I stayed at Wendy’s for a few days while doing work in the area.

The Wendy's Country Lodge is near these landmarks: Hluhluwe - iMfolozi Park Wilderness Area, St Lucia Beach, Veyane Cultural Village, Crocodile Centre St Lucia, Mpila Camp Hluhluwe Imfolozi Reserve, Cape Vidal Lighthouse, Mapelane Nature Reserve, EuroZulu Guided Tours & Safaris, Shakabarker Tours - Day Tours, Bhangazi Horse Safaris, Shoreline Hippo and Croc Cruises, Themba's Birding and Ecotours, Extreme Nature Tours and Travel Day Tours, Safari for Six, St Lucia Tours & Charters, St Lucia SA, Amala Massage & Gifts, Canerat Crafts, Ants & Mustard, The Gallery St Lucia, St Lucia South Africa, St Lucia Safaris, Mtuba Mall, Futululu Park, Must Go Safaris, Way To Go Safaris, Maputaland Adventures and Enseleni Nature Reserve

It’s certainly worth braving an early morning wake/up call to explore the nearby Mfolozi game reserve with Gavin whose knowledge of the fauna and flora of the area reflects his love of this unspoilt corner of KZN.

Located in a gated area gives you a feeling of security.

The area offers opportunities to spot Africa’s big 5, plus endangered species such as cheetah and wild dog, and the largest concentration of hippos in Southern Africa.

Many rooms open out directly into the delightful tropical gardens with the result that you are not aware that there are any other properties in the area.

We would highly recommend this as a base to explore the local area or just to relax and enjoy the wonderful ambience.

We have been visiting Wendy's for many years and always stay here when in the area.

We love visiting them at Wendy’s and exploring the areas of natural beauty.

The family room and bar area were very comfortable and open for multiple guests to relax together.

There is a lovely bar/pool area which is great spot to relax day or night.

Beautiful garden, nice pool area with plenty of sunbeds.

Rooms and public areas are beautifully furnished.

Jenny and Gavin are the perfect hosts and they know everything there is in the area.

Wendy's is a clean and comfortable guest lodge and we would heartily recommend a stay if you are in that area.

The room was clean and spacious with a covered seating area to chill and relax.

Very helpful with arranging tours in the area

We felt it was a very safe area in a gated complex.

They made a real effort to get to know us and to try to help us make the most of our time in the area.

After returning from a cycle ride a few of us locals joined Gavin, Jenny and their guests.

On Wednesday 27 February a small group of us locals joined by Gavin did a late afternoon bicycle ride of about 40 km.

.. wifi was very poor in my bedroom and ok in the main building near the office,

Do not be put off by the club appearance as you enter the building,

but that was me in that small white hire car.

Not an easy place to wander from, other than by car, so we had breakfast and dinner both days we stayed.

Gaivin managed to call lions on a hill and made them come to our car.

We stayed watching the lions for about 10minutes as they wandered towards us and eventually got scared off by the cars.

However visit Cape Vidal first, get in early only 120 cars  per day allowed.

Short drive to enter the park and close the the attractions of St Lucia.

Very close to Umfolozi-Hluhluwe national park which is a must see for Game lovers.

As a base for day trips to iSimangaliso National Parks (West and East) Shores and Hluhluwe Game Reserve it is ideal.

The location in particular appealed to us as it was between the Hluhluwe Game Park and the Isimangoleso Wetland Park.

Location provides easy access to the National Park and Wetlands.

Wendy’s is also the perfect base for exploring the many nearby parks and beaches, ensuring that every moment of a longer stay is filled with memorable experiences.

Apart from being a perfect host Gavin is an excellent game guide, and we had a fantastic day with him in the Hluhluwe National Park.

On our way to Wendy’s, while in Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park, we had some amazing sightings and encounters.

The visit included two excursions to Hluhluwe/Umfolozi game park and St Lucia estuary.

It was the ideal 'home-from-home' to explore this amazing part of the world, including Cape Vidal, Isimangaliso, St Lucia and Hluhluwe-Mfolozi Park.

Mtubatuba is a great centre for getting to the pristine beaches of Cape Vidal,and for wildlife viewing in the  fabulous Imfolozi Park and the Isimangaloso Wetland Reserve .

Mtubatuba is a peaceful suburb with a supermarket to stock up on supplies before heading to one of the great places around like iSimangaliso Wetland Park, Hluhluwe Imfolozi, St. Lucia etc, all within an hour drive.

We visited Mtubatuba to go to the Hluhluwe Umfolozi park.

The hosts, Gavin and Jenny, provide a warm welcome and are happy to help arrange trips and tours around the surrounding parks, while the rest of the staff are equally friendly and obliging.

Travelers visiting Hluhluwe/iMfolozi - arguably South Africa's best National Parks - should  book accommodation at Wendy's.

The also have a deep knowledge of the parks, the animals and the other countries around, as they lived in quite a few of them.

It is the closest place to Durban and the park, so ideal for a quick trip to see some game.

Location close to other tourist attractions - Cape Vidal, Bird Park etc.

We were on our way from Durban to Tembe Elephant Park and this makes for a great break.

Our room was spotless, the food was very good, we liked the idea all guests meeting at the bar for a social chat before dinner, the gardens are beautiful,

Rooms were clean and tidy every time we’d come back from day trips.

Well appointed Lodge with beautiful garden and our room was very clean and comfortable with an initial warm welcome from the manager.

The rooms are clean with an outdoor patio.

The rooms are spotlessly clean and we were totally comfortable.

Our room was clean, comfortable and large and the garden is lush and peaceful. .

Entertainment area was awesum great bar area room where neat and clean and great location and food was superb was really a for filling time for me meet great people good vibes !

Again, we have a very very nice stay for 3 nights with lovely diners and very friendly people, proper and we had a beautiful clean room. Fantastic.

The room is neat and tidy overlooking a beautiful garden.

we had the best time, the staff was friendly, the rooms were neat and tidy, it was peaceful,we felt at home, we didn't feel that we were in a lodge.

We had Room 4 which was very clean, very comfortable, had a lovely secluded balcony and was a very short walk to the bar!

The rooms are clean and lovely with beautiful antique furniture.

Breakfast was excellent, wifi available, rooms were very clean

Our room was clean and cozy, and there were plenty of places to sit and relax both inside and out.

The rooms are very clean and full of comforts, a pool and a beatiful tropical garden will help you to relax after your safari or your day at the beach.

The rooms were clean and we had plenty of towels and hot water.

The food was delicious and the Hluluwe tour was wonderful as well — we saw giraffes, elephants, a lion sleeping in the trees, a pack of endangered African wild dogs and more.

We took advantage of 2 local tours (game drive and hippo boat trip) both arranged efficiently by the lodge manager Louwrina.

Guided tours and safaris can be booked at the Lodge.

They offer excellent game tours and provide useful information to guests who wish to self drive.

We have stayed at Wendy's to visit St. Lucia (whale watching and hippo tour are 30 minutes away) and on our way to Durban.

Gavin is a very knowledgeable tour guide and can take you to any of the local parks.

We've done both trips, the hosts offered, one hippo tour to St. Lucia and a game drive.

The food served at the lodge is top class with the evening meals being something of a tour de force that come out of a small kitchen filled with flavor and love.

This is definitely where you need to stay if you are considering Mtubatuba and the game reserve safari tour!

We did the safari with Gavin, the wetlands tour, the cheetah project, hippo boat tour and the Zulu community visit.

NB: Gavin offers guided safari trips into nearby Imfolozi/Hluhluwe in an open game vehicle to his guests - a definite must!

Whether you are just wanting a base from which to explore the superb African wildlife reserves and beaches in the area or want to take advantage of the guided tours led by Zululand Aquatic and Animal Adventures, Wendy's is the place to stay.

Gavin is also a superb game tour guide; he is a conservationist with a deep passion for the animals which is contagious.

They also organised for us a great safari game at the Umfulozi park and the crocodile tour.

A wonderful and typical english pub is present in the house and there you can have a drink with the other guests and the proprietaries, Tony and Wendy, who will always take care of you with plenty of suggestions for your daily tours and with whom you could share a lot of interesting stories on the region.

Wendy's Country Lodge

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The Protea Hotel Umfolozi River is near these landmarks: Hluhluwe - iMfolozi Park Wilderness Area, Empangeni Arts and Cultural History Museum, St Lucia Beach, Veyane Cultural Village, Crocodile Centre St Lucia, Mpila Camp Hluhluwe Imfolozi Reserve, Cape Vidal Lighthouse, Mapelane Nature Reserve, EuroZulu Guided Tours & Safaris, Shakabarker Tours - Day Tours, Bhangazi Horse Safaris, Shoreline Hippo and Croc Cruises, Themba's Birding and Ecotours, Extreme Nature Tours and Travel Day Tours, Safari for Six, St Lucia Tours & Charters, St Lucia SA, Amala Massage & Gifts, Canerat Crafts, Ants & Mustard, The Gallery St Lucia, St Lucia South Africa, St Lucia Safaris, Mtuba Mall, Futululu Park, Must Go Safaris, Way To Go Safaris, Enseleni Nature Reserve, Birdswood, Maputaland Adventures and Lido Disco

but the signal is strong in the dining room and reception area.

It is ok for a stop-over to visit surounding area, like Umfolozi - and Hluhluwe National Park or St. Lucia National Park.

There’s a lot of staff standing around the reception area yet no inter personal skills at all.

WiFi only available in the lobby, and reception area.

We stayed at this hotel as our base for the exploration of the Umfolozi Game Reserve Area.

The garden areas, pool and lapa is kept clean and inviting to stroll through.

Our room was a very long walk from the reception area.

There is a large lobby with free wifi and a nice dining area where we enjoyed an okay buffet dinner.

I especially enjoyed the tree in the driveway area full of weaver birds.

Wifi only in reception area and is included.

Protea Hotels are always a "go to" hotel when in an unfamiliar area, be it in Zambia, Zimbabwe or South Africa.

There were still a few dark areas near the fence line at the back of the property.

but you can use wifi in the reception area and restaurant area.

Do not be put of by the area when you approach this great hotel.

Wifi only available in the reception area.

The room we had was located a fair way from the reception area

Free wi-fi was available in the reception areas only.

The hotel is good for a stop while exploring the area .

When visiting nearby national parks for safaris, this is an ideal choice with comfortable beds, good buffet-style food in the onsite restaurant and very friendly staff.

Our tour group took a bus 30 minutes to the Hluhluwe park for a game drive which was wonderful.

but is a convenient stop when visiting places like Hluhluwe game park or St Lucia .

We visited both Hluhluwe Imfolozi and iSimangaliso Wetland Park while staying here

but a good base to visit St. Lucia or the Umfolozi Park.

Spent 1 night in this Protea-chain hotel, which is very close to the Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Game Park.

Stopped at his hotel overnight on my way from the St. Lucia Boat Cruise to the Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Game Park.

This is an excellent hotel situated near the game park and close to the estuary.

Stayed here for one night only  after an afternoon in Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park  and on our way to the St Lucia boat cruise next morning.

Nice hotel not too far from Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park and also the St Lucia Boat Cruise.

It's about 45 minutes drive to the beautiful Hluhluwe Imfolozi Park.

Convenient stop if visiting nearby National Parks.

But, what I did get at the hotel was a spacious and clean room, well maintained and situated amongst trees, beautiful gardens and a serene atmosphere.

Rooms were tidy and the dinner buffet was good.

The hotel rooms were very clean, and once could not ask for a better place to stay.

The property itself is beautiful and the rooms are neat, spotless, spacious and very comfortable.

The rooms are ok - they are adequately size and not cramped, room is clean, bathrooms are decent and clean,

As with the other hotels very friendly and helpful staff, a comfortable and clean room and excellent dinner and breakfast buffets.

but as been mentioned by others the layout of the room with the bathroom open to the rest of the room is different.The bed was comfortable and the room was clean.

I stayed one night and found the room clean, well appointed, and the bed was excellent.

The room was clean, I couldn't see the grounds due to the storm

well situated off the main road, good place to explore the zululand,  hluhluwe and st lucia areas from well designed hotel with comfortable rooms which are clean and spacious.

What arrived after almost an hour was a few vegetables cooked in a packet tomato sauce - no sign of cocunut milk, spices or anything else even vaguely reflecting Turkish cuisine - plonked on top of a pile of plain boiled rice.

Not found on gps and no sign boards from N2.

The entrance to the hotel can be confusing if you, like me, follow an Apple Map, just follow the road sign that says "Umfolozi River Hotel" on the N2 and you will be fine, the road does become a short dirt road

There were "no smoking" signs at the room,

There is no "Protea" sign before the freeway exit, only the standard brown tourist info roadsign.

I am giving 2 points off for the slow service and just general bad attitude at the front desk and wait staff at dinner.

We found the tea/coffee service a bit slow during breakfast.

Service in the restaurant was also a bit slow,

The only downside is that the WIFI is only available in the foyer and restaurant areas and from my experience was extremely slow,

All in all a pleasant

We stayed close to the main reception so on route to the pool felt it is was miles away.

The hotel is out in the middle of no where and seems to mainly cater to tour / safari groups making the rounds.

but rather it was provided by the gate 1 tour.

We were in a tour group that all checked in at the same time.

My friend and I were on a tour and stayed at several Protea hotels SA.

Meals were generally buffet style due to tour groups.

but as part of a GATE 1 tour, so can't comment on value.

but no refrigerator,  and our tour guide recommended us to put towels at the base of the door to prevent mosquitoes from entering.

We stayed at Protea Hotel Umfolozi River for one night with a tour group.

Stayed here with a Gate One tour and the staff was very friendly.

We stayed at this hotel on a tour of South Africa with Thompson's Africa.

On our tour we stayed in Protea Hotels quite often and they were all very nice.

An overnight stay on our SA tour the hotel was pleasantly, if a tad garishly, decorated, the rooms were very comfortable and the buffet dinner and breakfast most agreeable.

We choose to go to dinner before showering. I think that’s why I didn’t have hot water for my shower (although everyone else did.)

There was no shower curtain, and because it had a handheld shower head, we had to sit down so that the water did not splash everywhere, which it did regardless.

Bathroom was fully equipped (shampoo, shower gel, lotion, soap), hot water was available anytime

we had to endure bathing in rising dirty water levels.

The water is horrible and should not be ingested

The tap water was slightly discolored so we brushed our teeth with bottled water to be safe.

After everything else, I went to take a shower, there was no hot water to several units along out hallway.

There was also one complementary bottle of water in the room.

The water was smelling way to much of chlorine.

Protea Hotel Umfolozi River

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The Mtuba Manor is near these landmarks: Hluhluwe - iMfolozi Park Wilderness Area, St Lucia Beach, Veyane Cultural Village, Crocodile Centre St Lucia, Cape Vidal Lighthouse, Mapelane Nature Reserve, EuroZulu Guided Tours & Safaris, Shakabarker Tours - Day Tours, Bhangazi Horse Safaris, Shoreline Hippo and Croc Cruises, Themba's Birding and Ecotours, Extreme Nature Tours and Travel Day Tours, Safari for Six, St Lucia Tours & Charters, St Lucia SA, Amala Massage & Gifts, Canerat Crafts, Ants & Mustard, The Gallery St Lucia, St Lucia South Africa, St Lucia Safaris, Mtuba Mall, Futululu Park, Must Go Safaris, Way To Go Safaris, Maputaland Adventures and Enseleni Nature Reserve

Definately will be returning when i am in the area again.

They are large, roomy, well appointed, very clean and with a covered area for you to sit outside and look into the garden.

The breakfasts are amazing :)
Close proximity to St Lucia, Umfolozi & Hluhluwe Game Parks
Your hosts Es & Merle will go out of their way to assist you.

Wonderful venue to stay on route to game reserve.

Jan, 13, 2021

Sep, 29, 2019

Jan, 16, 2020

Apr, 3, 2019

Dec, 4, 2015