Isandlwana Lodge

We travelled from Durban airport a 4 hour journey over difficult roads in the rain and the mist to be greeted by 2 members of staff wrapped up with thick coats and woolly hats. The lodge was cold with only 1 fire lit and a gas fire placed next to our table in the dining room. We were the only guests in the hotel. We were offered a small glass of apple juice as a welcome drink. The lodge and the rooms are very stylish with great views over the battlefields. The food was limited or no choice and I would describe as decent home cooking - definitely not restaurant quality. There was no buffet for breakfast - apples and grapes with yoghurt and a limited cooked breakfast, only apple juice and on our last day when we requested water we were advised that they had no still water. We only saw 2 members of staff Gloria was very pleasant and served all the meals. We had 2 tours of the battlefields with Dalton who was very engaging. The tours should have taken place in the hotel vehicle but was off the road due to a puncture? Dalton had to take us in his vehicle which wasn't really suitable for the roads and had no petrol. The entry in to the museum caused a problem as the card or cash from the hotel was not available so we had to pay and they reduced the tour price from our final bill. We paid a lot of money to stay at the hotel and it definitely did not meet our expectations. This seems to be a hotel living on past glory that is now struggling. The hotel needs to look at what it is able to deliver and amend it's pricepoint to match. I would definitely not recommend driving there yourself, we hired a driver - Don Botterill at Daytours KZN who we would recommend using. Unfortunately we would not be able to recommend this hotel and would highly recommend that they review the pricepoint to avoid disappointing expectations.

Several friends and I had a tremendous experience staying at Isandlwana Lodge last weekend. From the moment we arrived, we were properly looked after and engaged by the superb staff. Dinner was excellent along with a wonderful cooked breakfast the following morning. We understood we were choosing to stay during the winter season but even with the chillier temperatures, the staff provided multiple warmth elements to make us very comfortable including hot water bottles in our beds! I have stayed at Isandlwana Lodge previously (and relish every opportunity to return) but my friends were all experiencing it for the first time and loved it! We had a fantastic guided tour of the iSandlwana and Rorke's Drift Battlefields the following day by Lindizwe (Dalton) Ngobese - 100% recommend having Lindizwe take you for the tour if you stay at the Lodge. I already can't wait to stay there again!

Stayed here two nights in April 2024. Really quirky boutique hotel in a fabulous location with views across the plains for miles. Hotel is tastefully decorated with a real African feel to it, food is good and everything is clean and presentable. The hotel emanates peace and tranquility with the only noise from birds and animals. The iconic Isandlwana Mountain is prominent in the distance where you can watch the sun set on the battlefield and contemplate what those fighting were going through newly 150 years ago.