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4.5
#1 of 4 hotels in Mbabane
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Value
The Foresters Arms is gloriously situated near Mbabane in the heart of the kingdom on scenic paved roads; ideally placed for all Swaziland's attractions. It is a place of great character and charm with excellent accommodation overlooking the gardens, pool and valley and offering exceptional value for money. All rooms are en suite with quality cotton linen and heated towel rails; central heating for chilly weather. Great atmosphere with log fires in the lounge, restaurant and bar. Exceptional food, cooked and served with care and pride; featuring imaginative menus, home made breads and ice-creams. Malaria free area. Free Wi-Fi throughout the hotel and gardens. Friendly, helpful and well-trained staff, tourist information/bookings available. Country walks/hiking, bird-watching, horse riding, mountain biking. The attractive Usuthu Golf course adjoins the property. Fitness room, sauna.
Star ratings are intended to indicate the general level of features, amenities, and services to expect. This property is classified according to Giata.
HOTEL STYLE
Quiet
Mountain View
Languages Spoken
English, Afrikaans, Zulu
Location
19 National Road Mr Mhlambanyatsi, Mbabane H100 Eswatini (Swaziland)
Foresters is famous in Eswatini for great food in a pastoral country-hotel setting, but it's also a lovely conference venue. Personal attention from the proprietor, unobtrusive waiters and tasteful decor made for a memorable event. As for the cuisine, 4 stars has now become 5.
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Date of stay: October 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We stayed at this hotel with friends before leaving Swaziland and wished we had had more time here.
The rooms are spacious and comfortable, as are the beds. Since we were there in the winter and it got pretty cold at night, the fireplace (with plenty of wood and newspaper to light it) was a really welcome novelty.
The restaurant was very good indeed. It’s an unusual menu in that you can order appetizer portions of all the dishes, so you get to taste the whole menu. The food is excellent and the wait staff charming and very efficient.
All in all an extremely pleasant experience and very highly recommended.
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Date of stay: July 2022Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
The place is surrounded by a forester that will make you forget where you are. Peaceful and relaxing, the Foresters Arms offers various activities for its guests, such as horse tours. The rooms are spacious and warm. The meals are good and their homemade bread is amazing.
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Date of stay: August 2022Trip type: Travelled with family
Room Tip:Parking available on the spot (they will even clean your car)
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
The hotel has structural improvement from the last time i was there which adds to its ambiance. The staff is friendly as always the room are so clean and well maintained, i absolutely love the fire places in the individual rooms. The food menu gives you an idea of what their chef is capable of. It adds an element of coziness. My guest kept insisting he'd love to go back and try the trails and horse riding, infact just stay in a couple of days. We'll definately be going back there.
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Date of stay: June 2024
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Trip type: Travelled as a couple
Room Tip:Go there expecting to stay more than 1 day you wont regret it.
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Lovely place, good rooms and food in a peaceful surrounding. The sevice is excellent. And we had a very nice diner with kind friendly people. I would definitely recommend this location for your stay (1 or 2 n) on your trip to south/ north.
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Date of stay: January 2024
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Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Spent 2 nights here and the full day was around the grounds and nearby area. Very pleasant and friendly staff and the owner was extremely helpful on giving me directions. Menu was unusual as you could have more than one starter, main course if you wanted. Well worth the visit and room heated to take the chill off the nights and early mornings.
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Date of stay: July 2022
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Location
Service
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
In the middle of nowhere, this very comfortable lodge is a must stay in your journey in Swaziland. Like the English never left…great food, lovely staff, AWESOME beds, great view, everything is old and historic, but updated, WIFI in your room even. A complete Time Machine. Wonderful.
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Date of stay: March 2023Trip type: Travelled as a couple
Room Tip:A bottle of water to bring in your room maybe. Everything is there.
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We were looking for luxury as our first 5 nights in Swaziland were spent in thatched huts with no electricity. The description of this hotel, which has a colonial feel about it, attracted us.
It is old-fashioned enough that your car is washed for you (we arrived with a dusty, sandy hire car and were amazed to find it washed, as we had not known this was part of the package). You can also, if you wish, be woken by tea / coffee brought to your room in the morning at no extra charge.
There is also a computer room for guests where those of us not travelling with tablets etc can freely use a PC to check emails etc. This room also has a bring and borrow bookshelf - always useful when travelling. There is free wi-fi all the rooms if you have your own gadgets.
The bedrooms are terraced in the grounds (ie not like a traditional hotel building) so although you will have to make your way to your room after dark ie after dinner (sunset is abt 5.30pm) the grounds are very well lit so that is not a problem. We had a shower but the couple next to us had a bath. We could hear them talking through the party wall, bathwater running etc (they appears to be shouting) so maybe the soundproofing could be improved.
The menu is interesting. For dinner, the 3 nights we were there, there were 2 starters, 4 mains (chicken, fish, veg and red meat options) and 2 desserts, one of which was a home-made ice-cream (the mango was my favourite). However, it is explained that you can treat it as a tasting menu. Portions will not be huge because you can have as many of the options as you like. You can have one of the mains as a starter, 2 mains, both desserts etc. There is also a central table with a fresh mixed salad, pickles and home made bread. The carrot and leek bread was my favourite. Don't order until you actually want the food served as it is cooked at the beginning of the evening and kept hot, therefore served straight away.
Outside, every room there are a table and two chairs; also lovely grounds and a beautifully clean pool with sun loungers and cushions.
The hotel is gated and the car parking both secure and under a roofed area which stops the greenhouse effect making the car very hot.
But I cannot complete this review without mentioning the muzak. We had 3 breakfasts and 3 dinners and, at all of them bar one, we were forced to listen to a Liquidator / Desmond Dekker / Boney M compilation played too loudly. On one occasion (2nd breakfast) I explained that we were sick of the same music as you hear the tape at least twice per dining session. To be fair it was immediately changed and the volume lowered. On one evening, as we were the only people in the bar I asked for the same tape to be turned off - it was. Sometimes we took our coffee outside to get away from it.
At the 3rd dinner we entered the dining room to hear the Eagles Fernando being played at a genuinely background volume. Success! temporarily......................... the Liquidator was back on as the next tape ...................................
Overall we really enjoyed our stay and recommend the Foresters Arms.
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Date of stay: May 2015
Value
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Travelled as a couple
Room Tip:Ask for rooms which are further away from the main building, you will have a few steps to get to...
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Because of all the excellent reviews on TA, I was very curious to stay and eat here. Here we go:
Rooms: clean, good beds, but no shower. Old-fashioned style is nice, but double-glazing is a must in a big place like this where the rooms are built around a big central lawn.
Dinner: we got a menu with 3 or 4 dishes to choose from per course. We were told we could choose 2 dishes per course, so we had 2 appetizers, 2 main courses and 2 desserts. The food was good but in my opinion overrated on TA and other travelersites. It is necessary to eat two dishes per course, because the portions are not big. It has to be said that the waitresses offer extra portions of vegetables and potatoes during the meal. The food is good but not WOW.
General info: after a long drive through the beautiful Swaziland most people are glad to arrive at this hotel. When we arrived there there were several buses on the parking.I think this hotel has a lot of groups, which makes the dinner area a bit crowded and noisy. The hotel is good over all, but has nearly any competition in the region. If you are driving through Swaziland, nice place to stay for a night, but not more than that.
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Date of stay: October 2012
Value
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Location
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Trip type: Travelled with friends
Room Tip:The closer to the dining area your room is, the more people will be passing your door.
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Stayed for a weekend getaway. In the middle of Usutu forest (one of the largest man-made forests in the world), the location is superb. Quiet, peaceful and in the middle of Swaziland's Highveld.
Staff extremely polite and courteous. A big thanks to Phiwa and Eggie for attending to all our requests.
The location consists of 30 something individual units. Rooms have fireplace and central heating, which we still used despite being almost October - higher altitudes, lower temperatures.
Bed was good, although the pillows were too hard for our taste.
Breakfast selection is quite good, and the hot dishes (definitely try the Eggs Florentine) were perfect. At night, the dinner selection is fantastic. Portions are small, but this allows you to taste all the culinary choices. I have stayed in 5-star city hotels were the food was much worse, so the kitchen staff in Foresters Arms needs to be given a standing ovation.
The hotel contains a play room - gym, darts, pingpong and the likes. A little bit outdated, but still usable.
The pools is central to the surroundings, but we didn't had the chance to use - it was just too cold outside to enjoy the pool.
IT-wise, it has CRT TVs, with some DsTV channels. There is a business center with some free minutes of access. ALternatively, staff will hand out the WiFi password. WiFi coverage is OK.
I will definitely go back again, as it's only 250 km from Maputo, and Goba border post is open 24/7.
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Date of stay: September 2011
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
I am really not sure but the owners are wonderful and I would expect to help. It is out and away from things so ditto the advice to have your own transportation.
There are more places to choose from in the Mbabane area.
PRICE RANGE
R 1,290 - R 1,487 (Based on Average Rates for a Standard Room)
ALSO KNOWN AS
foresters arms mbabane
LOCATION
Eswatini (Swaziland)Hhohho DistrictMbabane
NUMBER OF ROOMS
30
Prices are provided by our partners, and reflect average nightly room rates, including taxes and fees that are fixed, known to our partners, and due at time of booking. Please see our partners for more details.
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