Mountain Retreat at Maliba Lodge

One of the best places i have ever been to, as someone mentioned before it is really a home away from home, somewhere where you can really gather your thoughts in the stillness, The service from the staff is excellent and the rooms are amazing.

I can not express my disappointment enough. It all started with making my reservation. At first, the lodge wanted me to do a bank transfer for my balance. The international fees, along with the service fees charged by the lodge and the banks, are excessive. Thankfully, the lodge agreed to allow me to pay my balance by card when I arrived. I don't understand why the balance couldn't be charged along with the deposit, but it is what it is. My other even more frustrating challenge came from trying to arrange transport from the airport to the lodge. On the website, it states that it is a straightforward drive. Maybe for someone who is accustomed to driving on the left side of the street...in a stick shift. I reached out numerous times to the lodge, trying to gain assistance in how to get there. There are no taxis at the airport or Ubers. I found one company that quoted me $600 each way. Absolutely not! I was tempted to cancel my stay. After no response from the lodge, I decided to try and rent a car. However, I had already started my travels and had no way of acquiring an International Drivers Permit. Additionally, the only cars available were manual which again...absolutely not! Miraculously, I stumbled across Chief TBN!!!!!!! I highly suggest Maliba form a partnership with them. They picked me up and drove me the nearly 4 hour trekk to the mountains. A drive that a solo female, driving at night, on unmarked, unlit, winding roads would NOT describe as straightforward. The mountains are beautiful. That's about it. The grounds are not that well kept. It rains a lot, so there's lots of fallen tree branches and slippery mud. The rooms are cold. The food options are extremely limited. Extremely. Both in offerings and in availability. It was cold and rainy so there wasn't much to do. I went to the main house in order to allow housekeeping time to clean. There's not even coffee available! I went to make a massage reservation, and the person at the desk was sleeping. Literally sleeping on the computer. OK. We all get tired. But even after I interrupted her nap to ask a question, she uttered a one - or two word answer and returned to her nap! I didn't enjoy the food but the fries were ok. I was offered more fries, but to my dismay, I was charged for them. Normally, at higher end establishments if something is not to your liking, it is changed to meet your satisfaction...without charge. This wasn't that big of an issue just in line with my whole experience. The most disappointing thing was how unwelcoming the staff was. Every single one except for the housekeeper who tried to teach me how to start the fire in the room. I wanted to enjoy my time there. Especially after Trump said such disparaging things about Lesotho, I wanted to encourage people to go! I spent a lot of time and money for the experience, and it was a total disappointment. I don't know how other guests were treated, but I see a lot of positive reviews, and I'm happy for those guests. For me? I could never recommend Maliba. Unfortunately, it's the only "luxury" accommodation in Lesotho. Maybe if the staff were trained in what truly 5 star service should be, it would be better. For example: check out time was 9 AM. I called to arrange for a later check out because my flight wasn't until 5 PM. I was told 9:30 would be the latest. At about 9:15 I asked if it was OK to wait in my room for my driver to come because it was closer to the parking and I didnt want to cary 4 bags up the stairs to reception alone. I was told "no" and that someone would come help. The person came, picked up 2 bags, and briskly took off. When I finally caught up to him and my bags at reception, there was no "How did you enjoy your stay?" Only, "make sure you leave the key." Unbelievable!

Over all pretty disappointing. I had high hopes for maliba lodge, but sadly this was the most disappointing stay of our trip. The weather wasn't on our side with heavy rain, not the fault of the lodge, but there was an absolute lack of any rainy day activities on offer, no board games, playing cards, not even a lounge with a TV to watch and the WiFi was so bad I couldn't do much with it. The lounge felt sterile and cold, not the kind of places you wanted to spend much time in. There lodge seems to have far less activities on offer than others that I have been to in Lesotho. We stayed in the 3 star rooms and it was again disappointing, our shower flooded with every use and the bathroom was covered in black mould. The saving grace was the staff who were great and the food excellent, however beside main meals there were no snacks on offer at the bar. Really not worth the extra money we paid over semonkong lodge or malealea. Very disappointing.

Amazing views and wonderful service Truly worthy of 5 stars ♥️

I had a wonderful experience at Maliba Lodge! The scenery is absolutely incredible, and the lodge is the perfect place to spend a weekend. I stayed in one of the economy lodge rooms which are the cheapest option. The proximity to the main building was perfect for meals and activities. Notably some of the other accommodations, such as the river huts are quite a long, steep walk to the main building and may be best for guests with cars. The rooms were simple, but with comfortable beds and a hot shower. Room service came daily to tidy up the room. The meals at the restaurant were delicious. For breakfast and lunch there is a large menu. For dinner you can select either the 2 course or 3 course dinner and there were 2 appetizers and 3 entrees (1 vegetarian) to select from. The limited options are a result of their attempt to source food locally. There was also a large bar menu to enjoy. I went on a 4 hour horseback riding trip which was absolutely incredible. Stunning views and our guide, Clement, was wonderful and very focused on safety and enjoyment. I also used the spa and had a massage and facial. The masseuse was excellent. The spa is open air with the reception, so unfortunately there was a lot of noise and during the massage I could hear talking and sounds from the reception, the restaurant, and outdoors which detracted from the experience. Overall it was a fantastic weekend getaway. I highly recommend Maliba lodge. The views and service can’t be beat!