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4.5
#8 of 16 lodges in Pilanesberg National Park
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Value
Tripadvisor gives a Travellers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travellers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.
Located in the west side of the malaria-free Pilanesberg National Park, and only 33 km from Sun City, Black Rhino Game Lodge is the ideal location for a luxurious bushveld breakaway. The lodge is built in the midst of a Tamboti forest overlooking a waterhole bustling with bird and animal activity. On many occasions, the stillness of the night is broken by the roaring of lions. Once you are awakened with a hot cup of coffee, your host ranger will take you out on an exceptional game drive, taking you through the Black Rhino Reserve and into the unexplored valley of the Pilanesberg until you reach the 200 km network of Pilanesberg Park roads. The luxury suites are very private and equipped with a minibar, air-conditioner & tea and coffee making facilities. The patio doors open up into the bush, and if you look out quietly, you might spot a herd of impala or a lone elephant. The designer bathrooms feature your own private outside shower which is perfect to cool down on a hot day. A top-class chef caters for all your exquisite meals in an atmospheric restaurant. Both the bar and the restaurant lead to the viewing deck, ensuring you are always close to nature. Please be advised that the gate entry fees are not included in the rates. Check in/out Times: Check in Time is STRICTLY 14:00 Check out Time is 10:30 Mealtimes: Brunch: 09:00 – 12:00 Afternoon Tea: 14:00 – 16:00 Dinner: 19:30 – 21:00 There will be a Terrace Menu available, should you require any Lunch Game Drive Times: SUMMER Morning Game Drive: 05:30 – 08:30 Afternoon Game Drive: 15:30 – 19:00 WINTER Morning Game Drive: 06:00 -09:00 Afternoon Game Drive: 15:00 – 18:30
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
Family
Quaint
Languages Spoken
English, Afrikaans
Location
R565, Pilanesberg National Park, Moses Kotane Local Municipality 7130 South Africa
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Nestled amidst stunning scenery, Black Rhino Game Lodge garners high marks for its spotless and luxurious accommodations, where well-appointed rooms offer both comfort and spectacular views. The lodge's value shines through in the eyes of many guests, who feel the exceptional service and personalized touches, such as birthday celebrations, greatly enhance their stay.
Although some logistics may require consideration, the array of amenities, including pools and diverse dining options, ensures a welcoming and culturally rich experience for larger groups and discerning travelers.
Location
Picturesque
Atmosphere
Welcoming
Rooms
Comfortable
Value
Exceptional
Cleanliness
Spotless
Service
Attentive
Amenities
Well-appointed
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Good: 1. Amazingly friendly staff. 2. Beautiful and spacious room. It was brand-new. 3. Elephants came to the water dam to drink and bath in the accommodation 4. We saw 4 out of Big 5. Just missed leopard 5. Food was divine. When there were not many guests they provided a course meal for dinner and it was so nice. Second day we had a buffet breakfast and dinner but still were good. No complaints.
Bad: 1. When we arrived I found some yellow marks on the duvet cover but they changed it quickly. I found some yellow marks on towel for the floor but didn’t report it as we had more than enough towels. 2. When another person use the toilet in the room you can hear all the sound. 3. IMPORTANT: I am an Asian and my husband is South African who can’t speak Afrikaans. Second day we had four new people in our game drive and they were all Afrikaners and our game ranger as well. They started to speak Afrikaans including the ranger during the game drive and We couldn’t understand what was going on. So during 2 game drives there were 80% Afrikaans and 20% English. The ranger knew that we couldn’t speak or understand Afrikaans. Anyway my husband and I had to ask questions when it needs to be. They were all friendly but what’s the main purpose of guided game drive by paying extra money? Isn’t it to know the wildlife better in a safe and fun environment? I didn’t know I had to speak Afrikaans to go for a game drive at Black Rhino Game Lodge. I went to the other game lodge a month ago and the ranger was a Afrikaner and there were afrikaners but whenever they asked a question in Afrikaans he replied in English and said sorry I have to speak English for everybody. I think he was right. The game drive is for everyone and I believe there were a lot of internationals came before lockdown and I do not believe that our ranger explained them in Afrikaans. 4. Maybe good and bad - no internet in the room. Only at the restaurant and bar area 5. There were 3 splash pools but small. So, with many kids and families in a hot day it was crowded to be relaxed.
It was great overall and if someone asked me I might recommend this lodge.
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Date of stay: October 2020Trip 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.
Response from Nick Galpine, Agency / Consultant at Black Rhino Game Lodge
Responded 11 Oct 2020
Dear 684jiab - Thank you for taking the time to post your very detailed and balanced review of Black Rhino Game Lodge. While we're delighted to hear that you enjoyed most aspects of your stay - and honoured that you would consider recommending Black Rhino Game Lodge to future travellers - we're concerned to hear that you felt you were not able to get the full enjoyment from your game drives. We will certainly be raising this with the guiding team at the lodge.
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We stayed in November and occupied 3 rooms, 14, 15 and 16. On check in with the friendly staff we were offered a welcome drink but sadly never received it. Rooms were spacious but very tired and need refurbs except for 16. Completely different layout, seemed to be refurbed more recently. Aircons leaked badly. Housekeeping was inconsistent and rooms were full of bugs on returning from dinner. Suggest housekeeping close the doors when doing turndown. Batteries in TV remote were dead. Power had tripped a few plugs on arrival in our room. Once we found the DB board switch was down we sorted it out. Room checks not done properly. Our game drives were great, the reserve is awesome. Our lovely guide was still new to the lodge and we felt a bit rushed at sightings but day 2 was better. Food and staff were excellent. Overall, it is a lovely lodge and has a great position next to a waterhole where we got too see the whole herd of Elephant come to drink and bath.
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Date of stay: November 2019Trip type: Travelled with family
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.
Response from hamerkop11, Public Relations Manager at Black Rhino Game Lodge
Responded 01 Jan 2020
Dear kazm17 - Thank you for sharing your impressions of your stay at Black Rhino Game Lodge. We're happy to hear that on the whole you enjoyed your stay, and at the same time we appreciate your constructive comments about the areas where you felt we could still improve.
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I thoroughly enjoy Black Rhino, I flew up from Cape Town specially to unwind and come here, as I've been here a few times before. Feels like a home away from home. My mother and I had lovely food, nice drinks, Marcus our game ranger took alot of trouble to find the animals for us and could tell us alot about the animals and birds. Staff are very friendly and hands on. Any request is no problem, rooms are very clean and linen smelled fresh out of the laundry. They were good with Covid safety with respect to sanitizing, social distancing and wearing of your mask at all times. I'll always come back. Thank you Santi and your wonderful team ❤
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Date of stay: June 2021Trip type: Travelled with family
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.
Everything was clean and neat and staff were very friendly but facilities were tired and worn and not the standard you expect for the price you pay. In the rooms- sheets, pillows, towels and matras are completely worn through. Furniture looks tired and there's not a feeling of final touches rounding the room off or a slight touch of finesse- like a skew lamp in the corner or our water that didn't work early morning. Our view from the room was again unkempt. The room was very far from the restaurant/lounge area and it was a pitch black walk after sunset with only a weak torch attached to your room key.
The food was completely average, not bad and definitely enough but again not worth the price. We couldn't find the dinner spot as it was in the boma for the night without anyone informing us. In the lounge/bar/restaurant area, the bathrooms were quite terrible. Early morning it was still dirty and untidy, it also didn't have any towels to dry your hands. Unfortunately just needs extra touches if you are expecting your guests to pay that amount of money.
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Date of stay: December 2020Trip 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.
Response from Nick Galpine, Agency / Consultant at Black Rhino Game Lodge
Responded 17 Dec 2020
Hi HermienOden - Thank you for taking the time to post your detailed review of your stay at Black Rhino Game Lodge. We're very sorry to hear that your experience did not live up to your expectations - the stay you describe is not at all what we aim to offer to our guests. We'll be urgently looking into all the points you've raised and once again, we're sorry that you were left feeling the way you do.
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When we may the booking through agent and said that the following is included in prise: Includes: • Accommodation (1 x Deluxe Suite) • Three meals per day • Two game drives per day There is no lunch only high tea from 14:00 until 15:30, which I do not have problem. Arrive at 14:00 – room was not ready and wait for a half hour before you could go to our room. On Arrival at reception the staff gave us all information about the game drives and times and said that in morning you go to Pilansberg Game Reserve and in evening you do Black Rhino Game Reserve. The following was wrong in the room: Try to tap water in the bath in the evening – water takes up to nearly hour – water very slow. The morning I tried again the same. My husband had look and see the filter of tape of dirty. So I shower in evening – dangerous the floor – everything is wet and slipper. No place to hold. Water running on to floor toward the toilet. I use a towel to clean and dry the floor. In the morning same thing. This morning when I want dry my hair there is no two point plug. So had to phone to ask for a plug. We have to use your cell phone and data to make call. I phone maintenance not available, phone assistants mailbox full. Phone reception they will see what they can do. After 20 min the plug arrive – hair already dry.
Breakfast: The food was not ready. All the food was ice cold. Wait 15 min to get a fried egg. You have make your own coffee – cold. High Tea – food cold Dinner – food cold The Room: Shower – floor slipper – hand handle to hold on. If you use the shower the water is over floor – use towel to dry the floor I will never booked there again.
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Date of stay: August 2022
Value
Cleanliness
Service
Room Tip:All the room are the same
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 visited black rhino game reserve for 3 nights for our honeymoon. It was our first visit to South Africa and our first safari! On arrival, we were received such a friendly greeting by the staff and they kept the lunch buffet open 10 minutes longer so we could have some lunch before we were shown to our lodge.
The accommodation is brilliant, some have described it as basic but we have been to some very Luxurious 5 star hotels and thought the balance between luxury and rustic was perfect. The food was great, not a massive choice but something for everyone and so fresh and tasty. We couldn’t ask any more of the staff, they were so welcoming and friendly and always on hand to help. We got lost a few times as it gets very dark on a nighttime and staff were more than happy to guide us to our room every night. The safaris were amazing. The rangers were attentive and listened to the animals that we really wanted to see, making sure we saw a variety. We saw 4 of the big 5! Wouldn’t hesitate to visit black rhino again.
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Date of stay: May 2019Trip 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.
Response from hamerkop11, Public Relations Manager at Black Rhino Game Lodge
Responded 05 Jan 2020
Dear hayleym782 - Congratulations on your honeymoon! We're thrilled that you chose Black Rhino Game Lodge for part of your special holiday, and delighted to hear how much you enjoyed your stay. We look forward to welcoming you back again in the future!
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After reading good reviews we decided to book at the Black Rhino. We checked in without difficulty, and were taken to Lodge 23 which was quite a walk on a stoney path. The room is very nice - huge bed, looking out to trees, but my great disappointment was the promise of our individual small pool which is shown in all the adverts - lovely wooden verandah with pool. Instead, there was a big metal bath monstrosity just set out at the side of the lodge in between us and our neighbours. This did not reflect us paying for a studio with a private pool.
The eating area is attractive, with view over to the waterhole and we even saw some eland nearby. The lunches on both days were delicious, freshly prepared, but the evening meals were not good. On our first evening we arrived a bit later than everyone else. There was some meat which tasted nice, but no potatoes to go with it. Only rice. There were hardly any cold mixed veg left. The meal was a disappointment. The second night was the boma meal which was slightly better. I think the food needs to be improved. Our game drives were very good. Marcus was very helpful and did his best to access the animals and he had a good knowledge of general nature. It was freezing on the drives, made worse by us stupidly forgetting to bring our jackets. Our fault there. Regarding the staff; they were excellent. Friendly and helpful. So, I wouldn't recommend the Black Rhino. I would go somewhere else. It wasn't all bad, but disappointing.
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Date of stay: April 2021
Value
Location
Service
Room Tip:Check out suites and make sure there is a decent plunge pool.
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.
After being a loyal customer for nine years, I must admit that this time I left Black Rhino Lodge feeling disappointed. I understand that the business has been negatively affected by the financial impacts of COVID-19, but it seems that cost-cutting measures have been implemented in the wrong areas. One of the small touches that made a big difference was the warm cloth we used to receive upon returning from a game drive, especially considering most of the drives are on dirt roads. Unfortunately, this gesture has been taken away. Additionally, the delightful homemade biscuits or sweet treats that were once placed on the pillow during turn down have been replaced by the cheapest possible Chinese chocolate. Only margarine was offered, whereas I believe that the price should justify the inclusion of butter, even if it's not in small prepacked portions. While the lodge's décor has always been on the dated side, we were fine with it because it added to the lodge's unique ambiance. However, it is now evident that there is no capital budget allocated for improvements. The pool located between unit 14 and 16 desperately needs a repaint, and the surrounding deck is in a state of disrepair. Furthermore, the door leading from our room to the patio was bolted shut due to being broken, which meant only one door could be opened. This situation hindered our desire to be as close as possible to nature. Additionally, the door handle on the pool side is in poor condition with loose ends. Moreover, the morning game drives are as we know uncomfortably cold, and it takes at least an hour to reach the main reserve. It would have been a nice touch if warm bottles were provided, as other lodges do. During our visit, we had stayed at Shepherd's Tree before moving on to Black Rhino, and they provided this amenity, as well as a blanket that covered the seating area to absorb some of the cold. While Black Rhino Lodge will always hold a special place in my heart, I must mention that considering the rate we paid (just over R 3120.00 per person), there are other lodges in Pilanesberg that offer better finishing touches at more affordable rates for locals.
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Review collected in partnership with this hotel
Date of stay: July 2023
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
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.
Lindie Stiehler & Family Black Rhino Game Lodge) itself was lovely designed and layed out, therefore we as a family loved our “family hideaway” (Suites 1 & 2 + 19 very much!! Here we enjoyed awesome family time with our own private splash pool inside the bush! Our food was perfectly done, delight and plentiful. All the staff and chefs were exceptionally well trained, friendly, helpful and went out of their way to be there for us at all times, making sure we are feeling welcome, comfortable and satisfied. The Park is beautiful with a wide diversity and endless landscapes, animals & birdlife! During an afternoon safari the sunsets were just so dramatic and we even got to experience a thunderstorm! We learn a lot from our guide and completely fall in love again with the SA Bushveld. We saw so many animals and birds, the Kori Bustard, Hamerkop and Rufous Naped Lark were a few of my favourite birds. Although the Elephants quickly became also a favourite, watching them and learn more about their family life’s and behaviour. I can recommend Black Rhino Game Lodge to all visitors from all over the world. This might be our first visit to Black Rhino Game Reserve, but not our last, we will be back. Also A BIG thank you, to Santie, Matthew and their teams!!
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Date of stay: February 2021
Value
Cleanliness
Service
Room Tip:The best rooms to my opinion will be Room 1 & 2 + 19
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 was really disappointed with Black Rhino Lodge. We stayed at another lodge just down the road the night before for the same price and the experience was vastly different. The dinner at Black Rhino lodge was a buffet that reminded me of The Dros. The staff made up for the dismal food - all really friendly. The waiters and even the staff tending to the garden were very friendly and helpful. Also we were charged for our drinks on the game drive. Sure it was stipulated on the booking but I have never before at any private lodge been charged for drinks on game drives. For the price paid you could stay 100 meters down the road and experience amazing food and attention to detail!
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Date of stay: August 2021Trip 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.
Hi Cindy, you drive from the gate to the lodge and can park your car at the lodge quite near to the room. Game drives with the rangers from the lodge are highly recommended.
There are more places to choose from in the Pilanesberg National Park area.
PRICE RANGE
R 8,265 - R 9,988 (Based on Average Rates for a Standard Room)
ALSO KNOWN AS
black rhino game hotel pilanesberg national park
LOCATION
South AfricaNorth-West ProvinceMoses Kotane Local MunicipalityPilanesberg National Park
NUMBER OF ROOMS
23
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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