Pilanesberg Bakubung Game Lodge

Overall impressions: Thumbs up. Pilanesberg offers a quick, fun, comfortable game viewing get away experience within an easy drive from Johannesburg for a good price.  This is a malaria free opportunity to see all the "big five" in a natural setting.

Location: Approximately 2 hour’s northeast drive from Johannesburg and next to Sun City. Bakubung literally means "The people of the hippo" and the hippo viewing is excellent due to the large amounts of water on the game drives.

Class of accommodation: Luxury Lodge

Size: 76 rooms, 66 chalets

Ease of reserving a room: We booked a tour through a third party (Safari Trackers) online which included transport from our hotel in Johannesburg and all inclusive game rides and meals at the resort.

Check-in/check-out process ease: Excellent

Language:   English, Afrikaans, native languages.  

Lobby and common areas: African open-air lodge. Handcrafted wood furniture and safari themed décor

Rooms: Comfortable though not luxurious. Excellent view of the nearby watering hole from the room and adjacent porch.    

Bathrooms: Comfortable though not luxurious with hot water and a full size bathtub.  

Cleanliness: Good

Amenities: Basic amenities in room (shampoo, soap, towels).

Facilities: A restaurant, bar, tennis courts, swimming pool (rock-hewn), and dining under the stars or indoors. From the restaurant, we saw wild animals at the watering hole, beyond the electric fence. It is a treat to enjoy a meal while watching zebra, wart-hogs, guinea fowl or other animals enjoy their space. A small sundry shop sells souvenirs, post cards, etc.

Pool: The pool was pleasant and clean. It was a bit cold to enjoy it while we visited, but it looked nice and clean.

Restaurants: Good food and service buffet and a la carte for reasonable prices considering the location, type of accommodation.   Sometimes difficult to understand the staff though for the most part they were helpful and pleasant.   We especially enjoyed the outdoor dining with views of the watering hole.

Overall service: Service in the hotel and its facilities was good.   The staff was helpful and pleasant.   

Conference facilities: two meeting rooms.

Other:   We happened to visit Bakubung during a South African long weekend. The lodge was full and there were many day visitors. In spite of that, the lodge was clean, and we were always able to get on to a game viewing drive. The shuttles to Sun City could have been more frequent. We had to catch a cab on our return from Sun City rather than wait 45 minutes for the next shuttle.

Game viewing: Excellent. We saw four of the big five during our short stay. As guests of the hotel it is a bit disappointing to have to share the ride with day visitors. The vehicles were always full during our rides. The staff varied in their level of knowledge and in the instructions they gave their guests. Still, the explanations were useful and the viewing was good. Some of the better game viewing available in the malaria free portion of South Africa.

Length of stay: one night, two days  

Date of review: September 2002

Would you stay there again: Yes