Need to know
Rooms
18 suites, plus three villas.
Check–Out
11am, but flexible depending on occupancy. Guests are welcome to use the hotel facilities until their flight leaves. Check-in is 2pm.
More details
Rates include all meals; house wines, local drinks, and snacks from the minibar; and twice-daily group game drives (guests in a Royal Suite or whole lodge will get private safaris with a dedicated vehicle, guide and tracker).
Also
Unfortunately, this safari stay is not suitable for guests with reduced mobility.
At the hotel
Gym, hair salon, yoga studio, and free WiFi throughout. In rooms: TV, air-conditioning, and minibar.
Our favourite rooms
There’s no drawing the short straw at Royal Malewane – a private pool, freestanding bath tub, and savannah-kissed sundeck accompanies every suite. We like the paired-down interiors in Malewane or Farmstead Lodge; the rooms in Waterside Lodge offer something more playful for maximalists, and Africa House is a spacious private residence with a boma, spa room and outdoor pool.
Poolside
Running through the heart of the spa’s central courtyard is the heated lap pool, which glows amber come sunset with lanterns lining the pool’s edges. Save the skinny dipping for your own pool – there’s a private one in each room, suite and villa.
Spa
The Waters of Royal Malewane Bush Spa is located in a serene natural setting and offers a wide range of indulgent body treatments and hydrotherapies using local minerals. You’ll find a gym, steam room, hot and cold African baths, and a hair salon hidden behind the pool in the surrounding trees. There’s a second spa in Waterside Lodge – Reflections Spa is decked out with another gym, a yoga room, hammam, and three treatment rooms.
Packing tips
Lean in to the safari cliché – olive overshirts, lots of layers, a pair of Grenson boots – accessorised with a trusty camera and zoom lens, of course.
Also
The team of guides at Royal Malewane has 300 years of combined experience, and is considered the ‘Harvard of the Bush’ for conservation specialists.
Pet‐friendly
It’s wild-animals-only at this South African bush stay. See more pet-friendly hotels in Kruger National Park.
Children
All ages are welcome, with some room-type restrictions for under-10s. Waterside Lodge has a games room and extra beds available; bigger clans should rent one of the lodges. Family-friendly game drives can be arranged.
Best for
Over-eights are best placed to appreciate Royal Malawane’s adventurous surroundings.
Recommended rooms
Waterside Lodge tops the family podium – the two Aloe Suites can interconnect and the Baobab Suite has two bedrooms.
Activities
The Royal Rangers programme involves little Smiths in activities around the reserve, certifying them as mini rangers by the end of their stay. All the safaris are family-friendly and vehicles can be kitted out with secure sides, for added peace of mind.
Swimming pool
Each suite and lodge has a private pool (unfenced), and supervised children can swim in the main pool.
Meals
There are children’s menus and high chairs available.
Babysitting
Royal Malewane staff can look after your little ‘uns for R250 an hour.
No need to pack
Games – Waterside Lodge has a games room to keep you entertained outside of safari hours.
Sustainability efforts
Like the four lodges that comprise Royal Malewane, three sustainability pillars make up the hotel’s Earth-kind approach: community, conservation, and environment. The former two are taken care of through improving and supporting local crèche facilities, plus creating a programme for junior trackers to learn this skill; the latter through energy-efficient devices, an on-site water purification plant, and an integrated system of hydronics and solar energy to run the air-conditioning or heat the buildings.