Name: Zimbali Resort - Acacia
Address: Corkwood Drive Zimali, Zimbali, Zimbali, Zimbali, 4399, South Africa
Rating: 7

Smoking areas

Garden

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Barbecue grill(s)

Billiards

Barbeque

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Free parking nearby

Parking

Pets Not Allowed

Pets

Location

At the resort

King Shaka International Airport

Zimbali Resort - Acacia

I didn't stay specifically at the lodge as I lived in the estate, I did however spend many a day around the pool in summer. The vibe is chilled and food is great. The team that work there are super amazing and always happy to accommodate anything you may need. The pool is clean and warm in summer with great views across the estate to the VOP. If in the estate and you want something less commercial (like the Capital) then head here for good service, quality engagements and a relaxing time

Wow, we had an amazing stay at the Capital Zimbali. Always friendly, very helpful 
They did a lot of effort. There was a lot of things to do like hiking, bike riding, swimming, spa and walking on the beach.

The room was very spacious and clean. There was room service where they get the room ready for you to go to sleep.

We will definitely book a holiday with Capital Zimbali again

This hotel is exceptional.  It is intimate and not overcrowded.  The most beautiful jungle forest surrounds you.  Staff is super friendly.  The food is exceptional!  Rooms are also beautifully decorated.
I was worried about my stay due to some unfavourable reviews on this site, but I highly recommend this hotel.  The estate that the hotel
Is situated on is extremely safe and secure and beautifully maintained and has the valley of pools and a beach which is like gold if you have kids!!

we visited Zimbali lodge and were pleasantly amazed..this is top...the layout the accomodation the service...and it does not break the bank...Big Bay Tours is proud to be associated with this resort and will return over and over. The infinity pool at the lodge is amazing and the 3 pools on the beach fantastic..the restaurant situated around the pool serves scrumptious food .Kevin the waiter around there is a source of info and a gem...Bailee and the Gm Verona and their team are service oriented and have great control and create a peaceful  atmosphere...you want to spoil yourself??... only a short drive from durban ....THIS IS IT...

My family and I stayed in Quarme lodge in Zimbali Coastal estate. Our villa had the most spectacular sea views. The villa was spacious, clean and very comfortable. The resort is beautiful with so many facilities for all ages. The best thing was that the private beach was a 2 minute walk from our villa. Will definitely be going back 

This will be my second most favorite hotel be in the world! It"s located in Durban North surrounded by all the attractions and fun stuff to do. The service is top class and the personell friendly and willing to help all the time. The hotel features a luxurious spa, 3 outdoor swimming pools as well as 8 restaurants and bars. Zimbali  offers dining opportunities such as casual poolside dining Indian cuisine. There is also a lobby bar and tea lounge where guests can relax. The cleanliness of the facility and the fact that there were the most delicious bread and Muffins available at the Breakfast Buffet. I will for sure recoment all people to this amaizing place for a nice holiday or just a break away from home; and I'm not just saying all this good stuff to make the place look good, but that my brother and I experience it for real in 2019. well done all of you and keep up the good work. Me and my wife will for sure visit you again this year April 2020....

The most magnificent holiday getaway along the KZN North Coast. It has the tranquility typically associated with a game lodge and shares the wonder of the Indian Ocean. Drive in through the main gates and the welcome is unforgettable. This is an experience not to be missed.

What a wonderful surprise.  I did not know anything about the property before visiting it, but spent the last 5 days here at business meeting.  The rooms were spacious, up-to-date, comfortable and clean.  The service was outstanding, the food great and the wifi never disconnected.  Would love to come back again.

Stopped here on spec for a late lunch while travelling. 
Good service, friendly staff and great food. Plenty of choice on the menu. 
Surroundings added to the experience- some beautiful artwork on display.

We rented a 4 bedroom home in zimbali for 4 nights. It was very comfortable and the weather was outstanding for winter. We had access to a golf cart that we used to get to the beach and access various restaurants on the estate. The golf course was also very well maintained. We will definitely be back to
This resort . Also lovey wild life. 

Zimbali

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A chilled hangout for all

The resort facilities are beautiful and its cleanliness highly impressive. The units are comfortable and well equipped with all that you would need. Lovely touches with bath robes and bedroom slippers and really divine coffee. The breakfast area is well ventilated and the breakfast spread is varied and delicious.
My only complaint would be the lack of black out curtains in the units as the sun peeps in very early and disturbs your sleep which is not conducive for a restful and relaxed stay.
 We also found the security guards at the main gate to be quite aggressive and impatient with us as visitors. The resort needs to inform their visitors that data or a roaming phone is needed in order to access the premises due to the gate codes you receive on check in. None of this was made clear to us and so the process to access the property was challenging and quite an unpleasant experience.
I would also advise visitors to be careful in the parking and the walkways between units during wet days as the floors are extremely slippery when you walk.

Hits and misses for a 5 star resort

Third time staying at the lodge over a few years and it's views and setting remain special. However the rooms and blocks are in need of a refurb as starting to look grubby in parts. One of the staff mentioned work has started- block by block so hopefully this takes pace. 
Breakfast was of good quality though with limited options. 
Good menu at the restaurant and bar however service can be slow at times.
If in the Dolphin Coast and you have not been here would recommend a night or two due to the unique setting. 
Also no slippers or gowns which was disappointing for a hotel marketed as 'luxury'.

Stayed in January 22

29th January - 5th February 2022

Amazing

This is top-flight luxury

Great location with amazing sea views

We stayed at Zimbali Lodge for 7 nights at R4200 per night in the 1st week in January 2022.

 If you're looking for a Tarzan type, old world, jungle vacation, this is the lodge to stay at. 

On Sunday afternoon after our 9 hour drive, we got to the Zimbali Coastal Resort (the estate Zimbali lodge is situated on) gates and the security guard asked us for our entry code which we hadn't received from the lodge (we were not even aware we needed this prior.) He told us to go pull off to the side and we then phoned the reception for our code. A moody gentleman answered and upon sighing, generated our code for us. 5 minutes later, we I received an sms with the code and in we drove.

At the reception, alas, we  we were greeted by same moody gentleman receptionist who then proceeded to read from a piece of paper what amenities were available in room and where the bar and restaurant is available. He warned us that we should never swim in the private beach as we will drown (How scary, we are not swimmers but would have loved to relax and watch the waves). We asked him how far the beach and Valley of Pools was and he told us it was a 25 min walk (nothing about how to get a shuttle there or how to enter the Valley of the Pools which we then found out the next morning is R100 shuttle return trip per day)

Terrence, our friendly porter took us to our room with the golf cart. We got to our block of rooms and the outside drain in front of our door was wet and full of debris from the leaves falling.

Upon entry of our room an intense, damp and moldy smell immediately hit our nostrils, after having COVID19 6 months back, mine and my husbands and 3 year old's lungs are very sensitive to stuffy areas and smells. The pictures on the websites the are deceiving, when I booked on Booking,com, the room i selected had a balcony view over looking the golf course but our room had a "garden view" which is basically tropical rainforest you cannot see through.

The bathroom was spacious, with bath and shower, however the toilet seat was loose and constantly moving if you sat on it. The 1st night we showered the shower head (looks like it was from 1985) was loose so the water splattered all over the bathroom floor. 

We called reception to make them aware of the smell and the shower and they sent the maintenance manager with a dehumidifier that didn't have any refill filters in so it was practically useless. It was unbearable to breath in that room so I went to the pharmacy the next day to purchase a room moisture absorber that didn't help either :( They replaced the shower head the next day too.

The occasional couch and the mats in the room smelled awful, also damp and moldy.

The next day we had breakfast (included in our package) which was lovely continental breakfast and any hot items we could order from the menu. The waiters were really friendly and helpful with our toddler, especially Sihle. We spent the day at the breathtaking infinity pool and had a memorable time and lunch as well. There is no in-room dining service and the restaurant kitchen closes at 8pm which was a real bummer even though curfew in SA in Jan 2022 was midnight..

The next day we booked at the Mangwanani Dream spa at the lodge. The spa receptionist told me we had to pay the full amount of R2500 before our treatments to secure our booking even though they weren't busy! My treatment was lovely, however during my massage, I could hear the staff chatting so loudly through the dry walling, I couldn't relax fully. My pedicure overlooking the jungle and water feature on the deck was serene, it got a bit chilly and the spa staff gave me a fluffy blanket to use during my treatment. 
My husbands 90 minute massage was the next so my toddler and I went to watch a movie. 60min later, my husband called to say they've given him a 60 minute hot stone massage when I'd initially booked a 90 minute aromatherapy massage for him. He came back to the room and I called the spa to enquire and they apologised for the miscommunication between them and offered him a 30 minute neck and back massage for the next day!

I met up with Vahini, the salesperson at the lodge who offered to give us a tour of the resort. She showed us all the pools and areas we could have went within the resort with our toddler that the front desk hadn't cared to share with us on arrival. We felt quite robbed 4 days in our stay as we could have enjoyed so much more of the resorts offerings! 

Our air conditioning unit is fixed in the wall so when we were getting dressed in the dressing area the air conditioner above us was leaking on us through the roof!

Over all we had an enjoyable stay at the resort besides our room! 
The Valley of the pools and restaurant was gorgeous over looking the private beach. We stood at the private beach and watched the waves just as we wished, we went to the bushbuck play area and pools with our toddler and even enjoyed a dinner treat the Fireroom restaurant at Capital Hotel Zimbali.

I would not stay at the Zimbali lodge again, as it needs serious revamping, however I would definitely visit again and rather spend my well earned money at the Capital Hotel Zimbali or hire out a private house/suite on the resort premises.

3 star lodge dressed as a 5 star hotel

This is a lovely resort with lots of trees and very peaceful setting. We booked into a suite as it was a business trip and I needed somewhere quite to work. However, the walls are paper thin and I could hear the guests above and not he side brushing their teeth, using the toilet and their conversations. The resort appeared almost empty. However, when we informed the front desk, I was informed there were only 2 suites in the entire resort and the other one was being used. No offer of a quieter room as it appeared they had placed the few guests in the resort in the same building. Service was very slow and meal options limited. Staff cleaning rooms and serving breakfast were really lovely and worked really hard as there was just one guy looking after all the guests and he tried his best. It was an unstable time because of the pandemic, but I got the impression everyone had given up. It was rather unfortunate as we were hoping to purchase a property here but after our disappointing stay, we made a decision to cancel all planned events there and never go back.

Needs service improvement

This hotel may have been 5 star 30 years ago but, not in this day and age. It looks tired and has seen better days. Lots of wooden interior beams styled not unlike a hotel you may see inThailand. Externally the brown wood is in dire need of repair and cleaning anf a few coats of varnish. Public areas need new carpets and the breakfast was just a badly presented low quality buffet. We had to change rooms because ours was dark and set low in the jungle foliage. We were movef to a top floor with see view which was much better. 
The room was spacious but again old style and tired. Floors were grey painted concrete showing damage and scrapes. The use of carpets was very limited. I guess the hotel only retains its 5 star status because of where it is and the facilities it has eg. Spa, pool etc.  I would not go back again unless the hotel was totally reformed and upgraded.

Zimbali Resort - Acacia

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