Reviews of Grootberg Lodge
Wildlife sightings and reviews
99 independent comments and wildlife information from our travellers who have visited Grootberg Lodge and kindly agreed to share their thoughts. They do not necessarily represent the views of Expert Africa
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"Black rhino heaven"
The access isn't for the faint hearted, but transport to the top of the plateau is readily available from the camp team. We had a memorable day tracking black rhino on foot and taking photographs from 20metres away with the help of the trackers.
If the meat served for the main course at dinner could be as good as at Doro Nawas this camp would be a must to visit but on both the evenings we stayed it was disappointing in quantity and quality. A shame! Starters and desserts were of a much higher standard." See all these reviews: 17n in Namibia
"Grootberg Lodge review"
From our arrival at the bottom of the mountain track, waiting for the 4x4 to come down to collect us, the staff could not have been better.
We were immediately made welcome by the guy looking after the guests vehicles and then Domionic arrived to collect us and our luggage and take up the very steep track to the Lodge and what a location.... a total surprise not revealed until taken onto the main veranda for a welcome drink.
The lodge is on top of a mountain horseshoe plateau with superb views seemingly for miles.
Our bungalow, although not huge, was perfectly adequate and located on the edge of the plateau with amazing views.
Our only negative comment on the room was that the pillows not as comfortable as some and on the 2nd morning noticed a hole in the bottom sheet.
All of this pales into insignificance when viewed against the total experience with the staff.
Meals were excellent, and hot !, and followed by entertainment on both evenings by front and back room staff performing local songs with great humour.
Wnenever we had been out multiple staff would come up to you, seemingly knowing, or having been skillfully briefed, exactly what you had been doing and being genuinely interested and wanitng to ensure you were having a good time.
We booked to go on a morning game drive to the river valley but this ended up being a shorter drive on the plateau.. which was slightly disappointing although we saw plenty of Oryx, Springbok, Mountain Zebra and other creatures.
Over lunch Dominic came over to talk with us and we mentioned the drive and after leaving us for a short while he came back to advise that he had arranged an additional drive, down to the river bed, and at no additional cost..... great service.
The atmosphere at Grootberg was very relaxed and you felt like part of an enlarged family particularly with the 2 dogs in attendance." See all these reviews: 12n in Namibia; 5n in South Africa
"Grootberg Lodge review"
"amazing location"
One of the most impressive remembrance." See all these reviews: 18n in Namibia
"Grootberg Lodge review"
It was another place that had us saying 'wow' because of the view - the whole place just perches on the edge of a cliff - an amazing location and again, community run with direct links back into the local wider community. They were rightly proud of what they have achieved and it was fascinating to hear about how this lodge is changing the lives of the people in such a remote and wild area.
Our only disappointment was that one of their vehicles had a problem and so it was either 'tracking rhinls' or 'tracking elephants' and since more wanted to do elephants, we missed out on the rhino and since we had done the elephant tracking at Doro Nawas, we were left with walks on our own for much of the time. These were well marked and offered amazing views and very close encounters with game such as oryx and springbok. The birds were at about the same level as us for most of the time - excellent views of eagles at nearly 200 feet!
It was very windy again while we were at Grootberg and this made the rooms feel cold - we would have loved a hot water bottle here just to take the chill off at night. It is also a location where you really need a torch as the paths are very rocky, with only a few lights along them and its a long way out to Cabin 1 from the main house - many of the other lodges provided torches so we left ours in the 'bus' - its a long and scary walk back down that hill to fetch it!
Bob, the gentleman who welcomed us, nothing was too much trouble for him, and the young man who looked after the cars at the bottom of the track - he had even cleaned our filthy 'bus' before we left - such lovely people and they deserve every success with this wonderful lodge." See all these reviews: 12n in Namibia
"Grootberg Lodge review"
Our room was comfortable with a great view. We were also fortunate to see quite a lot of wildlife from our balcony - e.g. dassies, klipspringers and lovebirds. It's worth remembering a torch for the walk from the rooms to the lodge which is poorly lit and uneven.
The staff were very friendly and helpful without being over the top - a good balance. Whenever we needed anything or had a question they were easy to find and happy to help. We really enjoyed their song & dance act on our last evening - the staff were obviously enjoying themselves and it felt genuinely spontaneous rather than forced (as it does in many other places we've visited).
We did both the rhino tracking and desert elephant tracking. Both were very long days but were great fun. The rhino tracking is a full day with an early start whereas the elephant tracking is supposed to be a half day (although we returned to the lodge later than we had on the rhino tracking as our guide and tracker (Moses & Barman) didn't want to give up until we'd spotted an elephant!)." See all these reviews: 20n in Namibia
"Grootberg Lodge review"
We opted to do the Elephant Tracking Trip,which was really good, the guides locating elephants from a footprint in the road! We were also able to see some local villages." See all these reviews: 15n in Namibia
"Grootberg Lodge review"
Warm welcome and our stone chalet with thatch roof was nice, hot water supplied from 17.00-21.00 h by a wood fired "donkey" boiler which was lit at 15.30 h behind each chalet. Not as peaceful as some lodges as there was a lot of kitchen and staff noise in the main lodge as it is small and mainly open plan.
The staff very friendly and the host Simonetta very attentive. Enjoyed an early morning guided walk on the plateau. We went to the Skeleton Coast from Grootberg but found the road to Torra Bay was closed once we reached the Park ( just over 2 h drove from Grootberg). Saw elephants 10 min from Grootberg which was great." See all these reviews: 9n in Namibia
"Aspect magnificent."
"Cool mountain views"
Staff were in abundance and all from the local community, they were very friendly and helpful and seemed to love working with tourists.
Plenty of activities, including a self guided walk around the plateau, minimum of two night stay here is recommended. Could have stayed here longer." See all these reviews: 17n in Namibia
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