Cheetah Plains Private Game Reserve
Lodge · Ehlanzeni ·
Luxury eco-lodge with private villas, electric game drives, gourmet dining
Information
Sabi Sand Game Reserve S36, 1363, South Africa Get directions
Luxury eco-lodge with private villas, electric game drives, gourmet dining
Sabi Sand Game Reserve S36, 1363, South Africa Get directions
"Cheetah Plains is a luxurious safari lodge offering a unique experience with its trio of private-use villas, each staffed for every possible need. The property emphasizes exclusivity, flexibility, and sustainability, featuring all-electric vehicles, bespoke guest experiences, and a commitment to being carbon-negative. Villas are designed with modern architecture and luxurious amenities, including private pools and media rooms. The food and beverage program is tailored to guest preferences, offering memorable dining experiences such as bush breakfasts and wine-pairing dinners. Activities include private game drives, bush walks, and art tours, ensuring a personalized and unforgettable stay." - Travel + Leisure Editors
"Certified as a five-star lodge by the Tourism Grading Council of South Africa, it meets the country's official grading criteria for top-tier safari accommodations." - Mark Ellwood
"Opened in 2018 inside the Sabi Sands private reserve, this ultra-luxurious, eco-focused safari lodge offers three exclusive-use villas (each four-room and named Mvulua, Karula, and Mapogo) that sleep up to eight and come with dedicated guides, vehicles, and private staff. The villas feature interconnecting suites for families, king beds with motorized mosquito nets, lounges with fireplaces, complimentary minibars and coffee stations, walk-through wardrobes, and bathrooms with dual sinks, twin rainfall showers and soaking tubs set before floor-to-ceiling windows for open-air bathing and close wildlife views; each villa also has a main house with indoor and outdoor dining, a wine cellar and a heated pool. Service is high-touch—personal teams of chefs, servers, bartenders, room attendants, a masseuse and a host attend to guests while seasoned guides and trackers excel at finding wildlife. Dining is bespoke, from multicourse tasting menus to fireside South African braais and elaborate bushveld game-drive breakfasts (smoked salmon, cheeses, warm croissants, made-to-order eggs, and even mimosas or Amarula-spiked coffee), with locally produced wines and an on-site sommelier. Sustainability is central: the property runs entirely on renewable energy via a solar plant of more than 1,000 panels (offsetting roughly 530 tons of carbon annually) and uses retrofitted electric Toyota Land Cruisers (Tesla batteries) that are quiet, unobtrusive and fitted with heated bucket seats, USB ports and removable rooftops for less intrusive wildlife viewing. Located in Sabi Sands—a private reserve sharing an unfenced 31-mile border with Kruger National Park and known for exceptional biodiversity and especially spectacular leopard encounters—this is ideal for ultra-private groups and adventurous families (no minimum child age), though boarding safari vehicles may be tricky for guests with mobility challenges. Art by contemporary South African artists and outdoor sculptures add cultural touches throughout the property." - Bailey Berg
"An opulent safari lodge within the Sabi Sands Game Preserve, this collection of modern private “Plains Houses” overlooks a shaded watering hole where elephants, zebras, hippos, buffalo, antelopes and leopards regularly gather. Each four-bedroom villa includes a private pool and dedicated chef and is designed in an ‘Afro-minimalist’ style using raw stone and sustainably sourced wood; the estate is entirely solar powered and recycles wastewater for irrigation. The lodge operates a pioneering fleet of electric safari vehicles—custom Land Cruisers fitted with Tesla batteries—to allow quieter, closer wildlife encounters, and it supports regional conservation and antipoaching efforts plus community projects such as drilling a communal water borehole and building an early-education nursery school." - Sarah Gold
"Set in South Africa’s Sabi Sand Nature Reserve, this carbon‑negative, ultra‑luxury safari estate marries high-end hospitality with ambitious sustainability: solar arrays power guest spaces off‑grid and it operates the country’s first all‑electric fleet of custom safari vehicles, whose quiet, plush heated seats allow closer, more comfortable wildlife viewing. Guests get a private vehicle for their group and a local guide‑and‑tracker team who specialize in spotting the Big Five and other wildlife; game drives are complemented by classic sundowner experiences and a focus on authentic South African touches like traditional braai. Accommodations consist of three private villas—Mapogo, Karula, and Mvula—each built around a vast shared living area plus standalone guest suites (four guest rooms per villa; up to eight guests), with large bedrooms, lounges, fireplaces, terraces, walk‑in dressing areas, and luxurious bathrooms featuring soaking tubs, double rain showers, dual vanities, and separate WCs. Villas include private infinity pools (the Mapogo pool deck sits on a dam frequented by hippos), a full dedicated staff roster—private chefs, servers, butlers, porters, cleaners, activity coordinators, a masseuse and even a sommelier—and bespoke, all‑inclusive dining with wine‑pairing dinners in a cellar on request. On‑site amenities include a fitness center, an upscale boutique (Shari’s), and a contemporary art gallery curated in collaboration with the Goodman Gallery; the property borders Kruger National Park, offering expansive wildlife access. Practical details: all‑inclusive rates start around $2,200 per person per day for up to six adults in a villa (additional guests and child rates apply), there is a three‑night minimum, and the closest airstrip is Arathusa Safari Lodge Airstrip (about a 15‑minute drive), typically reached via Johannesburg and a semi‑private flight from OR Tambo."
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