ivee

We have been to Simbambili last summer and it was just wonderful, the leopard sightings are amazing there. Have not been to MM but have also heard less positive reports. Personnally I would go for Simbambili again. If Chris is still: he is just a greta ranger who knows near everything of animal behaviour.
I would not stay 5 nights in the same place, but combine with another lodge so indeed why not MM but perhaps it is nicer to change the habitat we went to a fantastic quality/price ratio lodge in Timbavati : Tanda Tula(can be easily combined with S.) have been there twice, one time a bit less game than the other.Less leopards , but they have huge breeding herds of elephants and a most interesting elephant research center; the camp atmosphere is just very special and romatic. I would return for the third time without doubt!!

Mohammed

Hmmm! "Is Mala Mala worth it?" How much does it cost? US500 per day?

If you really want to see lots of leopards and elephants and birds and some plus a very rich cultural experience in a beautiful safe land where you can walk freely on the roads with your rolex watch and gucci handbags and have no fear of being mugged - come to my beautiful Sri Lanka now. You can budget this from US$ 100 PPPD upwards to about US$ 200 for a top five star.

Yala is superb for leopards and lots of other wildlife and the accomodations are also very nice.

This is what Gordon Buchanan (Big Cat Diary guy of the BBC) had to say -

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/leopards/

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/leopards/interview.html

mkhonzo

I have said this before and will repeat it again.
The game viewing throughout the S/sand is fantastic, no one area has more or less species, consequently your chance of seeing a great diversity of creatures is quite possible from any of the lodges in the S/sand.

Now you and only you can decide whether you want to have bragging rights "I stayed at the wallet busting Singita/Mala Mala or other for that matter", which elevates your status amongst your peirs and of course sends you scurrying for a second mortgage, or you can be thrifty and elect one of the smaller porperties that offer less glitz and glamour and perhaps less refined caviar, south African bubbly instead of French Champagne etc.

At the end of the day I still say if you are going to the S/sands, stay at one lodge for the duration, you will have a far higher degree of satisfaction: those who have done it will know and understand, those that who have not well, I guess your jury is out.

You should also ask some thoroughly probing questions of the lodges before making a decision and you should evaluate price differential deciding if it is worth the 200-400 $ a day more!! What possibly can that difference include to justify it?

CarlaM

mkhonzo, I am interested to know what "non-wallet busting" option you would recommend for a "long stay" in the SS instead of Mala Mala please.

tripgirl

This thread is very interesting...

We have booked our first trip to Africa for next May and part of our trip is indeed staying at Singita.

I'm new to this part of the Fodors forums, but have been a long time poster on Europe and Asia. On those boards there are tons of threads dealing with " is it worth it...."

Here is my stance when it comes to choosing your accommodations( I do realize the OP is also looking at just not accommodations but also the game viewing opportunities): EACH PERSON HAS THEIR OWN PRICE ON VALUE.

We are luxury travelers, through and through. Growing up in the hotel business, accommodations are one of the most single important factors when we travel. It's not to say we get anything less out of our visits, as some people somehow equate staying at luxurious accommodations diminshes a "true" experience . I've seen this sentiment expressed here on the Africa board as well as for sure on the Europe and Asia boards.

If you have the money and the desire , it's not about "bragging rights", it's just what we do. In every locale we've been to, we've stayed pretty near the top of the line accommodations and our experiences of the culture have always been top notch: from the food ( we do often seek out eating with locals), to the sights to the whole experience.

Where you lay your head to me seems silly to say if you stay upscale you miss out on something.

Anyway, JMHO!

mkhonzo

CarlaM, my response was not to suggest alternates, but to offer 95hoo an opinion on the value of MM and whether switching lodges was worthwhile. Clearly in my opinion was not.

Those who value the higher price tag and the associated values, go for it, you know your threshold of acceptable standards and appreciate the incredible schism between $300 a night and $1000.

Personally I need a great deal of satisfaction to justify spending an additional $700 a night to see a leopard, when I could be doing it for a great deal less. But that is me.

95hoo

Thanks everyone for all of your input. It is much appreciated. I have decided to go for Mala Mala for the 2 nights. I will post a trip report for both Mala Mala and Simbambili upon my return. This will be my first time in Africa and I just can't wait to get there!!!