Phantom Forest

Knysna, Garden Route, South Africa

Overview

Bungy-jumping, sailing, surfing, canoeing, kloofing… anyone touring South Africa’s Garden Route would think that terra firma had gone out of fashion. If so, then Phantom Forest is the place to be seen (or not seen, given its camouflage), for here you sleep in a wooden house perched halfway up to the jungle canopy. Thanks to tall stilts and huge windows, you can sit face to face with a Knysna woodpecker in the comfort of an armchair or bathtub.

Bathtub? Up a tree? Oh yes, just because this is the monkeyzone, don’t think it has to be primitive. Fully-equipped bathroom, spacious sitting area, sumptuous double bed - it’s all there, thanks to the ingenious design and décor of Alan and Kit Stewart, who still run the reserve today. You’ll even find a jacuzzi, massage area and gourmet restaurant, housed in thatched huts situated along elevated walkways. Not to mention a freshwater pool with views over the lagoons of Knysna. Tarzan never had it so good!

Guest Ratings

Room:		100%
Food:		100%
Service:		100%
Value:		100%
Overall:		100%

Phantom Forest: View all reviews

Highs

• The sense of being in the middle of the forest – even when having a bath!
  
• The feeling of isolation – you have to leave your car at the road and walk up, or take the jeep-shuttle
  
• The excellent cuisine and post-dinner conversation with other guests around the fire

Lows

• It is often booked up, especially from December to March
  
• The civilised atmosphere (pre-dinner cocktails, massage parlour) may seem at odds with the simple, natural setting
  
• There can be mozzies- but repellent is provided

Rooms

There are 14 ‘tree-suites’, which are independent wooden houses built on raised platforms and scattered throughout the forest-reserve. They consists of a double-bedroom, sitting area and bathroom, all of which have tinted windows looking straight into the jungle. The decor uses simple materials – hand-woven coir carpets, cane partitions, animal-skin rugs, ethnic patterned cushions, wire-lamps, wood-beamed ceilings – for that authentic African feel. A discreet temperature control box reminds you that this is the 21st century. The well-appointed bathrooms, with heated towel rail, fluffy towels and a large bathtub next to a fabulous picture window looking out to the forest, mean that Phantom Forest has some of the cleanest guests around.

Out on your private deck – which is where you will spend most of your relaxation-time when not in the bath – there are some wooden chairs and a table, plus a birding book and in-house checklist if you feel like ticking off the 100+ species. It is also a great spot to unwind and philosophize about love, nature, and life as a scaly-throated honeyguide. I fell to thinking, a la Gary Larson, how the birds might enjoy a similar checklist for humans: pale-faced Londoner, orange-breasted Teutonic sunbird, lesser-spotted honeymooner…

Room includes:

• Phone
• Fan
• Terrace/balcony (private)
• Minibar
• Coffee/tea making

Eating

At dinner time, feeling deeply cleansed from your long session in the panoramic bathtub, you can wander along a raised walkway to the thatched, wooden restaurant building. After a slightly surreal sundowner, you step inside for a 3-course meal prepared by a local trio of chefs. The menu is set, with a choice of 2 or 3 dishes for each course.

We enjoyed a thick, tangy soup of carrot, coriander and orange; some nutty smoked trout on boiled potatoes with a dollop of pink caviar to delight the oral bubblewrap-fetishists among us; a tender ostrich fillet (tastes like gamey beef) with grilled veg and a surprisingly uncloying peanut sauce; and fruit sorbets to finish off. We washed it down with a plummy Good Hope 97 Cab Sauv, and then sat around the fire chatting to other guests. It was a lovely evening, and well worth the cost which included wine (see Rates).

If you prefer to dine out in Knysna, there are some good restaurants on the waterfront. For lunch in Knysna, try the Knysna Oyster Company, which serves both farmed and wild oysters in a variety of ways, all equally slurpy and decadent. Or you can order a packed lunch from Phantom Forest, particularly handy if you are walking / canoeing / cycling straight from the reserve.

Dining features:

• Restaurant
• Bar
• Minibar
• Coffee/tea making

Activities

• Follow signed trails through the woods, eg from the reserve to the carpark (40 minutes)
  
  
• Get a lift up to Phantom Pass and cycle back down (2 mountain bikes available)
  
  
• Canoe down the slow-moving Knysna river upstream from the lagoons
  
  
• Take a boat trip to Knysna Heads, the narrow outlet between lagoons and Indian Ocean
  
  
• Drive the spectacular Prince Alfred’s Pass, across the Outeniqua mountains into the Klein Karoo
  
  
• Swim or surf at the sandy beaches of Noetzie, Brenton-on-Sea, Wilderness etc
  
  
• Hike along the rocky coast towards Plettenberg Bay, or the gentler coast in the Goukamma reserve, or along the riverine Kingfisher Trail (day-hike) near Wilderness
  
  
• Play golf at the 18-hole course at Sparrebosch (eastern heads)
  
  
• Go shopping in Knysna (photo 4) for wooden artefacts, fabrics, clothes, sandals, jewellery and other trinkets
  
  
• Take the steam train through wooded valleys to George (twice daily; 3 hrs each way)
  
  
• Deep-sea fishing trips, sailing, paragliding, scenic flights, horse-riding, canyoning and bungy-jumping can all be arranged
  
  
• Or just laze by the pool and enjoy one of the pampering treatments in the 'body boma'

Activities on site or nearby include:

• Bird watching
• Cycling
• Fishing
• Hiking
• Horse riding
• Kayak/canoeing
• Mountain biking
• Sailing
• Scuba diving
• Spa
• Well being

Essentials

Who goes?

Mostly couples, plus the occasional small group. Most guests are 30-50, and come from Europe or South Africa.

When to go?

South African summer (December to March) is prime time, but nature-lovers might have more to spot in spring (October-December) or perhaps autumn (March-June). There is no official winter discount, but by all means ask about ‘green season’ deals from June to October.

Features

• Wooden ‘tree-suites’ built above ground, in the midst of the forest
  
• They have a lounge area with outdoor living deck
  
• Maximum of 28 guests at any time
  
• Mountain-bikes and canoes available
  
• Two eco-friendly and unheated swimming pools with lovely views
  
• Massage and holistic treatments available (at extra cost)
  
• Small sauna room and outdoor ‘jacuzzi-barrel’ (Activities photo 5)
  
• Lots of animal statues, wooden carvings and ethnic prints
  

Location

Location
The Phantom Forest Eco Reserve is on the southern Cape coast of South Africa, in the heart of the magnificent Garden Route.

By Air
Cape Town International (50km). Or you can fly into George or Plettenberg Bay (from Cape Town or Jo’burg), both of which are about an hour away. Click on the links below for a list of airlines.

By Car
You will probably want to hire a car. We recommend Holiday Autos which offers competitive prices and discounts for internet bookings.

Directions to the hotel itself will be sent when you confirm your booking.

More on getting to South Africa and getting around

Rates

Reviews

Press Reviews

World Travel Awards 2010:
Africa's Leading Green Hotel (Winner)

The Telegraph, October 2008
"The Phantom Forest eco-lodge may be camping-lite, but it’s certainly not nature-lite. Fish eagles wheel, bush pigs go walkabout and there’s the occasional crimson flash of a Knysna Loerie. It’s not often you wake to birdsong, and butterflies flitting about beyond the glass-end gable of your lofty tree suite."

Conde Nast Traveler
"Fourteen elevated suites—with soaring beamed roofs, rustic private balconies, and slick, glass-fronted bathrooms—are built into the trees at this eco-friendly resort. Choose a North African–style room, with Moroccan ceramic sink basins, or opt for the standard decor, with Swazi cotton sheets, gauzy draped beds, and tribal printed cushions. An in-house therapist offers spa treatments at the Body Boma; you can also relax in the "bubble barrel" (outdoor wooden hot tub) or at the elevated freshwater swimming pool that looks over the surrounding forest. The excellent dining options include an outdoor boma where the chef serves dishes like sumac-spiced ostrich filet and lemongrass-and-blueberry Bavarois—and a Moroccan-themed indoor café with a cocktail bar and hookahs."

Luxury Travel Magazine
"Located in a spectacular setting, high on a hill, the view from the pool deck is breathtaking, incorporating the expanse of the Knysna lagoon, the Heads & the Knysna River. You can explore the surrounding forest on walking trails and the wetlands by canoe, or just relax with a spa treatment and enjoy being surrounded by nature. Public spaces are connected by boardwalks to luxurious, private treehouse suites tucked into the forest canopy.

You have a choice of decadent Moroccan Suites, Upper Tree Suites with bathtubs on their deck, Lagoon Treehouses with fabulous water views and Classic Suites comprising a large double-volume bedroom with sitting area leading out to an elevated deck. All suites are very comfortable with lots of privacy, since every suite is visually isolated from the other. In the evening, sip sundowners and enjoy a spectacular sunset. Boma dinners and delicious breakfasts are memorable on a treehut deck."

Guest Reviews

Reviews are from people who have booked through us.