Ant's Lodges - South Africa

Debbie who has been on 8 In The Saddle rides.
Denmark requests (Melina) - Olwen to sort
Relaxing | I enjoyed both the horses I rode however Bantu was exceptional and as there was another rider there like myself who was classed as a heavier rider i was unable to ride him for three days. They gave me another lovely horse but Bantu was definitely was my favourite.
After having ridden at the nest twice before with exciting split rides happening daily I had expected the same. This did not happen and my riding experience was disappointing apart from the last two days where I was able to enjoy much longer canters and the last day had an absolute blast. I am really sad that this was not my experience all week. The riding groups were hampered by riders of differing abilities/and those that did not have the right equipment to ride. The all day ride, riding and food wise was excellent but the long gap inbetween would have been much nicer if we had been able to perhaps swim at the hill whilst waiting to ride back to Bushwillow.
The guides were excellent but were trying to accommodate different abilities and there wasn’t the staff to split the rides.
[Olwen from In The Saddle replies - We were so sorry to read your comments which are so unusual for a holiday at Ants Lodges. We have forwarded them to Ants who have replied. They acknowledge that there was a mixed ability of riders at Bushwillow but believed they had put in place a plan to handle this. Unfortunately due to staff communication problems the plans were initially not properly implemented and they do apologise for this. They are so sorry that your riding experience was initially slower than you would have liked but are pleased that you enjoyed the pace of the last two days.]

Do you have any comments about the accommodation and food?

The staff at the lodge were wonderful! They were warm and welcoming and the food was exceptional. The lodge is beautiful and very peaceful and you are treated like royalty.

How could we improve the quality of pre-holiday information that we send?

Nothing could have been improved and excellent as usual.

How could we improve the way we handled your booking and payment?

No ways

Do you have any other feedback for us?

Although I rated the riding much lower than I usually would the staff, location and horses were really excellent! Was just really disappointed with the riding when compared to what I experienced at Ants Nest.
It is a very peaceful and beautiful location. However I would not return to Bushwillow only because the riding did not match what I had expected and this was impacted only by other guests.
[Olwen from In The Saddle replies - Ants are very sorry that your riding experience at Bushwillow was less than perfect. From 2026 Ant's Lodges are promoting Bushwillow as a set departure 7 night stay with all riders to be at least intermediate plus. Beginner and novice riders continue to be very welcome at Ants Nest and Hill where groups are always split by ability].