Aquila

4/10

Poor

13 Feb 2026

Fese

The rooms are nothing as displayed on the website. The front desk staff are not transparent on their policies- we were not told that ATV rides were at a cost and only charged at checkout.
For the prices they barely have any toiletries in the shower- not even and iron.

The only reason reason I didn’t give them 1 star is cos the restaurant staff and the baggage personnel’s were nice and friendly.

To the rooms, they are dirty you could literally see hair all over from the previous guests and rats running around the dining- MULTIPLE.

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

01 Dec 2025

Henry

Such an amazing time wished we stayed an extra day. Staff was amazing, amenities were great room was clean and the game drive was incredible.

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

20 Nov 2025

Katelyn

The most amazing 24 hours we Har spent anywhere. The safaris were incredible and our beautiful family room was the icing on the cake.

Leisure Family

10/10

Exceptional

17 Oct 2025

Thomas

Safari was incredible. Beautiful grounds of hotel and amenities.

10/10

Exceptional

04 Oct 2025

Lauren

Family-friendly lodge with plentiful food options and activities for kids. An excellent safari option if you have limited time in the Cape Town area and are interested in seeing the Big 5.

Leisure Family_with_children

10/10

Exceptional

23 Jul 2025

Anna

The game drives were excellent and we saw lots of animals.

Leisure Family

8/10

Excellent

12 Jul 2025

Tomitra

The food although plentiful was meh. Lodging was dark but loft was a neat addition. The staff were extremely polite and helpful. We went on safari 3 times including in one time in the morning which was incredible. This is a reserve that rescues animals at risk; perhaps that explains how few animals were present

Leisure

10/10

Exceptional

11 May 2025

Juan

Amazing hotel with game drive and full board included

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

18 Mar 2025

Ellie

Loved our stay at Aquila! We stayed in the family room which was very spacious & had a patio area outside. All the food was lovely with a big selection from the buffet. We had African wood massages in the spa and used their facilities which were lovely. The grounds are big and spacious and you can sometimes see animals from your windows But of course the best bit were the safaris, we loved the drives seeing all the animals in the reserve my mum also swapped one of the drives for a horse riding safari which she enjoyed. Would definitely recommend staying here for atleast 2 nights

Leisure Family

10/10

Exceptional

15 Feb 2025

Stephen

Really enjoyed my stay. Well organised from arrival to departure. Room overlooked the safari and could see Elephant's from the balcony with a coffee. Pool was nice and refreshing. Food was quick and plentiful. Safari was better than expected and guides informative.

Leisure Self

10/10

Exceptional

02 Feb 2025

Rupak

A great way to do a safari close to Cape Town. You get to see many animals in a short space of time. The stargazing at night was an added bonus.

8/10

Excellent

04 Jan 2025

Marion

We did an overnight trip with our 4 year old so she could experience her first « safari ». The room was great, spotless, the kids club is UNREAL- really recommend for families with kids. Our guide was fantastic. The food was average.

Leisure Family_with_children

6/10

Pleasant

04 Jan 2025

Lisa

Overall this property is great for families. That’s it. We were a couple in our 50’s and this did not measure up to our expectations for a 4 star resort. The best aspects were the spa with adult only small secluded pool and the spectacular views of the Karoo. Most of the staff including and especially the manager were unfriendly.

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

04 Jan 2025

Verified traveler

First safari for my family and was brilliant

The hotel and spa was fantastic. Lacks a gym which would have made the downtime better but the overall experience was brilliant. The junior ranger session offered for children was fun and the kids loved it. Only thing id say was to add additional things such as a gym and extra acrivity options for kids (even chargable) such as quad bike safari etc. Really good experience!

Friends_and_family Family

10/10

Exceptional

03 Jan 2025

Rob

All round excellent experience!

Leisure Family_with_children

10/10

Exceptional

12 Dec 2024

Heidi

They went out of their way to make our stay and the game drives as amazing as possible

Leisure Family

6/10

Pleasant

05 Dec 2024

Verified traveler

Pros: We really enjoyed the game drives. The drivers were quite knowledgeable. Stargazing as well was a nice touch.

Cons: Outdoor shower was not practicable as it was quite cold in the evening.

Friends_and_family Family

10/10

Exceptional

30 Nov 2024

Verified traveler

Awesome safari experience, conveniently located near Cape Town. Very well managed operation.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

08 Nov 2024

ERIC

Aquila Game reserve Oct 2 night stay

We had a medical issue - nothing to do with the hotel and their support and assistance was excellent.
We also had to lose part of our stay but they were very accommodating and Mckenzie the Manager was a gem!

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

01 Nov 2024

Joyce

Fantastic for quick and easy safaris

Leisure

8/10

Excellent

14 Oct 2024

Lindsay

NA

Leisure Friends

10/10

Exceptional

15 Sep 2024

Faheemah

Romantic getaway

We went for our anniversary and we absolutely enjoyed our stay at Aquila the staff is friendly and the food was lovely the animals are beautiful and the view from our room was spectacular we will definitely recommend this place for a romantic getaway

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

08 Sep 2024

barry

Food is incredible, star gazing is fantastic, and the animals are amazing. We saw four of the BIg 5 many others. The white rhinos are so cute!!!

Leisure Friends

8/10

Excellent

24 Apr 2024

Nigel

Basic safari experience

Basic safari hotel. Institutional catering. Unfortunately, the Safari vehicles were worn out and very uncomfortable. They had not replaced the shock absorber which made the drive very uncomfortable. Convenient to Cape Town, but clearly not the right bush for giraffes which had their heads permanently bowed due to lack of any trees.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

17 Apr 2024

Jaswinder Sonia

One of the best experiences of my life. The property is beautiful with amazing views. The booking includes the lunch, dinner, Breakfast and 2 game drives. Be sure to get to the property by noon and enjoy the views and Spa treatments (affordable and very relaxing) the sunset game drive was beautiful and we saw Giraffe, lions, elephants, hippos and zebras. The staff is helpful and do their best to make our experience very entertaining and exciting. Loved our stay!

Leisure Partner

4/10

Poor

17 Apr 2024

David

There was absolutely nothing we liked about this property.
It has no African feel, it felt like we were at an attraction park.
They literally have 3 giraffes, 4 elephants, 4 lions, some zebra’s, ostriches, elands and springboks.
If you looking for the African feel and a decent Safari this is not it.
We had 2 have drives included in our package, we did not even bother with the morning drive.

Business Partner

6/10

Pleasant

24 Mar 2024

Christine

The location was superb. However, our room was at the back of the property with no view of the amazing park.
The spa treatments were excellent. The safari rides were extreemly bumpy and the animals all seemed to be found in the same areas and appeared to be being fed just before each drive. Our shower and drains were disgusting ...lots of black mould. I found the buffet options limiting and had quite an upset tummy.

Leisure Friends

10/10

Exceptional

13 Mar 2024

Rita

It was a magical way to bond with nature. Quad and horse back riding through the reserve was beautiful and a special treat that will always be remembered...It was the perfect ending to our cruise in the indian ocean. Two thumbs up!!

Leisure Partner

6/10

Pleasant

12 Feb 2024

L N

slippery floors

The floors in the spa near the swimming pools were ridiculously slippery and liable to cause injury
Same goes for floor in room shower

Friends_and_family Family

8/10

Excellent

17 Jan 2024

Verified traveler

Enjoyed our time - but food disappointing

Lovely setting and easy access from Cape Town. We very much enjoyed being able to swap out two safaris to go out on horse back and the ATVs. On one day there was a lot of day visitors around the pool but we just retreated to the private pool by the spa. Overall we had a good stay but the one real let down was the food! Every meal was bland and just not good, and one guest got sick from one meal. It is a real shame as the whole set up is very nice so we were quite shocked about the poor quality of the food.

Friends_and_family Family

10/10

Exceptional

28 Dec 2023

Roger

Nice property had opportunity to see some of the animals.

Leisure Family

10/10

Exceptional

03 Nov 2023

carol

Fantastic from beginning to end

Well organised from the beginning when we were relieved of our bags as soon as we got out of the shuttle and offered complimentary wine. We were given a daily activity programme which included 2 game drives a day, breakfast, lunch and dinner.
The drives were excellent as we managed to get up close to lions, giraffes, zebras and rhinos. Our guide was very knowledgeable.
Rooms are small but well furnished.

Friends_and_family Family

10/10

Exceptional

08 Oct 2023

Nadeem

Amazing experience

Amazing experience. Wonderful to be so close to the animals. Electric fencing behind our Karoo Cottage should have warning signs not to touch.

Friends_and_family Family

8/10

Excellent

16 Sep 2023

FAHAD

Nothing more

10/10

Exceptional

25 Aug 2023

David

Fantastic stay at the Aquila Game Reserve, loved the people there, the facility, the food, the rooms, everything.

Leisure Self

6/10

Pleasant

12 Aug 2023

Ahmad

Way too expensive for little value..

For this high price per night, I would expect at least a decent room,amenities, and food.. room was decent, but most furniture was outdated.. doors were a nightmare, bathroom sliding door wouldn’t budge.. and the buffet was just terrible! For the amount paid this is a unbelievable honestly, rice for both lunch and dinner.. a sad salad consisting of lettuce, cucumbers and tomatoes.. lets not forget the olives too.. If I knew this I would not stay overnight.

Friends_and_family Family

10/10

Exceptional

07 Aug 2023

Mohammad

Excellent facility

Leisure Family

10/10

Exceptional

06 Apr 2023

Cameron

Very nice

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

21 Jan 2023

Tracey

Great safari

Great service accommodation and food only down side was I have to have gluten free and not much choice dessert was only fresh fruit would have been ice to have one dessert or even ice cream to go over the fruit best meal was the breakfast

Friends_and_family Family

4/10

Poor

01 Dec 2022

Verified traveler

Below par food.

Very poor quality mass produce food for the price of the accommodation. Rooms were comfortable. Game reserve is a glorified zoo but I guess there doing some conservation too. Only Zebras were in abundance but rest of the animals can be counted in one hand.

Partner

6/10

Pleasant

21 Nov 2022

Deborah

The game drive was great but the food was not as I remembered it from 12 yrs ago.

Leisure Self

10/10

Exceptional

13 Feb 2022

Nigel

Beautiful gem of a game reserve

Fantastic experience. We were lucky enough to see all of the animals. The villa had fantastic views and to rake up to zebra and elephants wandering past our balcony was amazing.

Partner

8/10

Excellent

13 Oct 2020

Kevin

A nice get away from the City.

It was a great stay we had, although the Covid restrictions made it a little uncomfortable, where we had to make a special request for our luxury room to be serviced.
All in all, the staff are very Covid aware and respect the rules.

The staff were al very friendly.

all in all, a nice weekend away.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

08 Feb 2020

Claire

We visited Aquila 4 years ago and decided to come back with our daughter. It was good then but there have been significant improvements since, including better check-in and the addition of an indulgent spa (over 16's only). The number of animals in the reserve had also increased which made for a great game drive.

Business_and_leisure Family_with_children

8/10

Excellent

23 Jan 2020

Lauren

Memorable experience at Aquila. Loved the on site spa and facilities which was a nice touch. Super friendly staff who made us feel welcome and appreciated. Not quite a full safari experience as you might find in without borders, but a good option within reasonable distance from Cape Town if you are tight on time. It was a great option for little ones (two year old was with us) as you are pretty much guaranteed to see a variety of animals in a short period.

Friends_and_family Family

10/10

Exceptional

26 Oct 2019

Verified traveler

Amazing location - less than 2 hours drive on good roads from Cape Town, takes you away from hustle and bustle of city life to the beautiful tranquil plains of South Africa. Resort is gorgeous but the animals steal the show. Home to the Big 5, and taking advantage of the 2 games drives which were included for free as part of our stay, we managed to see 4 of them (saw Buffalo, Rhino, Elephant and Lions but missed out on the Leopard!) - up close as well as Springbok, Zebra, Giraffes, Hippos, Wildebeest, Ostrich and various birds and antelopes. Absolutely amazing and was highlight of our trip to South Africa. Special mention to Aidan our ranger who took us on game drives - very knowledgeable and clearly knows his stuff. The resort itself has good selection of amenities if a somewhat limited restaurant - buffet style food served for all meals which was great when we were there but imagine if you are staying longer than 2 nights it might get a wee bit repetitive. Perhaps a restaurant offering A La Carte for additional costs if people want to pay that would be a good idea? Accommodation was use to be stayed in the Luxury Lodges and would thoroughly recommend - gorgeous thatched abodes with large bathroom and beautifully crafted private outside shower which was a lovely touch. Comfy bed too. Staff were all very accommodating and on our second day we also tried our hand at a quad bike safari which was good fun. We also visited Spa for massage which was lovely! Would highly recommend

Leisure Partner

8/10

Excellent

08 Sep 2019

Verified traveler

Friendly staff, ready for arrival. Game drives were excellent, saw lots of animals and staff member driving was absolutely excellent. Some renovation works ongoing. Spa not used but looked nice. Reasonable spread of food for lunch/dinner/breakfast buffet.

Leisure Friends

10/10

Exceptional

21 Aug 2019

Verified traveler

Not far from Cape Town and it’s definitely a gateway for animals. The facilities are great and spa is fantastic too!

Leisure Family

10/10

Exceptional

09 Jul 2019

Verified traveler

We really enjoyed this property. Since we were not able to get to a bigger game park (i.e., Kruger), we chose Aquila because of its proximity to Cape Town. We weren't disappointed! The property is well maintained, the food was good, and the staff were excellent. We would have like to know that there would be renovations going on during out stay, but we still would have chosen to stay anyway... Thank you!

Business_and_leisure Family

6/10

Pleasant

17 Apr 2019

Sarah

1 night stay at Aquila

Overview:
The safari in the afternoon and morning were fun.
Stargazing at night was amazing.
The breakfast was so yummy, unfortunately lunch and dinner buffet variety was not so good.
Check-in and check out process was of low standards, dry welcome and goodbye. Upon check-in, the staff handed us a key, we went back to the reception to ask about the safari timings and it turned out we were not check-in. Check out was mediocre as well. Overall, Aquila has potenial but the customer service needs to improve.

Friends

8/10

Excellent

14 Apr 2019

Verified traveler

Place for an overnight stay to do both safaris. For to persons reasonably priced. All inclusive place, food reasonable, but nothing fancy wines too expensive for South Africa.Room getting slightly tired and up for some refresh. Safaris well organized, lovely experience.

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

09 Apr 2019

Dan

Nice safari experience near Cape Town

My wife and I stayed here for two nights and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Since we were only going to be in Africa for such a short time, we felt a private reserve was the way to go to ensure we saw a lot of animals, and Aquila did not disappoint. We did the group tour (big game drive bus) the first morning and then booked private tours for the afternoon and following morning. You literally see the same animals with the private tours, however you can choose to stay in areas and skip others as you like, whereas with the large group tours you're just along for the ride (though I will say they did a great job too and you had a chance to see a lot). As a photographer I felt the private tour was better suited for what I was after (I could ask the driver to pull forward or backup so I could get a better angle, etc). One thing to note is that the tours are in the morning and evening, so the middle of the day there isn't much to do. We found it nice to just relax, but definitely bring something to occupy your time! :)

Partner

8/10

Excellent

09 Mar 2019

ziv

Very touristic place... not a wild safari as you would expect it.

Partner

4/10

Poor

04 Mar 2019

Verified traveler

not worth the money! the only good part is the animals!

Leisure Family

10/10

Exceptional

21 Feb 2019

Verified traveler

Had a great overnight stay here. When I arrived, the place was insanely busy which I felt took away from the experience of it all - turns out that people come for day trips here for the afternoon game drive then leave. I opted for an overnight stay which I felt worked better (as get a morning game drive too).

Rooms / grounds were clean, swimming pool was clean, restaurant was clean too

Leisure Partner

4/10

Poor

11 Feb 2019

Verified traveler

Location and views incredible, game drive fantastic. Service not good, no response to complaints, extra drinks added to bill, bathroom not clean, air conditioning unit broken

Business_and_leisure Friends

10/10

Exceptional

20 Jan 2019

Verified traveler

We had an awesome time! Chalet #10 was perfect and worth the price! The game drivers were amazing and the guides were knowledgable and fun.

10/10

Exceptional

31 Dec 2018

Verified traveler

I enjoyed the excursions to watch the wild game and it was a unique experience for my grand children, from the USA. The food was excellent. I have no negative comments.

Friends_and_family Family

10/10

Exceptional

25 Dec 2018

COSTAKIS

great

amazing

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

27 Jul 2018

Verified traveler

It was a great stay in the park;would recommend very much

10/10

Exceptional

24 Mar 2018

James

Wonderful experience

Wonderful! Great setting with beautiful views and great staff. V clean, lovely pool and bar. We stayed in the standard cottage but if we were to stay again we’d opt for a better room with reserve views (we looked on to the car park at the back). The game drive was great fun and our guide Nicholas was fantastic and very knowledgable. Having been on safari before I did notice the difference between this and a large scale national park but it was fantastic none the less. We saw 3 of the big 5. A wide selection of food at the meals and was all very nice. You have to pay for drinks but they are inexpensive. V clean, v comfortable!

Partner

6/10

Pleasant

16 Mar 2018

Justin

Lost the star in my heart

SHOWERS HAD MOLD AND MILDEW
AND WASNT IMPRESSED WITH NO TV IN THE ROOMS

Partner

2/10

Poor

02 Dec 2017

PDJM

Avoid and look elsewhere

One of the worst holiday experiences I've ever had. I feel thoroughly ripped off

2/10

Poor

12 Nov 2017

Rob

Terrible waste of time

Aquila offers everything and delivers next to nothing. Where to start? After booking we received no information about the check in time or the itinerary for our one-night stay. As such we arrived at 2PM whilst we later learnt that most customers arrive at 12PM for lunch. On check in we received no information about the hotel, the safaris, or meal times. There was no tour of the facilities. Our bags were dumped at our room and we were left to figure out the facilities ourselves. We had about 20 minutes to have the included lunch (which was packed up at 3PM).

That afternoon we headed out on safari at 4PM. Bundles of hay had been left out to attract an elephant (one of 3 in the entire park). We drove around for long periods without seeing much because, well, there just aren't many animals in the park, which is mostly 1 foot high plants and barren. Eventually we drove past 5 overweight lions, one of them almost too fat to get off the ground. We found them in exactly the same location the following day. We drove past 2 giraffes who had a total of 1 tree that was high enough for them to feed on. Apparently the previous giraffes died because there are no actual trees in the park, just small shrubs which they cannot reach.

The following morning we headed out for another safari. It was exactly the same as the one the day prior, though shorter (1.5hrs). There was nothing new to see.

Note that the park does NOT have the big 5 - there is no leopard. False advertising.

8/10

Excellent

13 Oct 2017

Angela

Great safari experience close to Cape Town

We were very happy we chose to do an overnight safari on this trip. Although it's not a \"true\" safari experience, we were satisfied that this was the closest we could get to that so near to Cape Town. The hotel is nice and modern with great facilities. It is expensive but when you consider that all of your food and 2 game drives are included, it really is a great deal. The room was basic but clean and comfortable and we only slept in it so it fit the purpose fine. Next time I would pay the extra for the room with the view, it would have been nice to sit on the balcony and watch the stars but overall very happy.

8/10

Excellent

19 Sep 2017

Verified traveler

easy safari

it was fun stay. the most exciting moment is three rinos coming toward us and walking away! Early morning two elephans could be seen even from hotel restaurant during breakfast. i was there with 2 year-old but she enjoyed safari and it was not hard for her at all.

Family

6/10

Pleasant

06 Apr 2017

Verified traveler

Hotel in a safari game

The hotel although it was pretty new it has deteriorations already and the odor was pretty unpleasant. Floors were very sticky

10/10

Exceptional

11 Feb 2017

Gareth

Saw the big 5

Really enjoyed visiting the reserve. The room was amazing and I definately recommend upgrading to a chalet. The watering hole is right in front of the restaurant and accommodation and we saw hippos leaving the watering hole in the morning.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

14 Jan 2017

Melanie

Excellent stay.

Excellent stay, Kensington the ranger was first class, friendly, informative and humorous.

Partner

8/10

Excellent

09 Jan 2017

denise

Nice game reserve

Enjoyable visit.

Partner

8/10

Excellent

21 Nov 2016

Michael

Good for seeing the animals

Quite a commercial safari experience but value for money and high chance of seeing all the animals. Glad we included this in our itinerary but would choose another park next time.

Partner

6/10

Pleasant

15 Nov 2016

Keith

Pleasant stay

Booked into most expensive option. Unable to gain entry because of jammed damaged door. Offered alternative accommodation. Discouraged from getting refund by being urged to spend as much as possible on alcohol prior to checking out!!! Eventually got balance of refund. Highlight was safari on first day.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

05 Nov 2016

Susan

Great accommodation, food and safari.

Arrival/check in and safaris all very organised. Excellent room and restaurant. Safaris very good, great guides. There is also a Spa which I used which was also good. Amazing view from room and we spotted a number of animals in the reserve from our balcony.

Partner

6/10

Pleasant

31 Oct 2016

Verified traveler

Nice location good safari but very poor service

The rooms are simple with an outdoor shower which was ok as it was warm already. The room was not clean and there were many bugs in the room. The location itself is very nice and the safaris are good but the service in the restaurant is very poor. We asked for cuttlery after being sat to another table but nobody brought it. Nobody showed up to take our orders for drinks. And on the evening before we ordered sparkling wine. The first bottle was cold the second bottel was warm and they only brought us an ice bucket after demanding it.

Family

6/10

Pleasant

28 Sep 2016

Rob

Interesting experience but...

Stayed two nights at the Aquila recently on vacation in Cape Town. The reserve is about a 2 hour drive and a stop in the wine country near Stellenbosch is worth the diversion. After doing a Kruger safari the weekend before, the Aquila was a little disappointing because they have all of the cats separated in a holding area separate from the other animals, and unlike Kruger, they know exactly how many elephants, rhino, zebra etc are there and pretty much where to find them... so it's much more like a large zoo rather than a natural area. The guides were well versed in the animals and friendly, but on the evening drives we spent more than 30 minutes stopped for a 'wine break' instead of seeing animals. I can drink wine in my hotel room or at home.

Family