Name: Antbear Drakensberg Lodge
Address: P171 Moor Park/Giants Castle Road, Nottingham Road, Nottingham Road, Nottingham Road, 3310, South Africa
Rating: 9

24-hour reception

Smoking areas

Ticket assistance

Garden

Terrace

General

Accessibility features

Wheelchair Accessible

Accessibility

Laundry

Safe-deposit box

Concierge services

Dry-cleaning

Luggage storage

Services and amenities

Coffee/tea for guests

Breakfast

Restaurant

Snack bar

Meals

Free Wi-Fi

Internet

Tour assistance

Tourist services

Library

Hiking

Picnic area

Recreation

Free parking

Parking

Event facilities

Meeting and presentation facilities

Conference Hall

Business

Playroom

Babysitting and childcare

Kids

Pets allowed

Pets

Temperature control for staff

Personal protection equipment for staff

Extra decontamination measures

Temperature control for guests

Personal protection equipment for guests

Additional measures against COVID-19

Health and Safety Measures

Location

At the cottage

Antbear Drakensberg Lodge

Nottingham Road

It was my second time staying at Antbear Lodge. This time with five friends from Germany. All of us loved the unique and individual lodges. Each one was different with beautiful wood work (so has the main house) and a fire place. The food was delicious and high quality. Everything was clean. The staff very friendly. The view from the houses and the surrounding landscape was beautiful. 
The only tricky part were the directions which did not seem to match all the time. Good that we had an online map. I would definitely recommend it. Stay a few nights to relax. 



Beautiful place with great views and delicious meals

We had an incredibly tranquil stay at Antbear lodge! Andrew and his team upgraded our accommodation to the Cave, and gave us a discount. The lodge was quiet when we stayed there so we got really exclusive treatment! We’ll be back!!

Highly recommend!

Antbear Lodge has a lot to offer but not exactly as expected. It's very dog friendly but not toddler friendly enough. The service is exceptional. You can only tip with cash so take enough money. The meals were exceptional.
Our room was large and bespoke. Handmade furniture with interesting. The craft persons of the lodge can be commended. The linen was tired. There were smalls stains on the duvet and the towels were thin. Bath sheets would have been nice. The roof is thatch and it's a farm so there were LOTS of bugs. If you're scared of bugs it could pose a problem. The dangerous bugs are ticks you pick up while walking anywhere on the property. Be sure to treat your dogs beforehand and put ample bug repellent on yourself and wear appropriate clothing. Our garden was fenced which was great because of the dogs (not all the units are fenced so ask if you require this) but the patio had a weird railing which essentially cut us off from the garden. We had to duck under it all the time. Which makes playing with a toddler less convenient. The hike around the farm was disappointing - literally a route around the perimeter of the guest / living area of the farm. About an hour in total. It's pretty enough but it's more of a walk. There also isn't a trail. It might have grown closed with all the rain but trying to walk with a toddler without a clear path was a challenge.  The donkeys are a nice treat to look at but they were very curious and we had to take a wide berth as we were nervous about how close 8 large donkeys could get. The staff said they were friendly but I didn't want to end up on the wrong end of them with a toddler. The main building / lodge is well appointed and has a lovely view over the mountains. It's not the dramatic Berg (as in Giant's Castle or Cathedral Peak) but still pretty striking. The lodge was built with a lot of love and thought. Very interesting. Unfortunately for us they have a large floating stairway up to a loft. Great for everyone else. Not great for us with a toddler as the railings are far apart. The biggest issue is the road to the lodge. We didn't know the best route to take so ended up on a road where many guests got stuck in the mud. We got stuck. An email with directions prior to arrival would have gone a long way. There were several stressed arrivals. There is a lot to like about Antbear Lodge. It's a great place to relax with dogs or family with older children but it's not quite what we hoped for.

Super service and definitely dog friendly but a bit rough around the edges

Our experience in this lodge was very good, even beforehand Andrew the owner was very helpful with tips and general information via whatsapp. We booked the cave for 4 nights, unfortunately we had to leave after 3 nights because of the bad weather. I appreciate that they didn’t invoice us the last night even though it was a last minute decision.
First the area/location and room. This is a very remote location so excellent to get away from any noise and stress. Mind you that the road leading to the the lodge is 12k long over a rock/gravelroad so good tires required. When it rains it gets quite muddy. Our room (the cave) had a wonderful view over the valley and you can stargaze from your terrace in a hammock. It must be said that you are a bit isolated from the area of Dragon Peak and Giant’s Castle, both require 1hr to get to. 
“The Cave” is a special room that really feels like a cave (and is therefore also a bit dark) and it has a separate bathroom which was clean but there were quite some bugs/spiders because it is a warm space so of all things the bathroom
Was the thing I liked the least. There were no bugs or spiders in our room though. 

Second, service and food were both very good, the team was always willing to accommodate our requests and the food was honest/basic but decent and certainly more than enough.

We admired the woodwork, almost everything from windows to chairs to chandeliers and door handles were made by the owner which is amazing. I can understand it’s not to everyone’s taste so I would recommend this place for outdoorsy people looking for a quietness in a remote location with beautiful views but not looking for a fancy hotel/lodge with a modern room and excellent wifi.

Away from the hustle and bustle

A lovely weekend stay.  Spacious mountain view suite.  Loved the quirky artwork and glasswork - very different with a lot attention to detail.  Lovely meals. Staff friendly.  Great to be on a working farm.

A weekend Stay

I was super impressed with Antbear! The staff are super friendly, the woodworking are pieces of art and the food is delicious. Make sure to take a walk around the beautiful ground and enjoy watching the animals.

Tranquil weekend away

Friendly staff greeted us and took us to our "Cave".  The room was well appointed and fitted in well with the "quirky" nature of the Lodge whose owner has over the years done all of the woodwork that could, because of the nature of the work be described, as wood art.  The windows, doors, lighting etc are all amazing and give the lodge its "Out of Narnia" character - just a feeling that we got!  We were on a DB&B basis and all of our meals were superb.  The location of the Lodge is also ideal providing access to the Midlands Meander and the Central Drakensberg.  We spent 1 very satisfying day at the Lammergeier hide at Giants Castle.  The only negative I suppose is the condition of the roads in the area; but this is general problem in South Africa.  We thoroughly enjoyed our stay at Antbear and would recommend this tranquil destination very highly.  We actually commented that it could be a Retreat.

The Central Drakensberg

The general look and feel of the lodge and accommodation is dated and needs a facelift. A rat running in the dining room area does not create an appetite.. The food was way beyond par. It must be the most unwelcome arrival we have ever experienced at any destination. To make matters worst the owner himself was contacted that we are 10 minutes away and he was not there upon arrival. The craftsmanship of all the wood interior including tables chairs sofas coffee holders bar fridge cabinets etc etc is magnificent but is not appealing aesthetically to us at all.  In fact it’s a bit weird .However another couple found it amazing so it’s a personal taste. All in all we booked for two nights but left after the first night. We were really dissapointed. 

DISSAPOINTING

We booked 5 nights at a garden facing unit that had a small fenced yard for our dog. 

The positives are the staff that go out of their way to assist. The scenery is decent with the snow-capped Lesotho mountains in the horizon (we were there just as a cold snap hit the area).  The food is home cooked 3 course meals every evening with breakfast being fruit/yoghurt, eggs, bacon, toast with cheese, maybe a muffin, mushroom/tomato/beans.  The honesty bar has a useful selection but it is expensive. The dog enjoyed walking a few different routes and swimming in a small dam. They are generous in providing firewood on a daily basis. 

Although some units have mountain facing views it is best to move chairs to somewhere on the lawn with an unobstructed view as there are many trees/shrubs that I would’ve trimmed away. The garden view was forgettable at best. 

The negatives is the lack of attention to detail. The gate for our yard is flimsy and I had to make other arrangements to secure it. The bathroom window couldn’t close properly and the mechanism is on the verge of falling off. The first morning, with sub-zero temperature, didn’t have warm water in the shower/bath. It was only rectified in the afternoon. You can’t leave your snacks in the room as there are critters coming inside in the evening, as evident by the bottles of eaten hand cream and the hole in the dog food bag. We brought this to the attention of staff who offered that we could use their rat-trap. I declined cause surely housekeeping should do that?

There is mention of canapes in the bar before dinner on the website, but this failed to materialise  -- an updated website is always better. 

Overall a decent break-away if you plan on staying in and spending your time walking and reading (limited television available in the main area only). At this price point I have experienced much better value from other establishments in the country which are a third less dear. No COVID protocols were observed despite the dedicated page on the website. 

As an aside, the roads in the area need attention so plan extra time for reaching the venue as well as for day trips in the area. A vehicle with plenty ground clearance is preferred. This is off course not under the control of the lodge and therefor not a criticism.

We expected more at this price point

A dog friendly, walkers dream. All you need. We had 2 large dogs with us who did not want us to leave them in the garden to go for dinner, so dinner was brought to us without a blink. 

They also provided a cot for our daughter and steralised all her bottles for us. We had a berry incident on the way and our laundry was done and returned berry free.

The staff are superbly friendly.

The food was really good. They catered vegetarian for me without an issue. Tiramisu and boozy pears are highly recommended.

Antbear Drakensberg Lodge

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