Needles Lodge

What a fabulous start Needles was for a Special Birthday Trip! The lodge is a real gem with every element in place for the perfect stay. Nothing is too much trouble - every member of the team go out of their way to make your visit special. The rooms are lovely with nice touches such as Egyptian cotton bed linen, home made cookies, mozzy nets and efficient air conditioning (the temperature was over 40 degrees during our stay). Denis and Lyn are brilliant hosts. All guests eat dinner together which creates a family ambience. The food is prepared to an extremely high standard by an amazing kitchen team who love it when you stick your head around their door to say hi. Dinner and breakfast plates are hot and nothing is too much trouble. During our stay Zebra and Kudu came up to the lodge to say hello - with treats as a reward! The lodge has an excellent wine list and prices are a very pleasant surprise! The game drives were another highlight. The 2 guides, Glen and Willem, went out of their way to ensure that we saw as much as possible. Thanks to Willem we can now comfortably identify at least 10 types of poo! Glen extended our day with him to return to where a male lion had been spotted. Kruger is like Jurassic Park! You never know what you will come across next - as you can see from the photos attached. As someone who very rarely writes a review, everything you read about Needles is the truth. It really is that 'Once in a Blue Moon' find! We would highly recommend Needles for a visit. We WILL return! John & Helen Walker

Our time at Needles was beyond amazing! This place is a slice of heaven very close to Kruger Park. The lodge itself is stunning, blending luxury with nature effortlessly. The food is absolutely delicious – every meal was a treat (3 courses every night!). It feels really surreal, being completely immersed in nature, we even had breakfast while zebras, kudus and pumbas stroll by and got very close to us. All the experiences were set up for us. Safaris, nature walks, the trip to Mozambique, the panorama tour! Everything was taken care of, so we could just soak it all in. The staff is super friendly and made us feel very welcome and at home. The chefs and the waiters are incredible and our rooms were always clean and tidy. Overall, this lodge is a gem. If you want an incredible safari experience without skimping on comfort, this is it. We'll definitely be back.

We booked a trip to Needles Lodge 4 years ago, only to be denied by Covid restrictions. Fortunately for us, Needles were good enough to keep our deposit as a credit. Sadly they were fully booked for our new dates this year, so instead we used our credit towards game drives organised by Dennis at the Lodge. Highly recommended!

What a beautiful experience from start to finish.. Staff were incredible - food was world class - and the environment is extremely restful and authentic. Highlight were the regular animal visits at meal times - nothing like having dinner with a herd of zebras!! Highly recommended!!!

Great place, amazing food and fantastic team! Location is nice, animal visits and animation The facilities are clean, beautiful and very comfortable. The safari tour is the best thing to do. 2 days is recommended. Keep up the good work. Thank you

What a wonderful place with wonderful service. The whole team really makes you feel like family and we really enjoyed our stay. The food was delicious and it was great to meet other people also on holiday at Kruger. We had a great guide on our private safari and will definitely go back. Thank you Denis, Lyn and Phil and our safari guide Jan.

So, where do I start! We have just returned from an amazing 8 nights at Needles Lodge. We originally booked back in 2019, but due to covid etc we have only just managed to get there and what a place! We were welcomed like old friends by Dennis and his staff. The rooms are spacious, clean and with a super-comfy bed (and excellent linen) - air con was great and much needed as they were experiencing a heat wave when we were there. Tea, coffee and cookies (home-made) are supplied in the room with toiletries for your use if you so wish. Dennis, Lynne, Philip and their staff are super friendly and it's obvious they take great pride in the fact that they work at the top lodge in Marloth Park. The chefs are nothing short of spectacular and the food is probably the best I have ever had whilst on holiday (or anywhere). The game drives were out of this world and we managed to see all but the leopard, but that just gives us an excuse to return to Needles! There are too many superlatives to describe Needles - all I can say is go, you won't be disappointed - just leave a week or two free for us because we will be back! (hope you're enjoying the boots Poomi) xx

Spent 4 nights at Needles Lodge January 2024 with my wife and 2 sons both in their 20’s. Our time at Needles far surpassed my expectations it was awesome! Firstly all the staff were excellent from Denis, Lynn and Philip to the catering and housekeeping team plus the safari guides. The bedrooms are lovely as are the sociable areas. Our 4 nights included 2 full day safari’s, and I mean full day! Plus a sunrise walking tour in Kruger. This was exceptional as we observed a pride of lions only a few feet away at 4:30am by flashlight. We then saw another pride of lions later in the morning whilst walking with 2 armed rangers which was exciting! We also had an additional sunset tour the highlight being 3 cheetah brothers on the hunt that we viewed by flashlight. All the big 5 were spotted throughout our trip but the real icing on the cake was the abundance of animals immediately surrounding Needles in the village of Marloth Park. As we approached the lodge following the journey from Nelspruit Airport we were greeted by giraffe, zebra, warthog etc it was amazing. At breakfast following our sunrise experience we were joined by a dozen or so zebra which was very really special. The nightly bush babies and visitors like the Genet during our evening meals really made this a holiday we will never forget!

Has an amazing experience and i recommend needles to everyone that wants to go to Kruger. Amazing: safaris (full day and safari), rooms and beds, dinners, animals right by lodge gates. We went with seniors and a child and they all LOVED all it. The pool was great and everything was so relaxing. You just have to arrange your safaris in advance. I recommend only one full day for seniors or kids plus a sunset drive. For adventurers also recommend a morning safari walk but you need good gear. We LOVED everything about Needles.