Shepherds Tree Game Reserve

Amazing staff, food and location / special mention to our Game Driver and Goiti ( not sure if I spelt her name correct) This truly amazing place to stay and especially rooms 31/32 in my opion the villa. And the Game drivers were spectacular/ earlier wake up call 5 am, coffee and pastry 5.30 and set off 6 - 9 wrap up warm it’s cold !!! But the best time. And then repeat in the afternoon 4-7. Final word has to be to our Guide ( Amazing)

Absolute luxury in the heart of the Pilanesberg. My family and I spent 4 memorable days at this fabulous game lodge in December, and I cannot rate it highly enough. The staff made us all feel so welcome and special. The rooms were beautiful, and we loved the outdoor shower - spectacular. Then the dining OMG - the meals were absolutely delicious, and presented like you would expect in high end fine dining restaurants. From EmKay, the best food and beverage manager I’ve met in recent years, who was so attentive with customers and his team, to chef Rebecca, and the likes of Piet and Simba serving the customers - world class service and fantastic experience. Then to the main reason for our trip, the safari experience. We were so lucky to have Piet as our ranger for 6 brilliant game drives. Piet is so experienced, and made sure our game spotting experience was a memorable one. We saw everything except buffalo, and Piet made sure we got really close to lion, rhino, hippo (out of water) giraffe, and many more. Such a kind, considerate, and knowledge man, who was clearly respected by all his peers in the Pilanesberg. He was never one to watch the clock, but rather to ensure we had a memorable game drive each time - as such we always overran the 3 hour drive time, which we loved - thank you Piet for ensuring such a memorable trip for my family and I. Overall Our stay at Shepherd’s Tree Game Lodge far exceeded our expectations, and would highly recommend visiting this fabulous lodge.

I have never been treated so well!! The people are amazing. The hotel is better than it seems on internet

I don’t even know how to start this review other than WOW! I came here with my best friend and our 2 dads as part of a once in a lifetime safari experience and shepherds tree game lodge more than exceeded my expectations! I had done plenty of research into this place before booking and after a few emails back and forth they said the had the 2 bedroom private villa available for the days I was looking for, this consisted of 2 double/twin bedrooms, 2 private bathrooms, a living room, private pool, outside sunbathing/dining area and a private fire pit. We arrived there after a 3 hour transfer and were greeted by Nombulela with hot towels and a lovely personalised welcome and arrival drink. After checking in she showed us to the dining room for lunch before it ended, we were seated swiftly and given menus and wine recommendations which we gladly took note of. Whilst at lunch we were approached by our tour guide who introduced herself for our stay as Mingo, she asked what drink we would like on our game drive and told us where to meet her and at what time. After lunch we were again greeted by Nombulela then have us a tour of the whole complex and explained everything we needed to know during our stay such as meal times and game drives etc. she got us a buggy to our room and we were transported to our stunning villa which are bags had already been dropped at. The private villa and pool was absolutely stunning! The rooms were able to be made up as either doubles or twins and both rooms had a private bathroom with outside shower and joined together by a living room which led onto the private outside area, pool and fire pit. I will say the outside shower in the moonlight in the nighttime was such a surreal experience looking out into the national park! The whole complex was so well kept and ALL the staff were pleasant and went above and beyond for us whenever we needed anything. It is truly the most stunning place I’ve ever stayed at and I’ve travelled to a lot of hotels around the world. The food on offer is out of this world and a different menu was created each day so we never had the same thing twice. For all three meals of the day it was a la carte and there was something for everyone in our group. Drinks were an additional charge but the staff were trained enough to recommend different wines for different dishes which we took them up on a few times. We were served by Simba and also Mkay who were two members of staff who stood out particularly well for us and made our dining experience all the more personalised. We also noted Mike who I believe was the restaurant manager and he took a great interest in our day and was overall very attentive while we were in the restaurant. On the final evening we spent we had commented on the chefs cooking and she came out to thank us for stopping by and for our kind worlds which I thought was a lovely touch as I’m sure she was very busy. We had done a safari a few days before coming to shepherds tree at a D

We wanted a quick getaway, and boy oh boy did this exceed any expectations we had. The resort is stunning, the staff are phenomenal and it’s by far the best SA getaway we’ve had.

Was the most amazing trip we’ve ever experienced! From the checkin to the checkout we were always warmly welcomed and I would 100% recommend to anyone looking for a peaceful and relaxing holiday in the wild with exceptional hospitality!