Name: Witsieshoek Mountain Lodge
Address: Maluti, Drakensberg, Sterkfontein Nature Reserve, Sterkfontein Nature Reserve, Sterkfontein Nature Reserve, 9870, South Africa
Rating: 8

Smoking areas

Heating

Television in lobby

No elevators

General

Shower/Bathtub

Shower

Linens

Rooms

Breakfast

Restaurant

Kettle

Meals

Internet

Wi-Fi in the hotel

Area shuttle

Transfer

English

Languages Spoken

Hiking

Recreation

Parking

Beach/pool towels

Pool and beach

Meeting and presentation facilities

Business

Doctor

First Aid Kit

Beauty and wellness

Pets Not Allowed

Pets

Temperature control for staff

Personal protection equipment for staff

Extra decontamination measures

Temperature control for guests

Personal protection equipment for guests

Contactless check-in and/or check-out

Additional measures against COVID-19

Health and Safety Measures

Location

At the cottage

Room amenities

Witsieshoek Mountain Lodge

Sterkfontein Nature Reserve

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

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3-beds

30-beds

31-beds

32-beds

33-beds

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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

We stayed in one of the sentinel rooms which offers a great view on the mountain. Just too bad the windows were so dirty that the view was completely destroyed. All doors and windows have so much cracks around, so there is a constant howling of the wind, which kept us up for most of the night. The heating didnt work and the electrical heater they put in had less power than a hairdryer. Cold wind  throug cracks+no heating = glad we only had to stay one night. Reception staff was not very helpful in finding a solution, like maybe an additional heater.

Great location but poor accomodation

We booked the car transfer for the Sentinel Parking with Witsieshoek Mountain Lodge.  We are a family of four and were charged 15 euro each for this 30minute transfer with a 4x4.  With us was another couple so there wasn't place for everyone in the Toyota Pick up and know what ... after paying 60 euro for the transfer (for a family of 4), two of us ended up at the back with no roof, no seats and nothing except for very cold wind and the disastrous state of the road.  At least, our transfer back to the lodge was ok as we were alone.

Very poor transfer service

I have never stayed anywhere else with such helpful and friendly staff as here. Nothing was too much trouble for them. We stayed in the bungalow rooms which were clean and very comfortable. The views of the amphitheatre are exceptional. Ideal place to stay for the sentinel walk as well as other beautiful berg walks.

Wonderful place!

We were disappointed with our room, it did not  seem clean. It had a bit of a smell and the floors also seemed dirty so much so that neither of us wanted to walk around barefoot. The curtains were very dirty and full of stains as were the ceilings which were full of mould in the bathroom. The  room and bathroom is in dire need of a fresh coat of paint. The ceiling in our room also had boot marks, seems like the previous guest tried to get rid of the mosquitos which is quite evident from the remains on the ceiling. Furthermore the fitted sheet was too small for our bed and constantly rollled up exposing the bare matress.  A water leak from the geyser was also not pleasant as the constant sound of water falling onto the ground was disturbing and made it difficult to get a good night's rest. We had dinner at the restaurant and the chicken schnitzel was substandard, the French fries were the only enjoyable item on our plates. The whole lodge seems to be in a state of dilapidation. It is clear that it is not being maintained nor well managed. We paid for two nights however we decided to cut our losses and to seek alternative accommodation for our 2nd night. The price they charge per night cannot be justified. It was our second and last time.  I must however give a big thank you to Agnes at reception who tried to convince us to stay by offering to upgrade our room, but we already decided that we no longer felt comfortable staying there

Biggest disappointment!

We stayed at the WML for two nights surrounding a hike up to the Tugela Falls.  Located right at the edge of the northern Drakensberg, the location is stunning, and its relatively remote position ensured good (quiet) sleep.  While not luxurious, the rooms are comfortable and big enough for two, and the shower room is a decent size.  The restaurant food and breakfast selection was surprisingly good given that everything has to be carted up the mountain. Service was friendly.  Unless you have a very capable off road vehicle, it's best to book a lift up to the car park for any Amphitheater / Tugela Falls / Grand traverse hikes.  Lifts each way plus "hike access fee" was R375 each (cash only) in April 2024.   

Great base for Drakensberg hikes

We stayed in the hostel for one night. The hostel is very well stocked and everything you could need is there. The showers are also amazing, especially after a long, cold and wet day in the mountains. The room was however quite dirty. There were a couple of dead months and the walls were very dirty as well.
The restaurant is very good and reasonably priced.
The main reason for the three star raiting is that before we left for our hike we made an arangmenet with management that we could leave some of our food in the fridge until we got back. When we arrived back at the hostel we found all our food and wine were gone. When we inquired about this the food was found, half eaten and thrown away. The wine was also consumed. We are still waiting for feedback from management as we were promised reimbursment.

Beautiful but dissapointing

Location，我们是到Royal Natal National Park来Hiking 的，发现宾馆的位置非常特别，风景秀丽超乎想象的。Stuff，员工的服务是非常体贴到位的，非常友好的。Food，饭店的饭菜价格合理，味道不错，特别是面包有点东方风味。Value， 这地方的性价比很高，给我们一个不错的体验，特别是hiking路线有很多条，值得多长入住。Cleanliness, Very good.

Pearl of Drakensberg.

We had an enjoyable stay in a backpackers room
Pros:
- excellent location for a convenient start to some amazing Drakensberg hikes (absolutely recommend the Tugela falls
- amazing views from the lodge
- common area, breakfast and dinner were good and the service was excellent (especially the young guy Thabo ;)

Cons:
- the rooms are overpriced in our opinion. A backpacker room with two single beds for 1430 Rand is way over what is worth. There are no storage options, no shelfs and only one hook in the entire room.
- there is one bathroom for 12 people (most surprisingly the bathroom door can’t even be locked, hence everybody can walk in while you have a shower or do your business)

Overall a good option but seems that the lodge takes a bit of an advantage in terms of pricing for their excellent location and no real alternatives around it.

Enjoyable stay but overpriced

Staff very nice, but need to be a bit more proactive when problems are experienced.
We stayed in the Backpacker rooms, expensive for backpacker accommodation.
Hiking is not safe to do as individual, or even 2 or 3 people (make sure you hike in larger groups).
Basuto herdsman are a problem on the mounting (chain ladder hike) but I know Transfrontier Park Destinations are now doing everything in their power to make it safer.
I think it is overpriced for what you get, but might be because they have cornered the market in that area.  They only switch on the generator for loadshedding after 6pm. 
If Witsieshoek are taking gate fees and hiking fees they need to do be maintaining the road from Witsieshoek Lodge to the Sentinel car park (it is impossible without high clearance 4x4 and low range gears)  Also, who is paying for the Rangers on the mountian? I did not see one!!  What happened to the loo with a view?  Just been left to rack and ruin, what a shame!  The Lower hikes from the lodge need some signs (hardly any signs, very easy to get lost). Download google maps in advance or take your own hiking maps (the lodge do not provide any).

A group of us representing Treverton College stayed at Witsieshoek Mountain Lodge on our source to sea 'expedition' of the Thukela river. Witsieshoek Mountain Lodge was most accommodating to our more unusual needs.

Witsieshoek Mountain Lodge

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