Kings Lodge Hotel

Kings Lodge is the stay-in-the-middle-of-it option: a hotel in the heart of Hogsback village, walking distance from the shops, galleries and several trailheads. It suits first-time visitors who want everything reachable on foot, and anyone who likes a hotel with an actual past rather than a themed one.

(Comparing the village’s hotel-class stays side by side? See Hogsback’s four hotels compared.)

A hotel that used to be called Ambleside

Here’s the piece of trivia the brochures skip. Rev. Lister’s Echoes from the Past records that after the new road opened Hogsback up, S. Galbraith built a hotel at the top of the pass and called it Ambleside — a thoroughly English name, given long before the village’s Tolkien craze — and it was later renamed King’s Lodge. Hogsback was naming itself after beloved elsewheres from the very start.

The 1979 holiday guide fills in more: Kings Lodge Hotel “came into being not long before World War II”, and by then it was the home of the village bowling club and headquarters of the Hogsback Trout Angling Club. The same guide even gives walking directions measured from the hotel’s front door — village landmark status, forty-plus years ago already.

Whether the bowling-green and trout-club days still hold in any form today we can’t confirm — what’s certain is that Kings Lodge now operates as a village-centre hotel with the on-site Forest Restaurant & Bar.

Location and setting

Village centre — this is the hotel’s whole argument. You wake up, walk out, and the shops, galleries and lanes of Hogsback are right there. Historically it stood “at the top of the pass”, greeting travellers as they arrived up the mountain.

The village’s colour-graded walks start close by — the Village Green and Oak Avenue starting points are the usual picks for a village-centre stay; browse the hiking hub to match a route to your legs.

What staying there is like

A village-centre hotel with dining, and a reputation for midweek and seasonal specials — public listings show recent promotions and an active social feed through July 2026.

Dining is on site: the Forest Restaurant & Bar is publicly advertised as open 08:00–20:00 daily. Public records list both hotel rooms and self-catering options — confirm exactly what you’re booking when you reserve.

Practical details

  • Type: hotel with self-catering options
  • Contact: 045 962 1024 (reservations) · 081 809 1666 also published · info@kingslodgehogsback.co.za · kingslodgehogsback.co.za

Plan the rest of the trip

  • The village’s full backstory — pass, hotels and all — is on the history page.
  • Fancy eating out? Browse the restaurants guide.
  • Booking in winter? Read the snow report first — the village books out within hours when a front is forecast.
  • Back to the full accommodation guide.

Community-verified: operating details from public listings and local records as at August 2026 — always confirm directly with the property before travelling.