Reviews of Doro Nawas

"The initial wow factor of the castle and large and nicely furnished rooms was soon obliterated by the noisy staff. I have never been to a desert that is so noisy. A large group of italians showed up just after we arrived and as we were resting in our room the staff thought the best way to determine which italians were in which chalets was to walk around the camp shouting their names out. My husband went and told them to be quiet.

We then discovered that there was no hot water in our chalet - having arrive around 4pm there should be hot water at that time as the solar panels have been out in the sun all day. We told one of the managers before dinner and she said she would send some maintenance men to look at it but advised us that we had to run the water for ten minutes before the hot would come out of it! That is ridiculous. We weren't too worried as we thought there would be some the next day it was a slight annoyance.

The next afternoon at about 1.30pm we tried our water again and there was no hot water. I went to see management but spoke to the guide Johann who went into the office and advised the manager that we had no hot water. I was outside of the office and personally heard her reply "They complained yesterday, they do have hot water". Needless to say I was very unhappy with this total lack of customer service. T

he maintenance guys had looked at the solar panel the night before and found nothing wrong with it. Finally a chap called stephen came out and came with me to the chalet. he looked at the solar panel, ran the water both in the taps and the shower and declared that we had no hot water. I told him I had overheard the manager. We were put on to a generator and that night we had hot water. we did receive a basket of fruit and a note to say sorry, by this time I just wanted to get out of the place.

WE had a bottle of wine on our first evening in the chalet and the dirty wine glasses were still there when we left two nights later even though the housekeeping had come in and made our bed!

The second sink leaked and so instead of getting water in the sink it ended up all over the bathroom floor!

Being Wilderness Safaries we thought the food would be as good as at Anderssons Camp but it was quite poor. we had lunch which was a cucumber soup which was truly inedible, (my husband eats anything but wouldn't eat it). The last night's main meal consisted of some kind of bland potato pasta, uncooked red cabbage and a chewy stew. The chef seriously needs more training.

The overall manager Lena and Stephen were very helpful and listened to our complaints and did somethng about them. But the other manager we found to be unfriendly and I think she was the one who made the comment that I overheard.

The camp is pretty large with 19 chalets and it felt very commercialised. This feeling may have been heightened by the fact that we had come from Entendeka which is the opposite.

Although the rooms were nice the service is poor and we would certainly not recommend it to anyone." See all these reviews: 11n in Namibia

"Nice welcome here from Agnes and large rooms with good views - hot water bottles were a nice touch. Nice to see solar panels being used to heat water for showers and fun to have option of showering outside!

Food was good, but a bit rushed. Swimming pool would have benefitted from some lighting in the evening. The staff sang after supper but, unfortunately, we had not been told this would be happening and had already gone to our rooms.

There were not enough torches to go round so it was good we had brought our own." See all these reviews: 18n in Namibia

"Our stay here was excellent, with fantastic 'rooms' (especially the outdoor showers) and outstanding service in a truly spectacular location.

Food was delicious and we spent a long time in close proximity to Desert Elephants on our morning activity. We were also shown where to find Welwitschia in the grounds and the night sky viewed from the roof was breathtaking." See all these reviews: 11n in Namibia

"The best of the camps we visited. Staff very welcoming, stunning location and great rooms.

Sleeping outside is highly recommended!" See all these reviews: 13n in Namibia

"We wanted to use Doro Nawas because of its links with the community and its place as part of a conservancy and we weren't disappointed with the feedback we got from all the people there about how it brings in an income that is then distributed to the wider community. The staff were happy to talk to us about how it all worked and were obvioulsy enormously proud of what was being achieved. I just hope that the rudeness from another English group (not with Expert Africa I have to say!), making comments, and asking what we thought were intensely personal questions about life in Namibia and ethnic isues, does not give the staff there the impression that all English people are so ignorant! We certainly wanted to apologise for their rudeness and insensitivity.

Anyway, the important bits are: The location is wonderful, the rooms enormous and so luxurious, and the 'bed out under the stars' had to be tried, even though it only lasted a few hours due to the damp night. Tracking elephants was great fun, and so rewarding to get so close and spend so long with the group. Food and facilities in the main camp couldn't be faulted and to end each evening with the magical singing from the staff made it a very special place. Tranquil, peaceful, with huge views and wonderful sunsets." See all these reviews: 12n in Namibia

"The best lodge on the trip!
Very roomy lodge and we wheeled the beds out onto the verandah to sleep out under the stars.

Elephant drive was a fantastic five hours.

Food and service excellent." See all these reviews: 17n in Namibia

"We had only one night here but we were lucky enough to have the desert elephants in the neighbourhood.

The place is wonderfully located and they've thought of everything to help you make the most of it. We felt spoiled! We did sleep part of the night outside., even with fresh winter temperatures it was much worth trying out." See all these reviews: 17n in Namibia; 2n in Botswana; 2n in Zambia

"After sorting out the problem with our first flat tyre of the trip we arrive at the lodge and again a friendly welcome which makes you forget those gravel roads!!! Very nice room with beautiful view and again we found the extra blankets and the hot water bottles.

Food was good but at times a bit extravagant and it didn't help the fact that the dining room was poorly lit. Staff again very professional and friendly and they sang for the guests at the end of the evening meal!!

Ignatious our guide was superb in finding the most beautiful views for the snacks and the sundowners!!!

Overall a place in a beautiful setting and once again we can only praise Wilderness Safari for their professionalism." See all these reviews: 15n in Namibia; 3n in South Africa

"Moving your bed to your own veranda and sleep under the Namibian stars was an unforgettable experience. The spacious and tasteful lodge was overall a very nice and charming place to stay. A special note for the hot water bottles we got before we went to sleep: they were very welcome, because it was pretty cold at night.

In our opinion, the food and service were both very good as well. However, we felt that the woman we thought was the manager was a little too formal and 'professional', which did not really add to the relaxed and warm African atmosphere.

Doro Nawas is pretty well-located for a self-drive to the Twijfelfontein area. Since the prices of the trips are fairly high if you book them at Doro Nawa, we suggest that people drive themselves to the highlights. The high prices (more than 1,000 Namibian dollars for the morning drive) were also the reason that we did not attend the desert elephant drive. Instead of that, we took an afternoon guided walk through the surroundings of the lodge, which was a very pleasant and exciting walk, as the guide told us a lot in a relaxed pace and since we came across pretty fresh cheetah prints." See all these reviews: 11n in Namibia

"We only stayed one night at Doro Nawas, essentially as a stop-over on the long journey between Swakopmund and Desert Rhino Camp so we did'nt have time to do any walks, drives or activities. The location, on a hill with 360 degree views is certainly spectacular. Had a very similar feel to Sossus Dune Lodge (see our review) with the same downsides. Not a place we would personally go to again." See all these reviews: 18n in Namibia