Matobo Hills Lodge

My excitement about revisiting Matopos, a place I hadn't seen since my teenage years, quickly turned to apprehension as we entered the park. As we made our way to Matobo Hills Lodge, the condition of the roads made the drive terrifying. I was surprised to learn from the organizers that the lodge hadn't provided any warning about the road conditions. Adding to the adventure, we gave a ride to an elderly woman at the gate. While she was helpful with directions initially, she eventually directed us to turn left instead of right, resulting in a detour to her gate. We all suspected she knew the road was closed in that direction and simply wanted a ride. While we laughed about it later, this could have been avoided if the lodge had sent a guide to escort us. With a bus full of people and limited network access, providing an escort from the main gate seems essential. Upon arrival, I was disappointed that there wasn't even a simple welcome drink, especially after such a challenging journey. A refreshing beverage would have been a nice touch. The lodge itself is beautiful, with a peaceful atmosphere that was truly calming. The accommodations were also lovely. My only suggestion is that rooms be aired out before guests arrive. I suspect the recent rains may have made the thatched roofs take longer to dry, resulting in a musty smell in the rooms. This seemed to affect my voice initially, but airing the room out did help. The Wi-Fi connection was good in the main areas, but we later discovered it wasn't available in the rooms. While I was initially frustrated, I eventually appreciated the opportunity to disconnect for a few hours each day. I did have trouble purchasing drinks because the card machine wasn't working. Perhaps a more reliable Wi-Fi service, like Starlink, would be beneficial, especially since many international travelers rely on card payments. The staff, however, was fantastic. They were attentive, polite, and readily met all our requests. Overall, I had a wonderful time at Matopo Lodge and hope to return in the future.

I just spent 5 adventurous and memorable days exploring prehistoric cave art, some obscure and remote, with “TK,” the lodge’s intrepid and knowledgeable guide. This was as good as it gets because the region has the highest concentration of prehistoric rock art in the world, according to UNESCO. Now about the lodge itself: excellent accommodations in a spectacular setting, great food, friendly staff and reasonable prices. There were some power outages, which can be expected in this part of the world, but the lodge had backup resources, including Starlink, that allowed most services to continue. All in all: 5 stars.

One of the Top 10 most beautiful places in the world. Our tour guide, Valentine, was incredibly knowledgeable, and extremely helpful. I hope to connect with him again. We have some incredible photos to share. I highly recommend him. We saw Rhino, Kudu, Baboons, A Black Mamba, Small Spotted Gennet, Bush Bock, Guinea Foul, and much more. He took us to see over 10,000 year old bushman carvings, he and taught us about plant life that is unique to that region of the world. Oh yes, don't forget to enjoy the majestic sunrise!

This is an amazing venue in the heart of the Matobo Hills national park. The rooms are organised in individual traditional African roundhouses and are very comfortable. The service was excellent and the food outstanding. We used the hotel guide JJ as our safari guide and particularly enjoyed multiple sitings of majestic white rhino. The Klipspringers even visited my roundhouse one evening at dusk. Unfortunately the pool was emptied for repair when I visited. A campfire was lit each evening.

We went for the weekend 16-18th of February 2024 as a family and all I can say is WOW!! From the day we arrived till the day we checked out, the staff were exceptionally friendly. McLan and Valentine were incredibly helpful throughout our stay. The rooms are very clean and comfortable, the meals were good, the scenery was just out of this world. I’ll definitely be going back in the near future.

Very friendly staff and excellent food! Dinner and breakfast were on point, and the best meals we have had so far on this 10 day trip! We were here for just one night on our travels, I wish we could have stayed longer to do more exploring. Very clean, no AC so summer night did get a little warm but the views are unbeatable!