Reviews of Amalinda Lodge

"Everything about this stay was excellent, except we had a thieving mouse who stole the early morning flapjack biscuits and our soap!!

The guides and staff were superb, so was food and service. The location and ambience were wonderful.
Our visit to the orphanage was eye opening and game drives and rock paintings were excellent.

Electric blankets were a nice touch, as it was cold in the early morning. We were sad to leave?
This park is a bit devoid of mammal species due to the poaching activities some years ago. We were told populations were slowly re-establishing." See all these reviews: 13n in Zimbabwe

"We wanted to do something which was a bit different to the 'normal' safari experience and, in a very positive way, Amalinda provided just that.

First, the Matopo Hills are scenically very beautiful and worth a visit for this alone.

Second, one of our main reasons for going was to see some of the cave paintings. We were really impressed by the paintings; and, in Amalinda's Paul Hubbard, had the best possible guide. Paul also impressed us with his more recent historical knowledge. Paul's (wet afternoon) lecture on the early white incursion into what became Rhodesia and reflections when we visited Rhodes's grave were both highly informative and entertaining; and we were delighted that he devoted an afternoon to take us round the Bulawayo museum, which is well worth a visit.

In between the cultural activities, we had some good birding and were delighted to find white rhinos during our stay.

The camp itself is well run by Priscilla, Billy and the team." See all these reviews: 9n in Zimbabwe; 3n in Zambia

"Fantastic room with wonderful views.

Made welcome on arrival by pool after a long journey from Harare.

Howard, our guide was excellent and infinitely patient. Cannot speak too highly of his knowledge and skills." See all these reviews: 10n in Zimbabwe

"We booked 4 nights because we thought there it would provide a wide range of experiences. We weren't wrong! The camp is set in an amazing location in the Matopos Hills. Most of the rooms are folded into the granite rocks. We had one of the honeymoon suites (again!). We had to squeeze through a crack in the rocks which opened out to the pathway to our large cave house that had a veranda and a swinging walkway to a gazebo looking out over the hills. It was just the best place to relax, remember our place in the grand scheme of things, and learn something about the culture of Zimbabwe.

The camp staff were great - very kind and efficient - and we were lucky to have Paul Hubbard as our guide during the stay who is a real expert not just on Matopos but on archaeology and the history of the area generally. He took us into the Matopos National Park to look at some amazing cave paintings; to see Rhodes grave; and to visit a rural school and children's home and was a generous and friendly companion. We didn't go on game drives here but the white rhino are nearby.

The camp was a great place just to hang. It has a good library, a lovely natural swimming pool, and an interesting mix of guests. We'd really recommend it." See all these reviews: 12n in Zimbabwe

"On our approach into the Matoba Hills area we were preparing ourselves for a bit of disappointment, with its dry and seemingly uninviting landscape. This quickly changed to an absolute wonderland of nature's rock sculptures, head-high grasses and stunning vistas.

Our guide, Nduzi Ndlovu, was priceless, although we did figure out on the third and final day that we weren't finding black rhino because he and our accompanying park ranger were afraid to stumble over the often-angry creatures in the bush. Fair enough.

The lodge was spectacular, our room without equal, and the staff was top-notch." See all these reviews: 11n in Zimbabwe; 6n in Malawi; 1n in Zambia

"Very good. Beautiful place.

Great staff. Howard is top guide.

Only negative is breakfast. Cornflakes, all bran, cartons of yogurt and full English. Not everyone wants this kind of unhealthy food especially in such a wonderful place. Need healthy options as in the Hide.

Lunch and dinner were good." See all these reviews: 10n in Zimbabwe

"Amalinda has been cleverly built around some of Motobos granite rocks so that our very spacious and luxurious room had a huge boulder which cleverly separated the sleeping area from the washing area. The boys loved the place with its infinity pool and open bar area which were the perfect place to hang out in the late afternoon as the sun plays on the magnificent rock face surrounding this lodge.

We went off on evening hikes (much less animal spotting here so safe for the boys to roam around) with a great young guide called Edwin who was really good at engaging the boys. The view of the Motobos from up high is simply breathtaking and your guide takes along the drinks so you can have a cool refreshing beer at the top as you watch the sun set over the Hills. Leopards love Motobo because they are shy and they have so many places to hide here but sadly we did not see any.

I fell in love with this place and the landscape instantly. It has a very spiritual feeling and we visited a number of caves with ancient rock paintings of the San people.

Our excellent guide Paul Hubbard (an archeologist) who spent a day taking us to all the key places of cultural interest is simply a mine of information. He is passionate about his country and his knowledge of its culture and history is encyclopedic. Sharon and Phillip who own the place are lovely people and made a point of joining us at dinner one evening." See all these reviews: 14n in Zimbabwe

"The rooms are really amazing and set discretely, taking in consideration the unique morphology of the place.
The only negative aspect of our room was the floor: very shiny but a bit slippery, what requires to move carefully.

The activities are very interesting and differentiated, from game wieving to prehistorical paintings, which makes the stay varied.
Just an annotation on the park fees: park entrance is 15 USD per person and World's Wiev is 10 USD per person for non residents." See all these reviews: 12n in Zimbabwe