Bushmans Kloof Wilderness Reserve and Wellness Retreat

We had a fantastic family stay at Bushmans Kloof Wilderness Reserve and Wellness Retreat. The accommodations, restaurant, and spa were all exceptional, complemented by a friendly and professional staff who made us feel at home from the start. While the reserve doesn't feature the Big Five, it offers a rich variety of wildlife, stunning plants, and fascinating rock art. Our guide, Byron, impressed us with his extensive knowledge of the local flora and rock art, enhancing our experience significantly. This retreat is a true gem for nature lovers seeking tranquility and beauty.

What a fantastic place. Luxurious from start to finish. The rooms are gorgeous and we loved how they structured the evening menus - like small plates (but bigger than tapas) and you could choose as many or as few as you wanted and in any order. Really creative cuisine with lots from their own garden (which is definitely worth a tour by the way). You are given your own guide who is with you throughout your stay not only to take you on drives but to make sure you have everything you want. I was poorly while we were there with a terrible cough and then a reaction to a steroid inhaler and they could not do enough for me to make me comfortable and rested. The Rooibos tea is definitely not to be missed. I missed out on the Rock Paintings (due to being ill) but the other half thoroughly enjoyed them. I did however manage the evening drives, a night drive to view the Milky Way and our guide arranged a tour of the garden with the Head Gardener. Top tip from us - book the Walled Garden Evening Dinner - it was soooooo romantic. This was the perfect place to unwind at the start of our African adventure and it really set us up for the weeks to come. We will definitely work Bushmans Kloof into future itineraries in South Africa.

We booked a 2 night midweek stay to experience what this resort and area have to offer and we were certainly not disappointed. From the moment we arrived we were totally spoiled. From high tea on arrival, wonderful dinner the first night. Great breakfast, fantastic drive with the best guide having amazing knowledge of the fauna, flora and the San Rock Art. Return to the lodge for continuation of breakfast, canoeing on the dam, a wonderful picnic all alone on the side of the dam under the shade of the trees, back to the lodge to relax and digest (couldnt make the high tea), and then again a bespoke dinner by the fire with the most wonderful wine selection. The next morning the breakfast was once again amazing and then due to rain we just relaxed, visited the heritage centre and then made our way back home. What an experience!

We really enjoyed our visit to this beautiful place. From start to finish everything was great, the morning rock art trips were fascinating and the evening wildlife drives very enjoyable. There were also multiple other activities to enjoy eg canoeing and some lovely nature trails / walks. The stars at night were mesmerising. Our guide Liam was excellent, always finding different things to look at, be it animals, rock art, weather, scenery, stars, plants etc etc, brilliant. Hospitality here is first rate with consistently high standards of accommodation, housekeeping, food , drinks and service. A fabulous place to relax, unwind, get spoiled and enjoy nature at its very best. Thanks to everyone for taking such good care of us.

Without a doubt one of the best luxury travel experiences in South Africa. Impeccable staff, knowledgeable guides, beautiful landscaping, wonderful content , stunning interiors and with 20 years of travelling and holiday making this is one of my Top ten all time best hotel experiences.

We had 4 nights here in December 2023 - what a revelation. An absolute oasis in the Cederberg Mountains. Our guide, Evan, made the trips so interesting with his outstanding nature knowledge, soft humour and excellent service that we were first in the truck every morning and evening of our stay. They cottage we stayed in was roomy and a slight issue with the toilet was promptly remedied. Eating outside every evening as the wildlife walked by was a real treat - the meals were superb and the staff friendly. A very memorable stay!

We spent 4 nights at Bushmans Kloof and loved every moment! The setting and landscape is spectacular, the activities are fantastic, the staff were lovely and the food.....oh the food!!!...... probably the best food we've had in many trips to S Africa. Absolutely genius menu concept, superbly executed. The drive from the gate to the lodge is.......well, let's just say we wish we had a 4WD vehicle! There had been a lot of rain the week before though. It was definitely an adventure and it feels stunningly remote! The lodge itself is beautiful, surrounded by amazing nature. The pools are wonderful, and we were very happy that most of them were not heated. The walking trails are absolutely fantastic, it's so rare to be in a wildlife reserve yet still be able to walk unaccompanied (no predators), but see lots of plains game while on foot (including v cute baby zebra). The rock art is amazing and the way the guides structure the morning and afternoon game drives works fantastically well. It's a huge reserve and we really felt like we saw the furthest reaches of it, all of it spectacular. We loved the other activities, fishing, canoeing, but the walks (where you have to navigate yourselves via piles of stones) were just the best. The only thing we would change is the size of the room..... it was definitely on the cosy/bijou side. And it seems strange that quite a lot of the rooms are that small, given the huge amount of space they have at their disposal. We had a luxury room, but given that it wasn't even big enough for 2 comfy chairs, just 1, not sure that it quite meets the "luxury" description. But this was the only slight negative about our visit. We have stayed at a Red Carnation hotel before, where the service was exceptional, and so had high hopes, which were definitely met. We really can't praise BK highly enough, we'd been wanting to visit for years and it exceeded all expectations. We totally loved it and will most definitely come back.

We were treated like royalty! Excellent service, food and accommodation. Added bonuses were the Rock art excursions, Game drives and dinner at the mountain surprise venue. Their rooibos iced tea is a winner!