Lush Private Game Lodge

After visiting the Lush Game Lodge in May 2024, I can’t stop thinking about the AMAZING experience they provided. From the moment you arrive and are welcomed home you are treated like royalty- nothing is too much trouble. Hannes was our fantastic ranger. He made us feel so special filling us with knowledge as well as yummy food and drinks. Hannes helped us enjoy the best sightings twice a day not only the obvious animals, but the sometimes elusive tiny creatures and birds too. I was gushing after each trip into the park. It was magical and I couldn’t have asked for more (even the trucks are FABULOUS)! The attention to detail at the lodge is second to none. We stayed in both a suite and a deluxe suite due to availability. I can say both are wonderful with lovely special touches such as throw blankets, scented candles and bath salts. The food is next level yummy served by a wonderful kind staff. I recall service from Bindi and Rodney (apologies if I’ve spelled your name wrong) because they both conveyed such a lovely attitude. Lastly, Dalmein certainly sets the tone at the Lodge welcoming, helpful and kind. I can’t say enough good things…. In fact, I’m planning my return next year! Loved it!

We picked up the two gentle man from Or Tambo airport and it took us about 2:45 minutes driver . Oh the weather for the day was fantastic clear sky . When arrived we were received by 3 beautiful staff member lady that we very nice to us . We did all the admin work sitting nicely at the same time served with ice cold soft drink that soften all the tiredness from the long trip . The luggages were already taken to our chalet and when we get there the luggages was in order . The Beaty of the chalet is just close to nothing , it gives such a lovely view of the park . The early morning game drive was fantastic, we all enjoyed our time there , Thank u so so much Lush private game lodge for your hospitality, much appreciated.

Lush has ruined all other game lodges for us … we now can’t go anywhere else we were running late and Dalmein was so kind on the phone and called us down- they waited for us so we could do the game drive . ROOMS- better than any place we have ever stayed! The room was beautiful FOOD- game drive snacks are the best , drink flowing, breakfast was amazing, lunch so clever - just platters of yummy food , dinner great. Just high tea could be worked on. GAME DRIVES- Sean was great - answered our many questions , laughed at all our silly jokes and showed us the most amount of animals I have ever seen! Cheetah, lions, hippo, elephant, giraffe, kudu, rhino … and more . He gave us hot water bottles , fresh water in our water bottles and lots of blankets etc SERVICE - amazing , genuinely friendly and kind staff They helped us celebrate my birthday and Father’s Day in style ! You won’t regret staying at Lush. 3 nights is a perfect stay!

In short, this is a great lodge which brings luxury to the bush, we had an amazing time and would reccomend lush highly. When we booked, even having done much research we went in with some unanswered questions. In some ways it was nice to have these are surprises and honestly the whole experience was fantastic. So it might you may want to consider not reading further to leave some surprises for when you arrive. Some of the questions we had before arriving were: What is the situation with food/dinning? We were quite concerned about the food situation we are somewhat picky eaters and we were also not keen on the idea of communal dinning. So the meals went like this, breakfast in the morning after the morning game drive around 10-11am, this consisted of a buffet style continental breakfast, a relatively small range but all very high quality, they had croissants that were amazing, a toast station, fresh bread with some cheeses and cold meats along with fruit and a section with yogurt and granola mixes. They also offer a cooked breakfast option of eggs, cooked meats and french toast. Top tip, if you like crispy bacon make sure you ask for it to be cooked crispy. In terms of seating you will find the tables all laid out when you arrive for breakfast and you can take your pick, this is not communal but given it is fresh from a game drive we often found ourselves chatting to those sat around us about what we each saw that morning. This was served in the main lodge area, near the bar. The next meal was lunch which was served from 1:30pm daily this was not what we were expecting, so all but one of the days during our 6 day stay this was served in the main lodge area, the other being on top of the wine cellar which was a beautiful location, similar to breakfast we would arrive and the tables pre-laid out and we got to choose where we sat. The lunch service was odd, we would be able to order drinks from the waiter but once our food was ready they would literally bring out a small platter of food to the table, this was a total surprise each day and we didn’t know what we were having until it was presented on the table. All of the lunch meals were beautifully presented and the variety was really good, most of the meals consisted of 2 proteins and 2 sides/salads. The lunch food was all delicious, we were particularly impressed with a lamb tagine presented in an edible bowl which was amazing. Given we are picky eaters we sometimes mentioned to the wait staff beforehand about some of the foods were don’t like, on one occasion they said the food all contained things we didn’t like so offered to throw us something “basic” together instead, we said that would be fine and we were so impressed by what came out, it certainly wasn’t what we would consider basic! Lunch was an odd one for us, it was probably some of the tastiest food we had during our stay but the delivery format meant there was a certain amount of stress that came with it, I’m sure if we didn’t e

Our stay at Lush was very pleasant, from the welcome, the facilities, the game drives, the dining experience and the staff. It is a magnificent lodge in all respects. Our ranger, Avi was fantastic. A special mention has to be made of Dalmane, Phindi, Taolo, Pule, Clinton, Rodney, Kea (+ her colleague in the spa, whose name I forgot sadly) and Gloria; they were very attentive and professional in everything they did for us. The bar staff were all amazing too. For a luxurious 5-star lodge like Lush, we felt not enough attention to detail was given in some instances. For example, I reported a Nespresso machine in my room (room 2) that was not working and nothing was done about it. At one point our 4 girls were sharing a suite yet only one shower cap was provided for all of them. When we upgraded to the deluxe suite there were no slippers for us in the suite. On more than one occasion the bar ran out of items on their menu - strawberry for the daiquiri, and fresh mint for the mojito. On one of the dinners, a special wine was offered and recommended to us without any mention that it was not on the “inclusive” list of beverages….We didn’t mind paying for it at checkout, but I was put off by the underhanded manner in which it was offered. My wife and asked for ice cream as an alternative for the dessert on the set menu and there wasn’t any available. Their maintenance staff drove their van in front of our suite (which had an outdoor shower and bath) one afternoon, and no one had checked with us or given prior warning ……we could have been showering outside!! One of the staff assigned to our table, I felt , lacked a sense of good professional etiquette. In the guise of being attentive, he became intrusive and overbearing (I am not sure if it was intentional or not). He had a patronizing approach that made us feel like he thought we had never been to an establishment of this type before. He spent an inordinate amount of time at our table unnecessarily explaining, in detail, things no one asked him to explain, e.g. how to identify items on the menu, what an omelette is and what a poached egg is…….(my sister-in-law still got served scrambled egg with bacon after ordering an omelette with no pork products, and he dared insist it was what she ordered). We were asked to repeat our breakfast orders more than once (and raise our hands so he could count how many coffees and/or hot chocolates we wanted) as he got himself frazzled by his own unsolicited explanatory monologues. I want to believe he is a good person with a lot of potential, but he needs some serious guidance. There is a very fine line between being attentive and being intrusive/overbearing; he needs to learn to recognize that difference. Guests need to be given space to enjoy their meals and their own company in peace without an obtrusive waiter hovering over them. In spite of the glitches mentioned, we had a wonderful time at Lush.

Staying at Lush Lodge was like being part of a dream. From the welcome we received to the absolutely stunning decor, to the once in a lifetime safari experiences…this lodge gave us memories that will last a lifetime. The staff couldn’t have done enough for us - special mention to Andrew, Taolo and Rodney whose customer service went above and beyond. The food each day was so delicious - I loved that there was no menu for lunch as it encouraged us to try so many authentic dishes and nothing disappointed. Chef’s kiss! Ruan was our driver for our safari trips and again, we couldn’t have wished for better. His knowledge, his dedication to finding animals to show us as well as his hospitality all contributed to making this a phenomenal trip for us! If you are going to Johannesburg for safari, then you HAVE to stay at Lush Lodge, no questions asked!! We have told everyone we know about this place and will continue to do so until we get a chance to come back ourselves. Thank you for making our trip something we will never, ever forget!