Reviews of Ongava Lodge

"A great lodge. Very professional staff, who were very knowledgeable and communicated their commitment to rhinos. They were also very friendly.

A great evening drive to see rhinos and lion.

An outstanding experience." See all these reviews: 17n in Namibia

"We had the best room of the whole trip. The only difficulty was the number of steps to get to it. The view from our room and the dining area was beautiful. We saw many animals drinking the two water holes down below.

The two activities we took while there were very interesting and again the guides were very good at what they do and quite knowledgeable. It was fun doing the rides around the camp." See all these reviews: 11n in Namibia; 1n in South Africa

"We were very happy about this reserve because you can see rhino and lion in their perfect environment.

Lodge was very comfortable but the restaurant buffet service was average. the staff and guide were excellent" See all these reviews: 12n in Namibia

"Outstanding setting with lots of animals. Good rooms but in need of updating. The same applies to the main building. It is 20 years old and feels it, something we discussed with our excellent hosts, Jonathan and Sylvia.

Food was average and not to the standard a lodge of this class should provide. It was also variable in quality.

The staff were very good, particularly Abram who was our guide and went out of his way to look after us." See all these reviews: 11n in Namibia

"We were very impressed with our room (no 3) at Ongava with a view of the waterhole from the bathroom window. It was clean, comfortable and well appointed. The staff were friendly and enthusiastic. We went on an evening game drive and found our guide very knowledgable and painstaking.

Food was disappointing and scarce. As we declined to eat game, we were offered steak and lamb chops which, unfortunately, were so tough we could not eat them. They did provide a nice salad which seemed popular with guests and eventually on one evening provided a cheese plate. It was not until the second morning we discovered cooked breakfast was available.

New managers have recently been installed so perhaps the food issue will improve." See all these reviews: 8n in Namibia

"We arrived here from Mowani at around 3:30 to find a drive was due to go at 4pm - all a little rushed - we felt that times of activities should be advised in the itinerary to ensure guests arrive in sufficient time. The drives were excellent with lots of wildlife, although the Land Rovers' seats were way overdue for re-upholstering as they were extremely hard and uncomfortable.

Room was lovely with excellent facilities." See all these reviews: 18n in Namibia

"This lodge is amazing for rhino sightings. I think this could be better developed and explained - the rhino heritage trees on the wall were great, but no-one talked about them.

At the moment the reserve is lacking focus - and this reserve has an opportunity to explain the conservation of rhino like few others!

When we were at the lodge the septic tank needed some attention (rather smelly), but this is a minor comment on a very good experience." See all these reviews: 12n in Namibia

"The staff at Ongava were very welcoming & friendly, The food was good & we were even presented with a bottle of bubbly to help us celebrate our wedding anniversary!

I was less impressed with our room; the shower soaked the floor beyond the shower area & could not be adjusted, the lighting was poorly placed & although we had air con which I assume was necessary because of the stone construction of the building, it seemed inappropriate in a safari camp. I much prefer to be in tented accommodation.

The guided activities here (our guide was Hennoch) were outstanding & we were given among the best days safari activities we have ever had. We started with a walk during which we tracked white rhi100 m ano ,eventually getting to about 20m of a group of 3 - an amazing experience. This was followed up by a walk across a grassy plain towards herds of zebra, wildebeest & hartebeest.

We were a little concerned when Hennoch pointed out a further couple of rhino sheltering under trees to our right & surprised when he pointed out a pair of ears showing above the long grass. They belonged to a lone male lion who eventually got up and walked away as we got closer. The icing on this amazing day was during our sundowner drive when, from a vehicle & for a suitable short time, we tracked alongside a lioness going out for her evening hunt. The sundowner itself was observed by 2 of the local rhino & a variety of different antelope & probably by several unseen species." See all these reviews: 13n in Namibia

"Very well looked after by very friendly staff. Our guide, Abraham, was very knowledgeable." See all these reviews: 8n in Namibia; 3n in Zimbabwe

"First the ugly. The rooms are furnished and decorated straight out of the handbook for a hotel chain; think Holiday Inn or Hilton, which we thought was wholly inappropriate for the African bush. Having said that, the rooms are very spacious with lots of storage, very welcome air conditioning when we were there and excellent bathrooms. Unfortunately the layout of room 6 meant that the entrance to the outside shower and much of the bathroom were in clear view of anyone leaving room 7 - bad design which should have been dealt with. Room 5 was nice and private. We would have been less than amused to be in the back row of rooms which have a fine view of the front row. Our roms did have lovely views with lots to see.

Next the bad. The main course and desert on two nights were very poor. Baked apple is not in my view a great pudding, and trying to eat it with the provided teaspoon was an interesting and inventive experience. Kudu steaks first of all overcooked and then left on a food heater make for a tasteless chewing experience like few others, although the fish was OK. Vegetables are uninspiring, straight from a motorway cafe. The chef should pop round to Doro Nawas to find out how to make food interesting. I have to say that the third night was better, and breakfasts were good and cake at tea time excellent. There are lots of under managers, but an overall manager who is on the ball is needed to stop rubbish being served. And I really cannot understand why a buffet for dinner is necessary - there are plenty of staff around to serve the food. I suppose that Wilderness will come out with their usual PR rubbish about thanking me for pointing this out and taking steps to deal with matters. The point is that at this price, the food should be good and there should not be little niggles in other ways. We have paid for our comfort, not to provide a test bed for others.

There were lots of little things which we disliked. Very obviously, they could not wait to get rid of us; the chambermaid waiting outside our rooms after breakfast until we cleared them at 9.30 told its own tale. Leaving the water jug empty in a room for over 24 hours is not very good. The swimming pool was opaque, perhaps to hide its shallowness - again a visit to Doro Nawas might be an eye opener. Not giving you cold towels after an outing, unless it is an organised activity, is petty. I could go on. I think the problem may well be the way in which Wilderness manage their properties. or more accurately do not manage them. Trying to charge for all our wine without credit for the allowance of one glass per head per dinner left a bad taste.

Lastly, the good, and there is plenty. The common parts are very well laid out with good views over a busy waterhole. 9 rhino, black and white, was perhaps exceptional on our first night, there were none on the second, and on our last morning there was a constant procession of different animals culminating in an eland. We only went on one activity, an afternoon game drive, which was excellent although pricey with 6 in the vehicle. We were lucky with our sightings, but the standard of the guide was first class. He made a very real and effective effort to get to a good position to photograph a white rhino and calf, and how he spotted a genet at night without picking up the eyes, I will never know. The staff were friendly and efficient.

We self drove into Etosha which worked very well as we were able to take our time looking at things of interest, such as the family of ground squirrels in holes on the side of the road, rather than spending ages looking at lions which we had all seen many times before. Etosha, particularly on some of the longer side roads, was much quieter than we expected and the experience was first class, even though we had all had several holidays in Africa and our sons have both spent three months on conservation work in South Africa/Botswana. An afternoon drive to Okondeka was outstanding for close views of jackals. Okondeka had huge numbers of animals and birds at the waterhole; probably the most my wife and I have seen since seeing the migration in the Masai Mara on honeymoon.

Overall, therefore a mixed experience. The trouble is that Ongava does not have much alternative of a good standard in the South of the park and environs but it really does fail to live up to its price and is the worst lodge we have ever stayed at in Africa at any price level, albeit with excellent guiding. It is a pity; with a good kicking it could be as good as Mountain Homestead; perhaps, like the latter, it could do with a change of management company. We would probably avoid this area in future rather than stay here again." See all these reviews: 10n in Namibia