Name: Umfolozi Riverlodge & Birdpark
Address: Lot k85 Umfolozi Village, 3935 Mtubatuba, South Africa, Dukuduk, Dukuduk, Dukuduk, 3935, South Africa
Rating: 6

Smoke-free property

Garden

Terrace

Patio

Outdoor furniture

General

Non-smoking rooms

Room service

Fridge

Family room

Cable TV

Flat-screen TV

Shower/Bathtub

Linens

Toiletries

Rooms

Accessibility features

Accessibility

Iron and board

Ironing

Laundry

Safe-deposit box

Iron

Services and amenities

Coffee/tea for guests

Diet menu (on request)

Restaurant

Snack bar

Packed Lunches

Bottled water (at extra charge)

Kettle

Meals

Internet access

Internet

English

Languages Spoken

Barbecue grill(s)

Hiking

Picnic area

Fishing

Recreation

Parking

Water park

Swimming pool

Outdoor pool

Beach/pool towels

Pool and beach

Fax and copy machine

Meeting and presentation facilities

Business

Diving

Cycling

Snorkelling

Sports

Children's playground

Family/Kid Friendly

Kids

Pets allowed

Pets

Location

At the hotel

Room amenities

Dukuduku Airport

Richards Bay Airport

Umfolozi Riverlodge & Birdpark

Dukuduk

child-bed

child-bed-fee

external-private-bathroom

private-bathroom

shared-bathroom

10-beds

11-beds

12-beds

13-beds

14-beds

15-beds

16-beds

17-beds

18-beds

19-beds

2-beds

20-beds

21-beds

22-beds

23-beds

24-beds

25-beds

26-beds

27-beds

28-beds

29-beds

3-beds

30-beds

31-beds

32-beds

33-beds

34-beds

35-beds

36-beds

37-beds

38-beds

39-beds

4-beds

40-beds

5-beds

6-beds

7-beds

8-beds

9-beds

king-bed

queen-bed

limited-time

lounge

treatment

no-window

bay-view

bosphorus-view

canal-view

city-view

courtyard-view

garden-view

golf-view

harbour-view

inland-view

lake-view

land-view

mountain-view

ocean-front

ocean-view

oceanside

panoramic-view

park-view

partial-ocean-view

partial-sea-view

partial-view

pool-view

river-view

sea-front

sea-view

street-view

sunrise-view

sunset-view

water-view

with-view

annex

basement

main-building

1-bedroom

2-bedrooms

3-bedrooms

4-bedrooms

5-bedrooms

6-bedrooms

not-guaranteed

wired-internet-access

smoking

sauna

duplex

safe

mini-bar

breakfast-for-1

breakfast-for-2

pets-allowed

wi-fi

kitchen

The room was not prepared in advance. Under the pillow, there were lizard droppings, a lot of them. The room was generally very dusty. This triggered a sinusitis I never knew I had.

This place has no electricity, so they use a generator. They switch on the generator in the morning and after for about 3 hours each time. When the generator is off, so is the water pump. So no toilet no taps work for atleast 18hr each day.

Breakfast was prepared with love though. The hostess is friendly. Unfortunately, that's not enough for me to ever ever return to this place. 

This place was once a great place

Cancelled this MONTHS ago due to Covid. Cancellation was acknowledged by Afristay, who said they'd informed Umfolozi, who took absolutely no notice and never refunded my deposit. Be way of these people.

Like talking to myself

I thought that there would be lots of birds to see. Only a few in Cages which urgently Need some serious maintenance. Gardens well kept & tidy. Like most places in South Africa ... Money has not been invested in maintenance or new Investment. 
Has some potential ... how Needs professional Management, leadership and vision

Expectations too high

In one night there was no hot water, next night around 6-7pm no power &no backup no one infomed us. We had to sleep early. The artwork in the dinner was full of dust, there no proper coffee. We were given a hand wash as a showergel. Lady at reception was very nice though. And property is not well maintained. 

Not recommended

Our stay was comfortable with neat, clean rooms. Food was freshly prepared and worth the wait. The petting zoo and bird garden offered ample entertainment. The private game reserve, 2 minutes away proved as a perfect backdrop for selfies (boasting giraffe, zebra, springbok and wildebeest). Purely a perfect adventure for the kids. Will deff be back. 
PS. Bathrooms have room for improvement.

Home away from Home

Can't say enough about the staff - they were warm and helpful, and nothing was too much trouble.  However, for everything else, the word would be "adequate".  If your budget’s tight, everything is basically "functional" i.e. you'll "get what you paid for"; and, for a get-away weekend on a tight budget, it wasn't too bad -  especially as the most important area, the bedroom, was clean enough to be livable in, and they give you lovely big towels and the bedding was clean.  Sadly though, a bit of a lack of attention to the general cleanliness and general up-keep, especially in the common areas.  The biggest disappointment though was the expected "Bird Park" - a few left-over and "sad" birds from when it was run as a Bird Park; but truly cannot legitimately be called a "Bird Park" anymore.  Bottom line:  everything's "adequate", and the staff are truly great; but, if you can afford a little more, it's a little lacking in attention to overall house-keeping, cleanliness and maintenance - we suspect you could probably find better if you can afford a bit more.  A great location though i.e. central to visit a number of local places of interest.  Has Wi-Fi, but we could only access it in the dining area i.e. the signal doesn't reach all the rooms.  We were on a bed-and-breakfast basis; and the breakfast was .. you got it:  "adequate" - your basic "bacon & eggs".

Great staff and adequate, but needs attention to detail.

It was clean and comfortable, but some of the small things were missing.
On the second night, there were no fresh towels. 
The drain in the basin was blocked which resulted in the shower flooding.
For where we have stayed in the past, it was overpriced. 
I think that was because of bookings.com
We'll avoid them in future.

Long weekend

We booked this lodge because it looks nice in the pictures at booking.com. Actually this lodge is old and not maintained. Everything is in a bad condition. This lodge has a high potential with its environment, it birdpark and its arcuitecture, but somebody needs ot invest some money soon. Otherwise it dies soon.

Sorry, but this lodge never again

My friend and from the UK visited here for 3 days and there are no complaints. The owners were super friendly and welcoming, the staff were all very attentive, professional and friendly. I would 100% come back here and would recommend it to absolute anybody for a break away. Thanks to all the staff. We loved our stay. 

Fantastic Destination

First impressions are the lodge is run down - thatching missing, no one one in Reception, with a filthy fish tank as it’s main feature. We then had  to find staff for lunch. On Enquiries on the bird park we were told “to be honest there are very few bird species here”

White wine served from a box - warm and “off”. And was told no white wines go in the fridge. Food atrocious, badly prepared and over spiced. 

Not a good experience and in my personal view take this one off your “must see list”

Umfolozi Riverlodge & Birdpark

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