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.
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.
Calm tranquility, healing nature! Bellevue Forest Reserve in South Africa’s malaria-free Eastern Cape is a family-owned property comprising 2500 hectares of mountainous virgin forest with free-roaming wildlife within the Greater Addo area. Here, 165 bird species, buffalo, leopard, giraffe, eland, kudu, and other wildlife find refuge among some of the most scenic and wholesome landscapes to be found anywhere. We know you will too. A short drive from the renowned Addo Elephant National Park, guests are offered two significantly different experiences in the heart of nature – the gracious and elegant 4-star rated Elephant Lodge or the wildly romantic Stargazer Camp. The remarkably moderate climate and perfect orientation of the lodge ensures that cooling breezes keep the rooms airy, fresh, and comfortable even in the midst of summer. On hot days, a refreshing dip in our earth pool with its mineral-rich waters does wonders for the skin. Bellevue Forest reserve is more than a destination. We offer an immersive, connected experience – a discovery of the multi-faceted bounty of nature and a soul connection to the world around us. Our part of the Eastern Cape is water-scarce, and each raindrop is precious. Every care is taken to be as eco-friendly and water-wise as possible without sacrificing comfort, and to treat nature with extreme gentleness and respect. At Bellevue, we embrace ecologically friendly principles and responsible tourism for the benefit of our community, our country, and our future. We look forward to the opportunity of sharing this with you!
Star ratings are intended to indicate the general level of features, amenities, and services to expect. This property is classified according to Giata.
We had a fantastic time. Such a beautiful lodge with stunning views, The rooms are very luxurious, and the food was so lovely! Staff were very helpful, and The Giraffe Walk is amazing. What an experience we had with our Guides Alex, and Stephen. They were very knowledgeable, and the whole experience was amazing. They went above, and beyond to make it special. Id recommend this to anyone.
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Date of stay: March 2023
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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.
Elephants Lodge (Olifantskop Lodge) is a family lodge located within Bellevue Forest Reserve, which overlooks the valley of the Reserve. It’s a cosy environment with natural gardens and perfectly located near Addo and Shamwari. The recently renovated rooms are small but very clean and equipped with everything you need. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are served at a common area with an atmospheric fire place and a bar.
The hosts Loodt en Stephan will do anything to make their service as personal as possible and because of that, they really create a familiarity of home. For this reason, I would recommend this place in particular for solo travellers and families. At Bellevue you will find a delightful home away from home on vacation. The hosts also prepared a delicious Braai and joined their present guests – including us – for dinner! We had a great evening and heard the lions roaring in the night; the sounds you want to hear while you’re in the African bush.
This family friendly reserve is most famous for the unique Giraffe Walk excursion and home to wildlife such as lions and buffalo. Because Bellevue is the only reserve that offers a giraffe walk, we couldn’t miss out on that. I think it’s an enjoyable activity; especially when you haven’t been close to wildlife before it’s very impressive to walk up very close to these animals. Walking with giraffes doesn’t mean touching our padding them; they are wild animals. When the giraffes are comfortable you get out of the game drive vehicle to slowly walk in the footprints of the giraffes to observe their behaviour and get closer to them. Quite impressive if you look up to the most elegant animals of the African bush.
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Date of stay: December 2019
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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 Bellevueforest, Public Relations Manager at Elephants Lodge Bellevue Forest Reserve
Responded 17 Feb 2020
Thank you for your great review! It is appreciated! Hope to see you again soon!
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This was one of my favourite tented camps as we were camping under the stars, the lodge made the best food we could have asked for and the host Stephan was a real gentleman. He took good care of us and made sure all our needs were taken care of. The giraffe walk is n must as it is a one of a kind experience with these beautiful animals. The tented camps are made for luxuary and it is hard to tell the difference between tent and lodge. We really enjoying our stay and highly recommend it to any couple.
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Date of stay: February 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 Bellevueforest, Owner at Elephants Lodge Bellevue Forest Reserve
Responded 29 Mar 2020
Dear Frank Bells :) Thank you for your review, we appreciate it. Stay safe in this coming weeks and we hope to see you again soon! Kind regards, The Bellevue Family!
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A superb place and way to spend quality time with family and friends. The giraffe are majestic from close up and foot really adds to the experience. Loodt and his team know what first class treatment is and one can really relax with their great hospitality. I will be going back again soon.
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Review collected in partnership with this hotel
Date of stay: August 2020
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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 Bellevueforest, Front Office Manager at Elephants Lodge Bellevue Forest Reserve
Responded 29 Aug 2020
Dear Keith, Thank you so much for your stay and support recently. We hope to see you again soon! Kind regards, Love Bellevue!
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Arrived on a steaming hot day, but were welcomed with cold drinks and a breeze through the lounge where we relaxed until a slightly cooler 5pm then set off with Guide Braun on a game drive.. first stop was the buffalo.. lovely to see them relaxing with their young and not perturbed by a bunch of strangers staring at them. Braun informed us all about the buffalo and then we moved on to see Cape zebra, kudu, nyala, and blesbuck. Many young ones around which was just wonderful. Braun hax z look with his binocs and spotted the giraffe family and we headed off to find them. With a bit of bundu bashing we found them and was amazing to be able to get out of the game vehicle and walk slowly to get close enough for some great pics without disturbing them. Is a first as getting out of a game vehicle on a grans drive is a big no usually. Once back at the lodge we had an amazing meal cooked for us and great rooms with everything one would need and breakfast served on the deck the next morning was great. Thank you Charlene Carel Braun Ninke for a wonderful time.
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Date of stay: January 2020Trip type: Travelled with friends
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.
Unbelievable experience! My partner (UK Citizen) & I (Local) incorporated the stay as part of a 2-month African Safari trip & was bang-on for a true African experience. Where comfort meets outdoors & nature, a true privelage to sleep in pristine crisp white linen under the glorious African night sky. The delicious evening meals were intimately prepared by the Ranger around the open fire with local wine glass in hand, the setting was absolutely beautiful, the ranger extremely knowledgable & attentive, with outstanding hospitality from Loodt & the team. The outdoor experience was truly a stargazing & mesmerizing experience. A definite recommendation to both oversees & local visitors!
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Review collected in partnership with this attraction
Date of stay: August 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.
This was the second time I stayed here. The surrounding is in a completely natural environment. Yet the rooms are luxurious and comfortable, very quiet. The staff is very friendly and helpful. Our food was done to perfection by the chef, who happily prepared our food according to special needs. The soup was tasty, the steak was tender, but the chocolate mousse was to die for!! Next morning Roger, a very knowledgeable game ranger took us for a game drive which took us to walk near the giraffes, even a few very young ones. They clearly felt safe with us there, because they carried on feeding, while we took photos, in awe of the wonder of being so close to them in the bush in their natural environment.
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Date of stay: April 2022Trip type: Travelled with friends
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 must commend the staff for their exceptional service and helpfulness. The breakfast was average but being served outside on a lovely open deck overlooking the reserve made it special. The accommodation did not meet expectations. The room we were assigned was in need of significant attention. There was a noticeable large defect in the plaster, with an unrepaired crack on the exterior patio. Additionally, the room lacked air conditioning, and although a fan was provided, it was of poor quality, and far more efficient at making noise than providing effective air circulation, especially given that the temperature reached 37°C during the day. The bathroom was also quite dated. The shower featured separate hot and cold taps without a mixer, making it difficult to adjust the water temperature. There was only a small cabinet mirror, with no additional mirror elsewhere. To make matters worse, the toilet had a malfunction and only partially flushed. The front door's lock was ineffective, meaning the door could easily be pulled open even when "locked." Regarding the food, I was disappointed with the evening dinner on both occasions. Considering the price of the dinner, I felt it offered very poor value. There was in addition no beer selection with only one choice of beer - small cans of a local craft lager, which were expensive and not to my taste. Unfortunately, my overall experience was less than satisfactory.
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Review collected in partnership with this hotel
Date of stay: December 2024
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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.
Bellevue is a delightful spot with wonderful potential but it was expensive for what we received. The lodge is average yet some of the accommodation has been recently upgraded. The staff were pleasant. The food lacked finese opting for massive plates of food over good quality. Walking with the giraffes was a lovely experience but at the cost of R2600 for the expereince alone (this was for a family of 4) it works out to be very expensive for locals. I really wish the Bellevue team the greatest success and I hope that we see them grow from strength to strength in the future.
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Review collected in partnership with this hotel
Date of stay: April 2021
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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 Bellevue Forest Buchner, Owner at Elephants Lodge Bellevue Forest Reserve
Responded 03 May 2021
Dear Guest, Thank you for your review, we value all input. We would love to get in touch with you, to see how we could better our gastronomy experience for our guests. Please reach out to book@bellevueforest.co.za so that we can be in contact. Kind regards.
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Usually we don't write reviews, but this place deserves it. We really enjoyed the helpful service (really nothing was too much asked), dinners together with other guests and staff, beautiful views from the deck, sound of roaring lions at night and the (walking) safari tours. Thanks to all, and for sure the place to stay next time we are around in the area.
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Review collected in partnership with this hotel
Date of stay: March 2020
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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 Bellevueforest, Owner at Elephants Lodge Bellevue Forest Reserve
Responded 28 Mar 2020
Dear Arthur & Family, We appreciate your review and words. We had pleasure hosting you and your family and would love to see you back again soon! Lots of love from the Buchner Family!
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There are more places to choose from in the Paterson area.
PRICE RANGE
RÂ 2,758 - RÂ 4,766 (Based on Average Rates for a Standard Room)
FORMERLY KNOWN AS
Olifantskop Lodge
LOCATION
South AfricaEastern CapeGreater AddoSundays River ValleyPaterson
NUMBER OF ROOMS
10
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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