Is The Royal Hotel pet-friendly?

No, only service animals are welcome at the property.

How much is parking at The Royal Hotel?

Self parking is free at this property.

Where is The Royal Hotel located?

Situated in Pilgrims Rest, this hotel is steps from Central Garage Transport Museum, Printing Museum, and House Museum. Diggings Museum and Alanglade House Museum are also within 3 mi (5 km).

The Royal Hotel Reviews, Deals & Photos 2025

10/10 Excellent

Marie

Jan 19, 2025

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort

Jolie étape

Ancien hôtel plein de charme. Personel efficace et à l'ecoute.

Stayed 1 night in Jan 2025

8/10 Good

Berit

Dec 7, 2019

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort

Historisk stad i område med mer sevärd natur.

Anlände dit från Johannesburg via långa sträckor med pågående vägarbeten. Dåligt utmärkta vägar men m gps lyckades det försås. Staden liten, lugn och gammaldags, hotellet likaså. Finns ej mycket annat intressant att se än byggnaderna från guldruschtiden. Närheten till Blyde river canyon osv motiverar den lilla omvägen till Pilgrim,s rest

Stayed 1 night in Nov 2019

10/10 Excellent

E

Oct 3, 2019

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort

Highly recommended

Lovely accommodation, room nicely appointed and comfortable!

Stayed 1 night in Sep 2019

8/10 Good

Nick

Feb 24, 2019

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service

Great historic location with real character, hotel needs some TLC

Stayed 2 nights in Feb 2019

8/10 Good

FASAN

Jan 22, 2019

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service

Stayed 1 night in Jan 2019

8/10 Good

Gideon

Aug 15, 2018

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort

Stayed 2 nights in Aug 2018

8/10 Good

Wil, Caen

Mar 12, 2018

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort

Hôtel très correct pour une nuit

Lieu atypique (ancien village de mineurs) Hôtel conservé comme en 1920, propre Personnel accueillant, nous avons même eu chacun une boîte bien remplie pour le petit déjeuner que nous ne pouvions prendre sur place car nous reprenions la route à 6h00 Très bon rapport qualité prix Arrêt recommandé à cet endroit Restauration possible pour le dîner en réservant

Stayed 1 night in Mar 2018

10/10 Excellent

Anna

Jan 21, 2018

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort

Lovely place!

We stayed in one of the cottages across the street and it was a delight!

Stayed 1 night in Jan 2018

8/10 Good

Mitja

May 2, 2017

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort

Wie in Goldgräber-Zeiten

Ort und Hotel bieten sich an für einen Zwischenstop zwischen Jo'burg und Krüger Park. Vom Airport ca. 4,5 Stunden Fahrtzeit, bis Krüger via Panorama Road mit Fotostops nochmals ca. 5,5 Stunden. Das Hotel vermittelt wunderbar die alte Goldgräber-Atmosphäre, sehr stimmungsvoll sind die Details wie Kerzen.

8/10 Good

Verified traveler

Feb 21, 2017

8/10 Good

Verified traveler

Feb 5, 2017

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort

Great place to visit!!

We were not sure what to expect, but it is a great little place to spend a night.

10/10 Excellent

Dianne, Auckland, New Zealand

Dec 24, 2016

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort

A haven in Pilgrim's Rest

To put this review in context, I lived in Pilgrims Rest for a couple of months in 1979 and have returned for holidays many times since. The village has had negative reviews over the last couple of years so I was very pleasantly surprised. The Royal Hotel is just as it has always been and staying the Royal Cottage was great, it made me want to live there again! The cottage has two bedrooms, a lounge and a bathroom with an authentic ball-and-claw bath; its own private garden with wrap around decks and awesome views. There's safe parking in a field at the gate and the hotel gives you a notice to put on your dashboard so that you don't get an unsolicited car wash. The staff were friendly, efficient, informative and professional. Free wifi is available in the hotel lounge (again, decked out in period furniture and just as I remembered it) and the complimentary breakfast really good. Negatives - which are not the hotel's fault - include being hassled to buy souvenirs by street vendors, have your car washed etc. so that you don't feel comfortable to walk around too much. The Royal Cottage is a haven, apart from the odd tourist wondering in to take photos! Just remember to lock your doors and close your windows when you do go out - there really are monkeys around (see my photos).

4/10 Poor

David

Dec 21, 2016

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort

Beware of the car wash thieves

Be very careful when you book the Royal Hotel as we were sent up the street to the Annex or Pilgrims Hotel...not at all what we booked for. Really disappointing from my last visit to this place.

6/10 Okay

Alice, Frankfurt

Oct 6, 2016

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service

Séjour court mais agréable

Nous avons passé la nuit dans cet hôtel un peu par hasard puisque c'est Expedia qui nous y a relogés suite à un souci de réservation dans l'hôtel initialement prévu sur Graskop. Mais pour autant, nous n'avons pas été déçus. Le style de l'hôtel vaut franchement le détour, on se croit plus dans une maison de style colonial anglais que dans un hôtel sud-africain ! Il ne manque plus que les chercheurs d'or. Malgré une déco un peu désuette, la chambre était spacieuse, la literie confortable. Seul petit hic, la baignoire dans la salle de bain, sans rideau de douche et donc avec risque de mettre de l'eau partout... Le gros plus de cet hôtel est le petit-déjeuner : plusieurs buffets remplis de bonnes choses, diverses et variées, salées et sucrées ! On a mangé comme des rois et pris l'énergie nécessaire pour affronter la grosse journée qui nous attendait. En bref, un bonne expérience au Royal Hotel de Pilgrims Rest !

8/10 Good

Etienne, Bruxelles

Aug 28, 2016

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort

Hotel très bien mais FUYEZ le restaurant !

Quand on arrive ici, on sait généralement à quoi s'attendre, donc on n'est pas vraiment surpris. On se sent bien à l'époque des chercheurs d'or (mais qui auraient déjà trouvé des pépites !). Certaines chambres sont plus grandes / spacieuses que d'autres, mais les plus petites seront plus rapidement "à température" s'il fait froid. Sinon, c'est plutôt original de se retrouver à prendre son bain dans une baignoire sur pied, quasi au milieu de la chambre :-) Par contre fuyez le restaurant de l'hôtel, bien trop habitué à recevoir sa clientèle captive. Cela nous a même valu la réflexion "vous n'avez pas faim ce soir ?" lorsque nous avions décidé de faire sans eux !

6/10 Okay

Zelda, Cape town

Aug 8, 2016

Liked: Cleanliness, room comfort

Disliked: Staff & service

Old world charm

old world hotel but very quaint.

6/10 Okay

Christopher, Hoedspruit

May 5, 2016

Liked: Cleanliness, room comfort

Disliked: Staff & service

I am sure it was good once.

Stayed one night. Saw reviews but took a chance. Unfortunately they were correct. We had dinner (nowhere else to eat in PR) and breakfast. Both were cold, and poor quality. The highlight of the evening was the arrival of the kitchen staff, who imposed themselves on the 18 guests by singing (poorly and in an unco-ordinanted manner), and then demanding money by putting a basket on the table. Unwanted and embarrassing. Service was indifferent, especially breakfast, as staff were outside sunning themselves, with little interest in ensuring service. The bar should have been good (old church imported from Delagoa Bay, signs and scribbles from previous patrons etc), however some patrons smoked, and the barman made no effort to ask them to go outside. We went to the lounge, and witnessed the spectacle of the fire being lit. This involved lighting a cardboard box, putting burning gel on, and some thick logs. This went out in five minutes, and despite our efforts could not be relit. No further attention was given by the staff to reignite it. Management needs to take control, and get effective, well trained staff before this interesting piece of history goes down the pan for want of neglect. On the plus side, the rooms were good, fitted out with old furniture, plenty of hot water, and an excellent old bath. We all slept well in very comfortable beds. Won't be going back.

6/10 Okay

Jimmy

Mar 30, 2016

4/10 Poor

Felix

Mar 23, 2016

Liked: Cleanliness

Disliked: Property conditions & facilities, room comfort

Food was cold- supper as well as breakfast. Will not stay in this venue again.

8/10 Good

Georges, Veigné

Feb 8, 2016

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, room comfort

Charmant hôtel, mais mérite un peu d'entretien. Ventilation à bout de souffle, robinetterie défaillante attention tenir le robinet pour l'ouvrir...

8/10 Good

burton k, Hillsborough, NJ

Feb 5, 2016

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort

Great Ambiance and Value!

This was my second time to stay at the Royal Hotel in the past couple of years. It's a great place to stopover for the night from Johannesburg to Kruger National Park. I would describe the property as a bit "rustic" in the good sense of the word. It has the feel of steeping back in time. There is a large lounge and dinning room. The bedrooms are very clean and comfortable. There was a great variety of menu items at breakfast which is provided with your stay. There was an entertaining troupe of Vervet Monkeys all over the road in the morning. The Royal Hotel is a great launching pad for enjoying the Blyde River Canyon, God's Window, and Kruger National Park!

6/10 Okay

Håkan, Norrköping

Jan 24, 2016

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service

Enkelt men trevligt och bra bemötande

trevligt bemötande.Läget passade oss bra för att utforska Blyde river.

8/10 Good

Andrew, Ingwavuma

Jan 10, 2016

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort

Pleased in Pilgrim's

We enjoyed our stay. The room was clean and comfortable, the bath was tremendous! The décor was quaint and it was enjoyable to stay in a national monument. The staff at reception were friendly and welcoming, other staff could have been a bit zippier, but not a major issue.

8/10 Good

Verified traveler

Jan 5, 2016

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities

Oozing old-style charm and character!

Pilgrim's Rest is a gem and this hotel is the perfect place to stay there...oozing old-style charm and character, just like the town! Great value for money too.

8/10 Good

tasneem, Fairfax

Dec 30, 2015

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, room comfort

Quaint, rustic gem

Lovely, rustic place. Great service and unexpected comfort in the middle of nowhere.

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