Cradle Boutique Hotel

South Africa , Gauteng- Johannesburg
KROMDRAAI, kromdraai road (r540)
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47 reviews shown

10/10

Exceptional

25 Mar 2026

Aoife

The best part of our staff was the staff - so warm friendly and welcoming - nothing was too much! The location is fabulous and our nature walk was brilliant! Highly recommend for a few days switch off. Rooms were stunning also!

10/10

Exceptional

20 Feb 2026

Kory

Honestly the stay was amazing, beautiful area, staff were so amazing and friendly! Great tours!

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

23 Jan 2026

Otsile

Great place

Friends_and_family Family

10/10

Exceptional

23 Nov 2025

Kabelo

The room itself, layout and asthetics. Peaceful and tranquil with great location. Staff amazingly friendly… from reception/ restaurant. What a pleasant stay 😊

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

08 Nov 2025

FCI

The service and staff were exceptional and made our stay that much more special

Friends_and_family Friends

8/10

Excellent

16 Oct 2025

Michael Gene

Nice place to stay

The hot tub in our room didn’t seem the cleanest and we had trouble heating it the first night. We are very familiar with heating hot tubs with a fire/logs so this wasn’t the issue. Just didn’t seem very clean.

Partner

6/10

Pleasant

13 Jul 2025

Christopher

Repeatedly told that dinner was not included and constant insistence that we understood this and that breakfast did not include cappuccino - no idea why the staff were so determined to go on and on aboit these things, and it spoilt the romance.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

15 Dec 2024

Verified traveler

Incredible experience

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

14 Jul 2024

Bruce

Friendly and Helpful Staff

Great night at Hotel. Great and friendly staff that went out of their way to make the stay enjoyable. I travel often and the staff at this hotel are the most friendly ever encountered.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

08 Jan 2024

David

Lekker weekend at the Cradle Boutique Hotel.

This was a complete surprise, only half an hour from home nestled in the Cradle of Humankind it's really easily accessible and just waiting to be discovered.

Service Levels were top notch, food was pretty good and the beer cold.

Overall a really great weekend away with my better half, its recommended without a second thought.

Partner

8/10

Excellent

07 Jan 2024

Christopher

Rough around the edges

First impressions are great but a but lacks finesse along the edges when you look deeper.

* Taking into account the costnper night:
* Room trimmings are cheap and sometimes cheaply repaired.
* We had no water in our room for a day.
* Lack of tranquility as our room overlooked the service road with golf carts and staff noisily moving past our unit all the time.
* Food was excellent but service was shocking. On two occasions out waiter did not present wine with tasting first. He just started pouring and filled the red wine glass to the brim. Our orders were taken down incorrectly all the time. Some food was presented without the main ingredient as they had run out but no communication. Menus were left on the table during the meal. We had to ask for rolls and salt and also service.

One would not expect this lack of staff training and poor service from an establishment of this calibre and price range.

Staff very friendly and we had a good time. Not good value for money.

Partner

6/10

Pleasant

23 Aug 2022

P A

Clean and an ok stay

The service by restaurant staff was wonderful and the food was good. Our dinner however was impacted by a very rowdy group which spoilt what was intended to be a romantic dinner to celebrate my husbands birthday. The place is clean. Lights leading from room to restaurant would be helpful - very dark for a walk if you choose not to call for a cart. Our stay was ok but I don't feel that there I got real value for money and i certainly didn't feel that I got the special experience I was hoping for

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

13 Feb 2022

Wesley

Perfect Detox and Reset.

Beautiful setting less than 30min drive from the heart of JHB and Sandton. Spent just a night with my wife. But its perfect for a quick weekend or midweek away, right around the corner for Joburgers.

Tranquil setting, easily accessible.
Friendly, attentive and helpful staff throughout the property.
Rooms with stunning peaceful view.

The rooms are eco friendly built, need a bit of a refresh but still comfortable and enjoyable.
Wish they had a better coffee in room like pods or french press.

Partner

8/10

Excellent

13 Oct 2021

Mattie

delightful

when ready to go down to dinner had problems contacting hotel reception to fetch us, it may have been load shedding, difficulties locating switches for lamps in the evening and not enough light at make-up table. food very good but had to wait rather long considering there were very few guests.lovely chalet, wonderful views

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

04 Aug 2021

Verified traveler

A place called home

Luxurious. Comfortable. Great service. Impeccable views. I would come back over and over again

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

30 Jul 2021

Verified traveler

On point

Incredibly friendly staff with the most amazing views. Private. Quiet. Thoughtful with the electric blankets in winter

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

05 Jul 2021

DANIEL

Great escape

Enjoy my stay and looking forward to going back

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

04 Jul 2021

Verified traveler

Excellent customer service, food was great and nit cheaply served and worth it

Leisure Friends

6/10

Pleasant

16 Jun 2021

Verified traveler

The staff is the only bad thing about this place, the rest is beautiful. Met a few decent staff but was treated disrespectfully by a miss in the office which ruined a lot of the experience. The staff needs to work on service and then the place will really just be great !🙏

Business_and_leisure Self

8/10

Excellent

13 Jun 2021

Verified traveler

It's a great getaway in close proximity to Johannesburg. It felt like a retreat... rest, relax and lounge. The food at the restaurant wasn't so great at least dinner was to be desired. I made my concerns known and I'm hopeful they will do better. Otherwise, a nice, comfortable and quiet stay with a mind, body centering view of the African veld.

Leisure Family_with_children

10/10

Exceptional

09 Mar 2021

Ricky

Cradle getaway

Great getaway close to JHB. Good service, heritage tour and walking tours very professional.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

21 Feb 2020

Thulani

Excellent facility with great service and personal touch.

Partner

8/10

Excellent

21 Dec 2019

Dimitri

Quiet slice of Heaven

Great stay and unwind. Highly recommend it.
The restaurant is amazing and the food out of this world.
Solid wine list with options for all

Self

2/10

Poor

09 Dec 2019

Michael

Major rain puddle in room--not fit for customers

Our room had a major leak with water dripping from the ceiling, creating a big puddle at the entrance to the bedroom and water rising up the curtains. The hotel had no other rooms available so we had to cancel our booking. We cannot believe that no member of staff had noticed this issue.

Partner

6/10

Pleasant

12 Nov 2019

Verified traveler

A room with a view

The cradle was fabulous and really a beautiful location. We had 2 rooms, the owners suite and the normal chalet. Rooms are tired and a little run down. Towels need to be replaced and were a little tattered. Toilet needed to be replaced on our stay. Shower was not working great. If you are not very stable on your feet the stones to the room can make you trip and there are no rails or lights on the pathway. We had a large spider in the room but this didnt bother us personally and the sounds were lovely when we went to sleep. Great location, great food but needs to be maintained and things need to be replaced. Pillows were also not fabulous!

Friends_and_family Family

10/10

Exceptional

26 Dec 2018

JudyWinston

The location & scenery was breathtaking. The restaurant view was amazing.

2/10

Poor

23 Dec 2018

Elizabeth

The property is beautiful but the lack of decent service is just APALLING! Waiters and kitchen staff standing round chatting instead of serving, our small dinner took over an hour to come out and all the staff were whooping it up in the kitchen and bar area while we waited. So sad to see such a beautiful location messed up by this. We skipped out free breakfast as we couldn’t bear To go though the same thing the next morning.

10/10

Exceptional

26 Nov 2018

Barnie

5 Star

Everything was 5 Star - We had a wonderful stay over at Cradle Botique Hotel, Staff helpful and friendly, Chalet beautiful, View Stunning looking over the Bushveld, Dinner at the Restaurant was exceptional and breakfast amazing! Our Game Drive was a great excursion into the bushveld with beautiful views of the Magaliesburg Mountains.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

02 Nov 2018

Nathan

The most beautiful place we have stayed at, ever!!!

8/10

Excellent

03 Sep 2018

Divan

excellent

service is excellent, rooms can be bit more tidy

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

12 Aug 2018

Marjorie

Relaxing and interesting. Great food. Slow service.

10/10

Exceptional

30 Jul 2018

Verified traveler

Simply Amazing!! Great Staff! Great Quick Getaway

This hotel is simply amazing! Very close to the city but you feel like you are a world away. Do the game drive with Grant on their property! He was so knowledgable and taught me a lot of history and geology as well! Wish I would have extended my trip to stay at this lovely place. I booked an executive suite and had a lovely tub! Even saw a meteorite as we walked back to our rooms from the restaurant one night,

Friends

10/10

Exceptional

30 Jul 2018

Majeed Ashram

A hidden gem in Lanseria.

Incredible stay, exceeded expectations in every way. Golf carts were handy if you didn’t want to walk to the lobby for dining.

Friends

10/10

Exceptional

15 May 2018

A breathtaking experience. The location in the heart of the Cradle of Mankind is amazing, the views of the veldt are gorgeous, staff are attentive but relaxed, the food and drink outstanding, and the accommodation was pure luxury. An hour out of Jober

10/10

Exceptional

09 Apr 2018

Desmond

A gem of a find for a quick weekend getaway. The location is only 9km from Lanseria, yet it feels like 100km away.

Very quiet, well looked after accommodation and great value for money. Restaurant's menu and food presentation nothing short of superb, and very reasonable prices.

Definitely a place if you want to get away from it all, and just relax. Will be back without a doubt

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

04 Feb 2018

Verified traveler

Something to think about: The hot and cold water mix in the shower was quite erratic.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

10 Jan 2018

Verified traveler

Very great!! Staff were really helpful and friendly. Rooms are outstanding

10/10

Exceptional

28 Aug 2017

Lars

A Gem Close to Civilization

We arrived to a warm welcome!
This being our second stay in the last 6 months, our previous experience had been awesome and we expected nothing less this time and we weren't disappointed.
At check in we were greeted by Jennifer who immediately recognised us and as before she was exceptional.
All the staff were friendly and willing to assist in anyway. The location is stunning and the afternoon view from your charming chalet's deck of the sunset, over the bushveld, is beautiful.
A perfect place to just unwind and enjoy a soothing sundowner.
Once again our stay was exceptional and we will certainly be back in the near future.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

08 Aug 2017

Juanda

Heaven on Earth

This places deserves a standing ovation from the entire staff Manny, Jules and Diana that helped in every type of which way possible to make us feel as if we were the only guest at the property. Polite, soft spoken very knowledgeable and friendly and smiles every where you turned, no request was too big or small. I can go on for days about the hospitality of the staff. They are truly gems and such beautiful people.
The room was stunning clean and more then what the pictures had to offer. The turn down service with the heated bed was to die for. I didn't want to leave. No seriously I tried to find a later flight to enjoy more time there.
The food was fresh and local . Even through it took awhile to get I understand why , you cant rush perfection. Cradle Boutique Hotel was some place everyone should experience in there life. I am differently making my way back there in the near future. Thank you for everything xoxo.

2/10

Poor

30 Jul 2017

Julia

Cradle Boutique Hotel, a huge disappointment

We decided to do something novel and booked a weekend away close to home to celebrate my birthday and enjoy some downtime in the bush. For us, the Cradle Boutique Hotel was a dismal disappointment. The place is beautiful - the contemporary architecture of the main building and restaurant is striking, and the wooden cabins are luxurious and comfortable. But the food was awful (and expensive) and the lack of hot water for the duration of our stay made us wish we’d stayed home (winter is not the time to have a malfunctioning geyser). The restaurant was appealing but freezing at night. We knew it would be pricey - my partner is a foodie, so this was a big part of the experience. We thought the price would match the quality, but were sorely mistaken. Mozambican Chicken (R140) was tough, not marinated or seasoned properly. Venison Ragout (R143) was tagliatelle doused in cream, with no garlic, vegetables or seasoning, and a few bits of grey-looking boiled meat. Cappuccino was inconsistent. Breakfast was good bar the shop-bought white bread and cheap apricot jam. The game drive was short and disappointing (R300pp). We watched a baboon raid the staff area and swallow plastic. We've been on a lot of game drives and were asked to pre-order drinks - what happened to the usual 'out of Africa' sundowner stop? The staff were friendly, but clearly helpless in the matter of fixing bad food and cold water. I wanted to go home on Saturday night, we left first thing on Sunday morning.

Partner

2/10

Poor

29 Jul 2017

Gregory

Disappointing!! Cradle Boutique Hotel & Hotels.com

Very very disappointing. We booked that this hotel (The Cardle Boutique Hotel) through hotels.com and when we go there they did not have a room for us. We had a confirmation email and a reminder email from hotels.com. We waited for 60 minutes while they tried to resolve the issue. We were eventually sent to another hotel, 30 minutes drive away. The replacement hotel was lifeless, it felt like a 1990s conference hotel, the restaurant was more of glorified canteen than a restaurant, and the walls were so thin that our neighbors kept us awake until 1:30am. We were so excited to stay at The Cradle Boutique hotel but ultimately had an extremely disappointing and frustrating experience. It is unclear to me whether the mistake was on the part of the Cradle Boutique Hotel or hotels.com, but in the end, both failed to deliver.

Partner

8/10

Excellent

19 May 2017

Ryan

So close to the city but felt like the bush

Very pretty location, the rooms are in the bush and it felt like we were much further out of the city than we were, we saw some wildebeest right next to our room. Service and food was very very good. And the rooms were fantastic. Thought they needed a wellness center to complete the picture, because there isnt much to do, other than lie around, if you arent game driving or at the nearby caves.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

07 May 2017

Verified traveler

New rooms on great existing restaurant and venue

Nice lodges newly built onto a well run, large restaurant that serves the most excellent food. Great staff, views, privacy... Will definitely be back!

10/10

Exceptional

17 Apr 2017

neera

Easter weekend

Fantastic staff with eagerness to help.

Delicious meals prepared at the Cradle restaurant
My personal favorite was Breakfast with Salmon and poached eggs served with hollandise sauce served on a bed of potato rosti

10/10

Exceptional

14 Dec 2020

Viktor

Romantic bush stay just 30 min outside of Joburg

Lovely location just 30 min away from Johannesburg, my wife and I decided to go after the Covid reopening and had an amazing weekend at this beautiful hotel. Very romantic, lovely staff, and relaxing atmosphere and good food. Will come back!

Partner

8/10

Excellent

16 Mar 2019

Verified traveler

Fel vägbeskrivning men spännande hotell

Det var svårt att hitta till hotellet eftersom det var fel i vägbeskrivningen från hotels.com.
Bokningen från hotels.com hade inte gått igenom helt till hotellet varför det initialt var oklart om frukost ingick från hotellets sida. Detta klarades ut utan problem.
Vi blev uppmanade att inte gå i mörkret från rummet (som är en fristående liten byggnad) pga att det fanns aktiva reptiler i området. När vi skulle rings efter transport gick det inte att nå receptionen eftersom de bara hade IPtelefoni och intetnet låg nere. Det fanns inget alternativt sätt att kontakta dem vilket gjorde att vi trots rekommendation promenerade i mörkret (ingen belysning på området) för att få middag. Vid middagen hade vi sällskap an några waterbucks som betade fridfullt nedanför altanen.
Trots dessa mindre missöden blev det en bra upplevelse i ett härligt naturområde ett stenkast från Lanseria. (Flygplanen störde minimalt).

Partner

6/10

Pleasant

30 Apr 2018

patrick

dubbel gevoel

werden verrast dat er een 14 daagse evenement van Mercedes aan de gang was( groots opgzette tenten voor shows),daardoor zaten we alleen in het grote restaurant van het complex wat toch een naar gevoel was;kamers waren verzorgd en zeer mooi gelegen met prachtig uitzicht.

Partner