Need to know
Rooms
Nine standalone suites.
Check–Out
11am and check-in is at noon. Both are flexible, on request and subject to availability.
More details
Rates are full board (including game drive refreshments) and cover two safari excursions a day.
Also
Guests with limited mobility should request suites six and seven as they’re closest to the main lodge. Access isn’t entirely step-free though, and there are no specially-adapted rooms for wheelchair users.
At the hotel
Wildlife viewing platforms, library and lounges, safari boutique, laundry service and free WiFi throughout. In rooms: plunge pool, air-conditioning, minibar, writing desk and Karoo Lavender bath products.
Our favourite rooms
Connected by wooden walkways which snake through the thicket, each of the nine standalone suites camouflages into the Kwandwe wilderness with thatched roofs and stone walls. The earthy, safari-inspired interiors are the same throughout, with private plunge pools and outdoor showers to cool off in, plus ruggedly handsome river views at every turn.
Poolside
Soak up the far-reaching views across the Great Fish River and surrounding subtropical thicket from your in-suite plunge pool, with comfy loungers to kick back on beneath a thatched pergola. Bonus points for spotting wildlife while you’re wallowing in your own watering hole.
Spa
Soothing post-safari treatments are delivered in your suite using natural ingredients from African wellness brand, TheraNaka. We’d recommend a Baobab-infused massage and detoxifying mud wrap out on your panoramic terrace for maximum ‘aaah’ effect.
Packing tips
The lodge’s quick-turnaround laundry service and expedition essentials-stocked boutique mean you can pack light (we’re talking duffle bag light). Just be sure to bring a pair of thoroughly broken-in boots if you plan on joining the nature treks.
Also
If you’re planning a special occasion, the lodge’s library can be converted into an intimate private dining room with its own fireplace.
Children
Over-12s are welcome, and every suite can be twinned on request – there aren’t any adjoining bedrooms though, so families will be better catered for at sister property Ecca Lodge.
Sustainability efforts
As part of the vast Kwandwe Private Game Reserve, stays at Great Fish River Lodge contribute towards ongoing conservation and community-based projects both on and off the reserve. The nightly levy helps to fund rewilding and reforestation schemes, alongside social impact initiatives run in partnership with the Ubunye Foundation – a local development trust striving to create sustainable livelihoods for the Eastern Cape’s marginalised rural communities. The reserve initially reclaimed 54,000 acres of farmland for conservation, and reintroduced over 7,000 wildlife species including the endangered black rhinos and rare African wildcats. The lodge itself is just about as off-grid as they come, running almost entirely off renewable energy from the reserve’s three solar farms. Bathrooms are stocked with eco-friendly products by South Africa’s Karoo Lavender, and the water supply comes from onsite rainwater harvesting.