Reviews of Doro Nawas
Wildlife sightings and reviews
493 independent comments and wildlife information from our travellers who have visited Doro Nawas and kindly agreed to share their thoughts. They do not necessarily represent the views of Expert Africa
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"Doro Nawas review"
Staff friendly and helpful when asked but lack of attention to detail compared to other places.
B B Q under stars was great and could move our bed out to sleep under stars." See all these reviews: 12n in Namibia
"Doro Nawas review"
The setting is spectacular, the last few meters of drive up to Reception slope up steeply and dramatically. After our long drive we were delighted to be greeted as we got out of the car by cool towels and fruit juice. As we were shown around I kept saying 'I'm at a loss for words'. The panorama view is breathtaking. Our room was also beautifully appointed. We pushed our beds out onto the veranda and slept under the stars, which was one of the highlights of our trip, unforgettable. We also loved the fact that meals were served variously in the dining room, out on the veranda or up on the roof by candle light at night. Sitting round the fire in the evening was so peaceful.
The service at Dora Nawas was exceptional. The staff were extremely helpful, friendly, efficient, attentive and happy. Again, we were made to feel like part of a big family during our stay.
Mwezi was our guide as we visited the rock engravings, burnt mountain and organ pipes. He was excellent, very informative, enthusiastic and cheerful.
Doro Nawas was our favourite stay of our whole holiday." See all these reviews: 13n in Namibia
"Absolutely loved Doro Nawas"
Doro Nawas is set on top of a hill, and has the most beautiful view over the surrounding landscape. The highlights of our stay at Doro Nawas were our elephant trek, nature walk and sunset drinks, and dining on the roof under the stars. Rooms were clean, comfortable and beautifully decorated, with a bed that rolls out onto the verandah and an outside shower. The staff were incredibly helpful and so friendly.
Highly recommend Doro Nawas!" See all these reviews: 6n in Namibia; 5n in Botswana; 1n in Zimbabwe
"Interesting place to stay"
Pool was closed and emptied for half our stay with no warning - a shame (would have used it earlier if we had known).
Food was really nice and all staff were very keen to help." See all these reviews: 15n in Namibia; 2n in Zimbabwe
"An anxious few hours"
As agreed with Expert Africa, the following afternoon we transferred to Camp Kipwe for the second night where again the staff were extremely accommodating. Camp Kipwe itself was very attractive though quite different in character.
The situation of both lodges was stunning.
We have graded both lodges below as excellent, however our overall experience was influenced by the upset caused by the mix-up over the booking." See all these reviews: 10n in Namibia
"The top hotel of the trip- Doro Nawas"
Our connected family accommodation, semi-detached huts was characterful and spacious. We ate dinner on the roof of the central building, lit by candle lanterns and under a starry star with the Southern Cross above. We visited Twyfelfontein from here which was a great experience.
Doro !Nawas is run very professionally but also in conjunction with the local community and there is a real sense of pride in this establishment. We went to sleep listening to the wonderful barking geckos." See all these reviews: 14n in Namibia
"Doro !Nawas - In the wilderness"
We travelled from Etosha down to Doro !Nawas and stopped off at the Petrified Forest on the way which is well worth a visit. You approach down a long track and first see the main building in the distance which looks rather dark and foreboding! However when you arrive, greeted with a welcome song and drink, you find a relaxing area with fantastic panoramic views including a wide balcony with seating. It was a bit windy so sitting outside you needed to wrap up to watch the sun setting. Before sunset we went out for a walk to the sandstone ridge and across the plain - well worth it.
The lodges were a short walk away (ours were quite close) and beautifully done. Thatched roof, stone floors and canvas walls which did make it a bit chilly at night, but hot water bottles and warm blankets were provided. The vista from the villas was delightful across the plain to mountains in the distance. However the novelty, very much enjoyed by the boys was to be able to roll the beds out of the room and onto the veranda area.
The dinner menu was announced by our waiter in the local Damara 'tongue' which was very interesting. If you don't already know, you will find out what the "!" means in !Nawas. The food was excellent and then we were entertained by the staff singing to us. They really were excellent, the best on our trip, and we found that they had won competitions.
We took Expert Africa's advice and took ourselves around local attractions - rock carvings (v good), organ pipes and burnt mountain (OK but not great), living (Damara) village (interesting to see how they live). We decided not to do the trip to see the elephants which I think was expensive having seen lots in Etosha. We found 'Wilderness Safari' trips to be more expensive than others.
Previous comments mention a telescope to see the stars but it wasn't there, and it would be great to have this given the roof area and no light pollution.
Overall we had a great time at Doro !Nawas and would recommend it." See all these reviews: 12n in Namibia
"Doro Nawas review"
The rooms at Doro Nawas are amazing in themselves, as well as having a great view of the stunning landscape. They can be a bit dim insides, but their shadiness helps to keep them cool. We didn't sleep outdoors, but we did use the outdoor shower - fun! It was nice to hang about near the pool when it was hot, though it was never quite hot enough to make swimming endurable!
It is really good that Doro Nawas provides water bottles and unlimited water for refills. We also liked that we could take some tea and coffee all day, with cake in the afternoon. The breakfasts were also very good.
We found the dinner arrangements here to be a bit confusing - we were not clear when/how it would be served, and one evening when we asked (at about 7.30) we were told that "dinner will be served at 7pm and we will tell you when that is". One evening we had a bbq on the roof, which whilst fun, took a while. The vegetarian meals were a bit vegetably- i.e. cooked vegetables served with the vegetables that accompany the meat options - this was possibly just a coincidence as we only stayed there a couple of nights - but more use of beans/other sources of protein would have been nice.
We booked a walking activity (on the sandstone trail) with a guide. This was okay but our guide wasn't local - we were a bit surprised by this because this is jointly run with a community conservancy. It was also a bit shorter than we expected from the activity description that we had in our room." See all these reviews: 17n in Namibia
"Customer Service Top Class"
The rooms had amazing views although we were bitten one night and thought mosquito nets could be a welcome addition.
The game drives excellent with knowledgable guide and driver - our sghiting of desert elephant amazing - we have tried to see them for years.
However the best thing was the singing at night - firstly a song to hope you enjoyed your meal and then all the staff joining together from manager to kitchen staff to sing a few local songs at the end of the meal.
We also met here one of the most inspirational women I have ever met - a Damara lady and area manger - whose name i did not write in my diary and wish I had - although I wrote her story in my book." See all these reviews: 13n in Namibia; 3n in Botswana
"Doro Nawas"
The setting was gorgeous. The huts were wonderful, so large and open. Great views of the mountains in the setting sun, The staff were super.
We enjoyed waking around the area and especially the safari to see the desert elephants. We spent more quality time with the elephants than on any other safari and we've been on many safaris over the years." See all these reviews: 18n in Namibia
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