Reviews of Spitzkoppen Lodge
Wildlife sightings and reviews
46 independent comments and wildlife information from our travellers who have visited Spitzkoppen Lodge and kindly agreed to share their thoughts. They do not necessarily represent the views of Expert Africa
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"Spitzkoppen Lodge review"
Zebra
1 sighting
"Spitzkoppen Lodge review"
It was so nice to be able to get out into the local area and walk around and explore by yourself. The hotel itself could have been part of the set for Astroid City, really great light and set in amongst sandstone hills. We only had one night here and had to leave early the following morning so we didn't get to fully appreciate all its facilities.
Rooms were fine (very large comfy bed) and swimming pool set in the rock was a nice feature. Food was good and service attentive and would have liked another day to have tried one of their walking trips." See all these reviews: 12n in Namibia; 2n in Botswana
Zebra
4 sightings
"Spitzkoppen Lodge review"
Zebra
Multiple sightings
"Exceptional landscape at Spitzkoppen"
Wonderful privacy, the sites are separated with larger rocks and you feel alone in that desert environment, with just the rock dassies & ground squirrels roaming the boulders. The 5 or 6 zebras on the property are part of the entertainment for the guests; without the fence, the hay & the water, they would not be there. We really enjoyed our 3 nights stay and the activities.
Food is good, nice pool and the sundowners from the sofas deposited at the top of the mountain nearby the common area are spectacular. One morning, we climbed the third highest mountain with our guide Beni (highest being the Gross Spitzkoppe itself, second highest the Pontok). Spotted two black eagles and leopard tracks. Inform yourself exactly about difficulty & length of the mountain hikes.
Climbing the Gross Spitzkoppe is alpinism, none of the 3 hikes is a walk in the park. The trails on the property though are easy to walk on your own and enjoyable. We toured the bushmen paintings with our guide Abraham and the Namibian Eye. Special mention for the kindness of the staff and the owners. The tented chalet and the common area are of a special style. Everything is build from metallic beams and tented, to comply with the temporary nature of the lodge." See all these reviews: 21n in Namibia
Zebra
5 sightings
"Unique setting"
Superb location. Extremely friendly and efficient staff. Great chef and knowledgeable guides.
Variety of small game/mammals and birds/, lizards etc. Great laundry service too.
Highly recommended." See all these reviews: 26n in Namibia
Zebra
4 sightings
"Spitzkoppen Lodge review"
It was a dusty and bumpy drive to Spitzkoppen, like going over a continuous cattle grid but we were getting used to that. Even when we reached the gate, there was still quite a drive to get to the lodge and it was difficult finding our way. The gate-keeper had given us a map of the area and we were able to use that. The landscapes were dramatic in the afternoon sun with fantastic rock formations and the lodge blended into the surroundings almost invisibly.
The room was comfortable, like a cross between a caravan and a tent and felt rather rickety. It shook as we walked around. However, the bed was comfy and there was plenty of storage, a nice shower room and a sitting out area with chairs and an amazing view.
It was quite a trek across the raised walkways to the main building for dinner and breakfast. Food was average and served on plastic plates which was strange, but the building was nicely decorated with interesting art.
We booked a guided drive with sundowner. The drive part was good and we went to the Small Bushmans Paradise and viewed some rock art, saw the Golden Snake and then went to the rock arch, which was famous. Some people who were on the tour with us said we were lucky that day there were only a few people around and we were able to take some nice empty photos. The previous day there had been hordes of people around . It was surprising how many people there were in such an isolated place but there were some camp sites close by.
We saw zebras which it turned out had been brought in and left behind by a film crew and had become habituated. Fodder was supplied by the lodge (or the park authorities, we never found out which)
The sundowner was not good. We were taken to a spot on the rocks where our view included the park perimeter fence. Our drinks were bottles of commercially pre-mixed Gin and Tonic, drunk from the bottle as there were no glasses. The driver seemed surprised we asked for glasses.
Overall, good for a one night stop and the guided drive, but we don’t recommend the sundowner experience. It would have been better to have had a drink on the terrace of the bar where there were comfortable chairs and still a west facing view." See all these reviews: 19n in Namibia; 3n in Botswana; 2n in Zimbabwe
Zebra
10 sightings
"Spitzkoppen Lodge review"
It is very nicely located close to the Spitzkoppe (massive) boulders and arch, so the views are beautiful. We found it good and important that the local community gets involved in the running of the hotel and in its financial outcomes.
The area is however quite far away from everything. We would consider it as a stop-over on a long road, or if you are passionate about hiking.
Rooms are quiet spacious. Beds are comfortable.
There was however no air conditioning, no good system of ventilation "by design" (only a fan) and no shadow from trees or else to cool the room during the day - so it was quite difficult to stay inside as a result. The rooms look a bit like curious luxury mobil homes, so not the greatest architecture; and we did not feel like specific decoration efforts had been made, contrarily to other places.
We were allocated room #1, which is the closest to the common area, and linked to the structure where the hotel buggies circulate. This resulted in the room floor vibrating each time a buggy drove past. Luckily this stopped at night. We asked the hotel manager to change room, considering we had asked for a quiet bedroom upfront: he told us he had not been made aware of our request (?) but he acknowledged that the room was far from ideal. No switch was possible though as the hotel and the camp nearby were both fully booked.
Most staff appeared to us as they did not really care about guests, or were even not really welcoming (we did get our bags transported from our car to our room via buggy, but had to do the rest of the carrying ourselves) nor enthusiastic. We had the impression our waitress did not understand English very well, which is OK, but she got no support from senior staff members. It resulted in errors in our orders.
It was also the only lodge where we were not offered to have the room prepared for the night. Only minor points, but all together gave us a mediocre impression.
Activities appeared to us as quite limited. Except for a few zebras on fodder, no wild life was to be seen. We did the self-drive, with 3 stops around Spitzkoppen, and limited explanations from guides from the local community." See all these reviews: 5n in Namibia; 3n in Botswana; 2n in Zimbabwe; 1n in South Africa
Zebra
1 sighting
"Stunning location"
Still enjoyed our stay and the golf cart rides over the hill. Would highly recommend." See all these reviews: 16n in Namibia; 7n in Botswana; 2n in Zimbabwe
Leopard
1 sighting
Zebra
7 sightings
"Spitzkoppen Lodge review"
We did the ‘Small Bushman Tour’ on the afternoon we arrived. There were a lot more people on the tour than I was expecting as they use a vehicle that holds 20 people (and it was pretty much full). The guide was very informative but in hindsight I would have probably have walked/driven to the sights myself rather than being with a crowd.
The staff were very friendly and helpful. We found the food very average and I had a suspicion that most of it was ready made frozen food that was reheated." See all these reviews: 23n in Namibia
Zebra
10 sightings
"Spitzkoppen Lodge review"
Evening guided tour to Small Bushmans Paradise was a great way to explore further but very much a drive (or cycle) direct to places of interest. Guiding was enthusiastic but very much focused on interpretation of rock art. The natural environment was stunning, and the rock arch very impressive. Rock art itself was quite seriously damaged through a combination of vandalism and apparent accidental 'wear' from touching or from some efforts at preservation.
Morning sunrise guided tour to Bushmans Paradise was similarly impressive and a bit more of a drive then walk. Access is via chain up (and at the end, down) the first few hundred metres. Same comments about the environment and the condition of rock art.
Dinner was very high quality food. Breakfast was good. Lunch was slightly strange, with options seemingly faced on quantity (game lasagne, large sauce-laden very large wraps etc) rather than more typical and desirable salads or sandwich options." See all these reviews: 16n in Namibia
Zebra
1 sighting
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