Name: Tala Private Game Reserve Resort
Address: R603 Umbumbulu Road Eston, Camperdown, PMB, KZN, Pietermaritzburg, 3202, ZA

10/10

Exceptional

13 Jan 2026

Jennifer

everything was more than expected. Seista was absolutely great. He took care of every knee we had.

Business_and_leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

26 Mar 2025

Richard

Abundance of wildlife found close your lodge…

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

16 Jan 2023

janice

Tala Getaway

Leadwood cottages at Tala are fantastic. The cottages are huge with an incredible open plan design leading directly into nature. They are also extremely private. Everything was clean and well presented. The wildlife sightings were amazing, with minimal effort.

Partner

6/10

Pleasant

22 Jul 2019

ailsa

A disappointing stay but great animal sightings.

The location is beautiful, having not been there for a few years it was not as good as it had been. Paperbark, where we stayed had amazing staff and the food was great. The accomodation could do with a good clean and paint. Looking out of the bedroom window and seeing animals right there was wonderful.Checking in and out was quite difficult. One incident involved a manager arguing with american quests about the advertised web site price and the other with guests complaining about the food in the picnic basket that cost R 600 being still frozen. Not sure if we would return. The animal sightings were great. Generally the place needs maintenance.

Partner

8/10

Excellent

13 May 2019

Verified traveler

Beautiful scenery, peaceful and a great experience

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

18 Feb 2019

Verified traveler

Fab staff, towels are not provided for the rock pools.

Friends_and_family Family

10/10

Exceptional

29 Nov 2018

Jason

This was our first time staying at Tala and we had a wonderful time. Since we were traveling for work and this was a two day getaway, we did not have a car. The staff was quite accommodating, picking us up so we could meet a friend for dinner at the Aloe Restaurant even though we were staying on the other side of the reserve (thank you, Maxwell!), arranging car pickup for our return to the airport, and picking us up to return to reception for check out. The food was wonderful and the staff, particularly Teresa at Paperbark, were exceptional. The front desk was quite kind and helpful.

8/10

Excellent

23 Sep 2018

Atul

Great service, unique experience

The location and rooms were amazing. The staff were very friendly, the only issue was the lack of access to facilities and a missing TV in the room

Family

8/10

Excellent

13 Aug 2018

Monica

Beautiful Tala

Thoroughly enjoyed our stay. The staff are friendly and very helpful. We stayed in Leadwood Cottages and were impressed by the accommodation. Unfortunately, we did have some bad weather and our cottage leaked a little but the staff were quick to assist.

Family

10/10

Exceptional

30 Jul 2018

Wim

great service and great people, in restaurant,reception and all others who helped us

2/10

Poor

29 Jul 2018

Barney

Stayed at Leadwood 3... beautiful setting and room. Although the finer detail and small touches have been missed. Being in the hotel industry I know that these are by biggest crowd pleasers.
Advertised is turndown service which was not done at all.. Wifi is advertised your the room also had no internet. It is also advertised with a minibar. The only part of the mini bar we could locate we those and 5 drop milk triangles, other than that there was no fresh water or anything to drink.
Biggest disgust is that soon chech I is the we were seated waiting for our key and other genetaleman walks I to check in...3 ladies facing our direction while watching a PC screen completely ignore the fact that there are paying customers needing something, when I tried to flag them down and call them out, the door was simply slid closed.
Won't be back and would not recommend.
I have been in the luxury hospitality industry for years no and my no means the beat but if never treated my guests in that manner.

Partner

8/10

Excellent

05 Nov 2017

NOMBUSO

Overnight getaway

It was really nice and quiet however the Wi-Fi was bad,staff very aloof and unwelcoming.The duty manager was out of reach and there were creepy crawlers in room and spider con webs in the bathroom. The breakfast was substandard, I suppose because it's free.The cappuccino machine was not working and the waitresses acted as if they were doing you a favour.

Partner

8/10

Excellent

19 Sep 2017

PASCAL

days in Tala game reserve.

Beautiful game reserve, you can watch a lot of different animals ! But the buildings are quite old and not very well maintained. The employees are very helpful.
Pascal

Partner

8/10

Excellent

28 Aug 2017

nqobile

Hidden beauty

Beautiful game reserve with plenty of animals to see, friendly staff. Our room was neat and tidy, we had specifically asked for this room as it was close to the pool but to our disappointment the pool was unkept. Buffet breakfast was tasty, too bad they don't make cupaccinos. Overall we had a lovely stay.

Family

6/10

Pleasant

13 Jan 2016

Claudette

Tala

Overall stay was good. Food was average. Breakfast was good however we did not enjoy all the food for dinner. For the prices of the dinners I expected far superior food. We ordered steak which was over cooked and not medium as requested and the lamb shank was the smallest lamb shank i have ever seen. The General Manager was present all the time in the dininigroom talking to guests. Would have loved to have comfortable chairs in the room we stayed in which was Paperback number 1. Unfortunately there is a factory not far from where we were and made a terrrible noise early in the morning even on the Sunday. Great rock pool and picnic area and we did a self drive around the reserve and this was fantastic.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

06 Jan 2016

Verified traveler

Fantastic stay,a must to do.
Lots to see, and the restaurant and staff are very nice

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

02 Dec 2015

Rinal

Looking forward to another stay at Tala :)

On the first night our fireplace was not even lit and it was so cold. Unfortunately the electrical fire place was tricky to put on. The second night we called from around 18h30 to get the fireplace put on and only after two phone calls and way after 20h00 someone had come to start the fire. Other than that it was an amazing experience. The hotel was great with a absolutely stunning views. The staff were so friendly and always had a smile on their face. The food was so delicious. We enjoyed holiday our looking forward to plan our next one at Tala. Well done guys

Partner

8/10

Excellent

29 Sep 2015

Verified traveler

Short but so sweet. We spotted 5 rhinos and 8 Gira

We stayed in the FigTree Lodge - it was so spacious and comfortable. Restaurant food was good and the staff most helpful and understanding.

Partner

6/10

Pleasant

13 Aug 2015

Verified traveler

Dont expect too much and you will enjoy it

Great game drive. Very informative guide - Milton. Air con didn't work in the room we stayed in and bath towels were very old and tatty. Sliding / Door coming out of restaurant onto verandah needs repair or replacing. Evening meal was satisfactory, but service in restaurant was average. There seemed to be a shortage of staff on duty. Both in reception and in restaurant?

Partner

6/10

Pleasant

08 Jul 2015

Verified traveler

An overall beautiful stay.
However there is much needed to improve this venue.
1. A refurbishment of certain areas
2. I would expect to be met at my room by someone with some explanation of the venue.
3. Little or nothing to do once been on the game drive. (Perhaps a television in the room) An entertainment area perhaps. Pool Table, Table Tennis maybe.

Staff are friendly, breakfast and dinner were good.
Game Drive was superb.

Partner