Reviews of Kwandwe Ecca Lodge
(100%) From 15 travellersThey do not necessarily represent the views of Expert Africa.
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Five stars
The highlight of the entire holiday. Nothing but high praise for Ecco Lodge and its staff.
Wonderful setting, excellent spacious accommodation, great food, lovely staff, superb game drives with plenty of animals and birds in evidence.
Definitely worth the price.
Kwandwe Ecca Lodge review
A totally enjoyable experience.
Wonderful rooms, super staff, great food, even the animals were accommodating and showed up on cue.
A special mention for the ranger, Conor and his tracker Rassie - they made getting up at 05.00 every morning, worthwhile.
The game drives were so special.
Kwandwe Ecca lodge was excellent
What a great place. Amazing setting, rooms and safari.
All the staff made you feel extremely welcome and were very friendly and attentive. In particular have to mention Nic ,our Guide ,and Vianni ,our tracker. Great team and great fun. Also expert at what they do. Nic makes clear that you go to look for animals not to see them as this is a safari not a zoo. However with their expertise and luck we saw a cheetah within minutes of arriving and were closeup with lions shortly after. Next morning we saw 4 of the big 5 including a leopard due to their tracking skill Great close up encounters also with giraffes.
Last morning the animals were more elusive which just makes the point about this not being a zoo but we still enjoyed their company and some great viewpoints.
Standard of the rooms was excellent and had access to a plunge pool on verandah and a good size main pool. Even managed to catch up on rugby with a cool drink in very comfortable TV room beside pool.
One point to note is that two possible routes from Grahamstown to the Kwandwe. The most obvious one is to go in from the east as has shortest journey traveling from main gates to Kwandwe reception. However that route has the most rutted road I have ever experienced. On way back Nic advised to take the longer (westerly) route out and that was much better.
Great Safari at Kwandwe Ecca Lodge
The welcome to Kwandwe was wonderful. We saw four of the big five on our first game drive as well as many other animals. The Soup Stop with barbecue was fun and made more dramatic by buffalo and calf passing by, with a lioness in hot pursuit.
Our ranger, Ruan, and tracker, Vusi, were excellent and made the experience so enjoyable with many close encounters.
Swimming pool appreciated - needed some exercise after eating so well for the previous 10 days or so.
Absolute luxury in the bush
This was absolute luxury in the bush with everything inclusive. The children had a ranger to themselves and learnt a lot.
Pool much appreciated after a hot day.
Excellent food and service ~ nothing too much trouble for the staff.
Kwandwe Ecca Lodge review
Sublime
Super
We loved it
We'll be going back
We were so impressed by the detail and the care they took
Out of this world
This was frankly the most brilliant time of our lives. It was as though everyone was dedicated to meeting our personal needs. The lodge was the most luxurious place we've ever stayed (and we're fond of luxury hotels), the food was second to none and so much of it and the babysitting while we went on private safari (for most of the time we were the only people on the game drives) was the biggest bonus. The kids loved it and no one wanted to leave.
There was confusion over the booking which has all been cleared up but all I want to say on this is that we didn't need to know that two rooms were reserved for us - we had imagined separate rooms each with a child and rubbish boring evenings alone but it wasn't like this at all.
Would love to go back. Tomorrow.
Kwandwe is excellent for families
We had a fantastic stay. Nothing was too much trouble. Our lodge was amazing (huge with separate rooms for us and the children, an immense bathroom and a lovely plunge pool on the deck).
The staff were very hospitable, the food great and the drives spot on (we saw lion cubs, cheetah cubs, rhino, elephant, lion roaring, and lots of other animals). Our guide and tracker were a brilliant team and we learned a huge amount.
We wouldn't hesitate to go back (our youngest asked if we could before we had even left!). Really fabulous family-friendly place to stay.
A place where lifetime memories happen
We just loved Kwandwe - from the moment we arrived the team were making sure we had everything we wanted to have a good time. We arrived at 3pm with a drive starting at 4pm - they were keen to ensure we'd had lunch so plated a veritable feast! The game drives are just brilliant the enthusiasm of the Rangers and Spotters is contagious. A call comes across the radio that lions, cheetahs or leopards [or other animals have been spotted] and the chase is on to see them. On our first night we saw Cheetahs eating their kill, this was followed by the most amazing storm!
Getting up at the crack of dawn is no hardship - the excitement is almost tangible. The Rangers and Spotters are extremely knowledgeable and can tell visitors lots of information about the animals and their habits. 3 hours can just disappear. Its not until you drive just a few hundred yards away from the lodge and spot a HUGE buffalo grazing that you realise just how close you are to wild animals and that's when you realise why the team are so cautious about guests safety.
The sights we saw will stay with us for ever. We were just a short distance from a male lion who had walked miles during the night to get close to his female and cubs, we watched and heard him contact calling and could feel the resonance of his call.
The food is plentiful and delicious, a chance to try local dishes. In fact you get fed up to seven times a day! Fortunately some are just small snacks! We never saw housekeeping, but our room was always being tidied! Having our own plunge pool was lovely.
At the end of our stay, we wished it was the beginning so we could do it all again.
Wow!
Just look at the pictures of this place and make your own mind up!
A wonderful experience all round.
We have always believed that acting responsibly is the only way to approach tourism and we're one of
the few companies to hold AITO's original coveted 5-star status for responsible tourism. It's a lead
that others are now following.
