Panzi Lodge

This was our second time here, the first for my Mom, niece and nephew. It was an amazing trip!! As expected, everyone was welcoming and Irene and Charmaine (and Leah) were absolutely fabulous, just as we remembered them. It was like coming home.  The accommodations were perfect for us as a party of 5 in the 2 rooms with one bed added. We did not know about the monkeys, we did not see them last time, so those rascals did manage to grab a few snacks off of our deck before we knew about them. I kept telling the kids not to litter, then we saw a monkey with a snack bag in a tree! We were more careful after that. My Mom with limited mobility did so good there! The railings for the walkways are not very far apart, so she was able to use them to help her get around. We did not use her wheelchair at all the whole time we were there, which was so good for her legs and for her independence. She has early stage dementia, so forgets some of the things she asks or is told, and everyone just answered her questions and were so accepting and forgiving. We could not be more thankful for the empathy that was shown to her. The food was incredible, just as we remembered. The kids did not eat much, which I felt bad about. They are very fussy eaters and do not eat a lot anyway. I hate to see food wasted though. The activities we booked all worked out great. We did 3 afternoon game drives in 3 different parks, kruger park all day, the HERD elephant interaction, panorama day tour, blyde river canyon boat ride and the hot air balloon. Thank you to Irene at Panzi for the recommendations! My Mom had no trouble getting in or out of the game vehicles and our guides were extremely helpful with her! They also just answered her questions with grace, and stopped at every bathroom when she needed one without complaint. The kids favorite part was the elephant interaction. What an experience! We were fortunate with the weather also, so the hot air balloon ride was incredible! The only thing we really did not care for were the 2 lunch stops we had when on excursions. On the panorama tour, we went to Harrys pancackes (?) in a little town last time and loved it. This time we went to a place down a bumpy road on the water called the chubby pig. It was very buggy, the service was slow, the people were not overly friendly, the food selection wasn’t great (no salads, they did not have a lot that was listed on the menu), and the food was sub par, no one ate their meals. The other lunch stop was at a gas station! Definitely not what we expected. Again, very slow, as there was one person working and she was busy, no real healthier options, they had grilled cheese sandwiches and fries, which we all got, but no one ate. There was one small table inside, and a picnic table outside for seating. We wound up getting waters and ice cream inside the store there and called that lunch. Last time we went to a local diner/sport bar type of place and it was great. Simon took us to a great

I had a great stay at Panzi lodge: Charmaine and her team was so lovely and helpful, the room was comfortable and clean, and the food was great! The reserve is great! The only reason I don't put a 5 stars review is because of the location : it's a bit far in the reserve and if you don't have a solid car, you need to be very cautious to arrive at the location without risking a flat tire. Otherwise, I can only recommend this accomadation; thank you once again for everything!

If you are looking for a genuine, friendly and family style location with excellent homemade „South African“ food…well, than this is the place to go. The web site reflects the reality surprisingly well and you can bank on what you see and read.