Fodor's Expert Review Lion Sands River Lodge

Set on one of the longest and best stretches of river frontage in Sabi Sand, you can watch the passing animal and bird show from your deck or from the huge, tree-shaded, wooden viewing area that juts out over the riverbank facing Kruger National Park. The guest rooms are comfortable and attractively Africa-themed, with honey-colored stone floors with pebble inlays, cream wooden furniture, embroidered white bed linens, and lamps and tables of dark indigenous wood. The food is imaginative and tasty, the staff enthusiastic, and the rangers highly qualified. After an exhilarating game drive, take a bush walk, go fishing, or relax with a beauty treatment at Lalamuka Spa (lalamuka means "unwind" in Shangaan). There's a resident senior ecologist, plus a classy and interesting curio shop.