Mountain Retreat at Maliba Lodge

Great destination! Enjoyed the open trail and peaceful outdoor atmosphere.

We spent two unforgettable days at Maliba Lodge in Lesotho. The rooms were beautiful, the staff friendly, and the facilities high-quality. Everything was perfect. The marked hiking trails were another highlight. The organized community visit to the village was truly impressive. All in all, an unforgettable experience in the Drakensberg Mountains.

The lodge had a TV and streaming device but it played only for about an hour and then did not work thereafter. I honestly think its the connection on the TV itself because the wifi on our phones worked uninterrupted. The check-in process is long and tedious, first you fill in your info at the gate, then you go to another gate and have to psy R50 for each person plus R30 for your car, the R30 for visitors shown on the board we were told on only for locals. Then you drive up to reception where you are shown to a lounge and you have to fill in forms. Then you are told if you want to have dinner you must order during lunch time. I was annoyed because check-in is at 2 and after all of the processes it was almost 3pm so by then it was too late for us to have any lunch as their cut off is at 3pm. We had to order dinner upon arrival at the restaurant entrance and were not at all offered the option to have any lunch, although we might have liked to. It was a very rushed process and the options were very very limited, meat, fish or veggie main which is compulsory to order as either a 2 or a 3 course meal starting at R315 pp, just for meals. Kids menu Asian beef stir fry which I ordered for my kids is a very very small portion for which you pay R180. I was still hungry after dinner as we had not had lunch but unfortunately there was no option to order any more food as you don't get to get to order or see a menu again once you place your order for dinner at lunchtime. Dinner is very late, starting at 7pm. They did however offer us an earlier slot of 6pm. We arrived an hour earlier to have drinks and again were instructed as we walked in, to place our order at the bar entrance, and then were directed to the lounge which is on the opposite side of the dining area. We would have loved to sit out on the deck to look at the view while having our drinks but were unfortunately not allowed. It made me feel like an inconvenience as a guest and also deterred us from ordering any more drinks as the waiter was not easily in sight or available for us to place an order. Breakfast is at a cost of R220 pp. Egg station was poorly manned. I had to wait quite a few minutes to place my order as there was no one at the egg station. Eventually after someone did arrive and I waited for him to fry my eggs, I was then was told by a staff lady standing there that I could sit down and she would bring it to me. I walked away and realized that my food was almost done and still no eggs. I went back in only to find that the person at the egg station had handed my order over to the 2 guests who were after me. And to make matters worse, he had not even started frying my eggs again, he only started with it once I walked up to him. The staff member who had told me she would bring it to me was nowhere in sight until she saw me standing there. End result being I got to my food which was by then ice cold and very unpleasant to eat. They also don't toast the bread which is much more preferable for breakfast. The toaster provided in the lodge we were in does not work unless you stand there and hold the power button down. All in all I was very very disappointed and it was not at all what I expected of a 5 star resort. Lastly the wood provided in the lodge was very weak and would not stay lit. As a result my husband had to keep fanning it for more than an hour even after the fire was roaring. We ended up having to purchase a new bag from reception for which we payed R50, leaving most of the wood that we were initially provided unused as it did not do what it was supposed to. For what you pay and what you get I don't think it is worth staying there.

Great destination! Enjoyed the open trail and peaceful outdoor atmosphere.

Absolutely gorgeous lodge nestled in the mountains. The spa? Fabulous views and great treatments. The food was on point! Kudos to the chef!