Elephant Lodge Unit 253 is in need of TLC. The plumbing is a huge concern. The property is riddled with ants. Other than that the game reserve and resort facilities were amazing. The location is awesome.
There are taps that don't work and those that leak. The front door's sliding door has difficulty opening and closing as well as opening and closing. One room door does not have a handle. The stairs to the upper room are very stylish and difficult to climb. Some of the cabinet doors hang askew on the hinges. The upper room's curtain cannot open at all. The curtains below do not close the venters either. There is a gap at one window between the frame below and the wall. But it is a spacious unit and very clean. If all the faults are fixed, it will be a lovely holiday spot. There is no cell phone reception, but that is a blessing in disguise. We were forced to rest. Mabalingwe itself is beautiful!
After reading a previous review about the unit having problems with faucets and toilets leaking I contacted management to find out if it had been fixed, management explained to me that it had been sorted the previous week . When we arrived the place looked like a construction site. Toilets cement finishing is still done, wet cement, faucets still leaking, the upstairs toilet leaked all over the floor. The place needs a paint, and a lot of upgrading work, plastic chairs are very old and already ugly, barbecue grill is battered, tiles on the porch are broken and some tiles are just gone. Sliding doors have difficulty opening. Management at least gave us 50% of our money back for which we are grateful because the unit is not worth the price and it was embarrassing for us to invite our friends to such a place.
Front door/sliding door must be completely replaced. The sliding mechanisms no longer work and are very difficult to open and close. There are fish moths all over the unit. I think only 2 taps in total are not leaking. Thorough plumbing work required. It has been raining a lot and the roof is leaking absolutely everywhere. We didn't know how to move the beds anymore because everywhere got wet. We reported it and Monique said she would send someone out but no one came to check. The one toilet was blocked but it was sorted out in the morning after all. The so-called blinds are broken and cannot be rolled up (kitchen and upper room). In the master bedroom, the fan turns on when you turn off the bathroom light. At least we could laugh about it. The location is beautiful and nature around wonderful. But I felt ashamed to host my children and in-laws there the two nights.
Doors don't close. Toilets leak. Faucets Leak.
The place is dirty and needs urgent maintenance. The faucets and toilets leak. The electricity is not up to standard 2/3 of the lights don't work or even have light bulbs in them, there are open power lines. None of the exterior lights work. The thatched roof leaks in all four rooms, there is not enough crockery for 6 people, there is no broom or outside dustbin. The sliding doors are missing handles and in urgent need of repair. The patio tiles are loose and create a danger.
I'd definitely come there again.
The private boma is fantastic. Air conditioning in the 2 lower rooms was handy in the summer. Maybe a bar of soap in the bathroom would be nice. The game drive was very nice and well executed by Jack. The climb up at the caravan park instead of at the pool and shopping area (right next to our Lodge) was somewhat further than perhaps needed.
The unit needs urgent maintenance. You will have to go through everything to see what works. For example, the drains are blocked (sinks and showers), the dishwasher sprays everything wet, some of the plugs and lights don't work, etc. Thanks to the manager who came to fix the leaking toilet and pipe. The unit is ideal for a weekend getaway with all the necessary facilities.
Unit 253 was given to a family and we were given 2 sleeper chalets instead, very nice, next to a stream, even better than the big house.
A great place for a family with children of all ages.
Our TV was not working and made numerous call for assistance, but no one came to assist us.
The power keeps tripping, especially when you use the stove. The power lead to the fridges was shorting and we were without refrigeration for the last part of our stay. The main entrance sliding door goes off the rails and gets stuck. The taps in the kitchen don’t open gradually. Water pressure was either too low or way too high with no in-between. Otherwise the bedrooms were fine, the linen and towels clean and no other issues.
The one bathroom toilet leaked, smelled of urine. We reported the toilet and it was then "fixed", but the leaking started again after two flushes. The electricity tripped when we switched on the one bedroom's aircon and when we used the stove and any other appliance. We also reported this, but it continued to trip throughout the weekend. The nature was lovely, but the house needs maintenance.
After staying at 2 other lodges, our stay at Elephant lodge Unit 235 Eagle was a totally different story. Out of the 3 entrance doors, only one door open directly into one of the main bedrooms could get opened with a struggle each time from the outside, the main middle door could only be opened from the inside and the other bedroom door could not be opened at all. Then one of the bedroom doors could not close at all as it was without a lock, we had to put a suitcase against it for keep it close. So to say the least this was not very comfortable at all. The power had tripped about 6 times. The cold water taps from 2 out of the 3 bathrooms was a dirty black colour. At one stage there was no water in the bathroom of the room where we had stay. So we had to go up stairs to shower in the third bathroom. With our arrival, the veranda and braai area was dirty. Me an my husband had to clean these areas ourselves before my sister and her husband had arrived. The cold water tap at the kitchen was spitting water all over the place. So we were forced to stop using this tap. Several of the tiles on the veranda are broken or completely missing. It seems that there is a big maintenance shortage at this lodge. Otherwise the lodge was clean inside. And we enjoyed the animals in the area.
My Christmas was spoiled by the service we have received. I booked for 2 houses but only received one and I was called time to time again for balance and I was told that security will come evict me yet it was not my fault that we were trapped in 1 house and no feedback on the other house, payment was done in May 2020 but was told on arrival that reference no 2 has expired, funny enough quotes were done on the same day and payment were done on the same dates but one expired. Doors from the bedroom were not opening. but otherwise the place was beautiful.
Beautiful resort with lots to do.
The company was good, our unit was stuffy on arrival and looked like it was not cleaned recently. Our electricity kept on tripping and it took time for them to help us. There is no iron to hire, not even at reception. The reception is so far from the main entrance but otherwise we enjoyed.
See rating.
Map
Room arrangements
More photos
before check-in
before check-in
before check-in
Calendar
Tap any rate to see more detailed pricing.
Price Includes
Check-in/check-out details
House rules
- Guests please need to bring their own swimming towels.- Unfortunately, pets cannot be accommodated.
- Smoking is not allowed in the unit.
- Please note, sections of the accommodation are accessed via stairs, and may not be suitable for young children, the elderly, or guests with disabilities.
The double-storey house comprises 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, a kitchen, and a lounge. One of the rooms is furnished with a queen-size bed, and the other 2 rooms each contain twin beds. Each of the bathrooms has a bath and a shower. For convenience, bath towels are provided, and guests please need to bring their own swimming towels.
The open-plan kitchen is equipped with a stove, an oven, a microwave, a fridge, cutlery and crockery, as well as tea- and coffee-making facilities. Guests can enjoy their meals at the dining table, and relax in the lounge that is equipped with a TV with selected DStv channels.
The unit has a private boma for a braai under the stars, and unfortunately, pets cannot be accommodated.
Mabalingwe Elephant Lodge Unit 253 Eagle is approximately 400 m from the main swimming pool, mini-golf course, tennis- and squash courts, playground, restaurants and shops. Activities in the large Mabalingwe Nature Reserve include night- and game drives, sunset tours, bird watching, safaris, and more.