Reviews of Sossusvlei Desert Lodge

"Best place on our entire trip!

Feedback on morning balloon flight arrangements:
Sadly they failed to fly on 3 successive mornings and they were not able to make the decision not to fly until we had arrived at the launch site on each morning. So that was 3 successive mornings that we rose at 4.45 am to leave the SML at 05.15 to get to the launch site.

We understand the pilot cannot fly if the conditions are not right but surely they could decide earlier and ring the hotel to save us all the journey ( there were around 20 people there on day 3 and some had travelled for 2 hrs just to get to the site)

All very disappointed" See all these reviews: 12n in Namibia

"We both felt that this was the finest hotel we've stayed in, anywhere (and we have travelled a lot). The room (a misnomer for what is a small villa) was beautiful with wonderful views of the plains, mountains, and water hole. Everything else complemented its excellence: the service was impeccable, the food very good.

The only weak note was a noisy and not efficient air conditioner, which mattered because the days were very hot. The manager offered to move us but, after unpacking everything, we declined. We wish we had been there a week rather than three nights." See all these reviews: 10n in Namibia

"We loved it!" See all these reviews: 16n in Namibia

"EXcellent lodge. Our guide, Nestor, was very helpful and knowledgable. Rooms were fantastic, and well kept." See all these reviews: 13n in Namibia

"We were very surprised at the number of animals (particularly small mammals) which inhabit the area and got great pictures of bat eared foxes and an aardwolf. Watch out for the scorpions...." See all these reviews: 13n in Namibia

"An amazing place and a fantastic location. Wonderful welcome (especially after the 6 hour drive from Windhoek, meeting our first gravel roads) with Maretha, our hostess, an excellent ambassador during our three nights, even sewing on a button when we'd lost our sewing kit! The room was very well designed and built, and huge. The excursion to Sossusvlei/Deadvlei produced hundreds of spectacular photos - as one guide book said, you'd be hard-pushed not to get professional quality images there! The bush breakfast afterwards was a lovely touch. Other excursions included the first tracking of released and collared cheetah in NamibRand (heard the clicks but couldn't find them!) which they're considering introducing as an option; also a memorable sunset drive on the petrified dunes. Our only minor reservation was that contact with our guides was limited to the excursions, so was not as personal as some places. And don't go for animals or birds, although there are some. Otherwise, given the panoramic view, the attentive service and natural wonders nearby it's hard to fault this lodge." See all these reviews: 11n in Namibia

"Sossusvlei Desert Lodge was the first of the four lodges we stayed at and definitely got us off to a good start. The trip from the airstrip to the lodge is quick and we were welcomed by Paulo the manager. There are 10 villas in total, 5 on each side of the main lodge building. We had villa number 8 which is private and is of good-size with large bathroom and also an outdoor shower (no bath though given the need to conserve water). The villa was stylish, calm and relaxed and an excellent place to relax in. A few little negatives were the very hard "ribbed" carpet (painful to walk on barefoot) and also the slightly dated looking furniture in the main part of the chalet which is not quite as cutting-edge as maybe expected.

The food was great with the chefs presenting their menus personally and we thoroughly enjoyed all of our meals. Our main waiter Edwill was also efficient and organised a private dinner for us on the final night. Changing location for dinner/lunch and eating at different places in the lodge (e.g. by the pool, upstairs in the library) etc. also made the experience fun. We had a good view of the watering hole from all of our dining locations which meant fun times observing the sprinbok, ostriches etc. that would come and drink from it.

The highlight however of our stay were the guides and the activities. We had Fillon and Nestor as our guides and enjoyed the evening game-drive/sundowners, the quadbiking and the excursion to the Sossusvlei Dunes. Although not cheap, the excursion is definitely worth it and after climbing up the Big Daddy Dune near Deadvlei we thoroughly deserved our breakfast that Nestor prepared for us. The guides at Sossusvlei Desert Lodge were really first-class and this made our experience particularly special. We also had massaged from Hilde in our room and we can definitely recommend these as Hilde has been well-trained and is able to deliver excellent relaxing massages.

I would definitely recommend Sossusvlei Desert Lodge for anyone considering staying in the area." See all these reviews: 9n in Namibia; 1n in South Africa

"What a stunning location! The service was excellent, and the quality of the food was very high.

The room was enormous and very well equipped, and the bathroom was great - the view from the shower over the plains in particular was stunning. However the decor of the room itself felt a little dated and could probably do with reviving!

The nature drives, sun-downer drink and activities were very good and well organised and our guide was very knowledgable and tried hard to find us all the animals we were looking for - including a leopard!" See all these reviews: 16n in Namibia

"A perfect end to the trip - totally superb in every way. A wonderful lodge.

The observatory was a unique feature.

CC Africa (new name 'and beyond' launched while we were there) delivered excellence as usual." See all these reviews: 12n in Namibia