Reviews of Waterberg Wilderness

"Lovely accommodation, good food, friendly staff.

One of the highlights of our trip to Namibia was when we went for an early morning walk up to the top of the Waterberg Plateau. Andreas, our guide, told us loads of interesting things about the plants, trees and animals that we passed. When we got to the top he handed out fruit and water and then gave us plenty of time to just sit quietly and take in the amazing view and the sounds and the silence. It was magical.

In the afternoon we went on a game drive. Our guide, Helmut, was very informative and quite amusing. During the drive we picked up a tracker called Nelson who showed us where some white rhino were grazing. We were able to get really close to them!

Waterburg Wilderness Lodge has some walks marked out that you can do unguided and I would have liked to have stayed longer to make the most of these. This would be a good place to go before driving around Etosha because you can learn a lot about different animals from the guides, before going off to find them on your own." See all these reviews: 13n in Namibia

"Couldn't fault the staff who very very attentive, although we got the feeling that they were slightly under the thumb of the owners.

Very attractive location and gardens." See all these reviews: 12n in Namibia

"We were upgraded (?) to the "Plateau Lodge". Lovely secluded rooms with excellent fascilities - probably the best bathrooms of any experienced in Namibia so far (certainly better than the fancy "designer" set ups at Namutoni) stunning views and close contact with the natural environment. Absolutely ideal for honeymooners or those who just want to chill out!.

The place is excellent for birds and smaller game, but the guides were not tuned in to these aspects. In fact the standard of guiding was well below average which meant that we left feeling that we had not derived anything like full benefit of the possibilities of the location.

Glorious place to stay (especially delightful staff) - very disappointing on the activities front." See all these reviews: 14n in Namibia

"We enjoyed the setting which was particularly colourful with the sun setting on the rock face of the plateau. Some good walking and wonderful views from the top of the plateau.

The staff were all very friendly and helpful." See all these reviews: 17n in Namibia

"Waterberg is in a beautiful setting. We arrived at about 3pm,having travelled from Halali, and were in good time for afternoon tea and then a game drive. The game drive enabled us to see white (wide-mouthed) rhino at very close quarters - we were able to get out of the Land Rover and were within ~10 metres of the animals. Fantastic.

The following day we went on a guided walk up onto the plateau, where we learned about the traditions and beliefs of the local people, and the uses to which the various plants were put. This was extremely interesting and our guide was very knowledgeable.

Our room was very pleasant and the food good. The staff were very friendly.

The approach road to the lodge is sandy, quite hilly in places and has a lot of humps. Despite being very careful, our car grounded in a couple of places." See all these reviews: 15n in Namibia

"An idyllic spot, surrounded by lush gardens immediately below the rocky cliffs of the Waterberg Plateau. We had a pleasant, large room overlooking the garden with its small, springfed swimming pool. Caroline Rust greeted us in a friendly way at the reception (some 3km from the Lodge itself!) and was helpful in confirming our flight details for us, but the atmosphere in the Lodge itself was not so much unfriendly as lacking in any of the friendliness we had found everywhere else. The staff seemed cowed, with none of the banter or approachfulness we had been accustomed to. Everything was German (we were the only English speaking guests there), the books in the room were in German and the menu for dinner was in German. The meal arrangements were uncomfortably formal with long waits before courses were served.

Something I have never experienced before in a hotel was being asked to sign a detailed inventory of the things in the room (towels, books, etc) before settling in." See all these reviews: 11n in Namibia; 6n in South Africa

"The plateau, the actual lodge and its facilities and surroundings were lovely but I found the atmosphere there oppressive, controlled, cold and uncomfortable, so much so that I spent most of my second day there at the restcamp in the park down the road.

I was given an itemised sheet of things in my room to check, tick off and sign and have counter-signed as soon as I arrived, which I thought was appauling and insulting. It was a horrible welcome, even more so when you have just driven 6 hours!

The staff wore name tabs with their last names first, which seemed so impersonal but I thought it was clear that many of the staff were slightly fearful, seemed very controlled and unhappy. I would even go so far as to say that the environment was oppressive. It gave me a real sense of what it might be like to live in an apartheid society. It was horrible.

It wasn't that the staff were not good or friendly, just that they seemed to be so controlled and were therefore so submissive and unalive. I hated it. The uniforms felt like bootcamp, prison outfits.

It is such a shame because I could see the care that has gone into creating the physical environment of the lodge and rooms and how hard the owners have worked to do this. The room was lovely, food good (particularly as they catered specifically one night for me in cooking me fish when everyone elde had red meat, which I really appreciated) but I think they strip away all that is good by the atmosphere that has been created there., which I believe does not come from the staff but the owners and managers. Horrible.

Interestingly, the only time I saw one of the owners was when I settled up in reception on leaving, even then I was given no introduction. I knew the lady was the owner because I recognsied her from the brochure. It was so disappointing to have this exp the last two days before returning home. It will not of course taint my overall experience of Namibia but gave me a very uncomfortable eye-opener into how the culture and treatment of blacks and whites clearly can be in this country.

Sadly I would not feel able to recommend that anyone stay in this lodge. I was only at the restcamp/park down the road for some hours but the welcome and ambience there was so different it felt like a breath of fresh air. Such a shame." See all these reviews: 15n in Namibia

"A welcome oasis after the aridity of most of the country . Opportunity for unaccompanied walks welcome.

We would have like two nights here (in exchange for one less at Anderssons) to take advantage of the tours., one of which appeared to involve a visit to local nursery/orphanage.

Again experience was Very Good" See all these reviews: 9n in Namibia

"The lodge was an ideal place for our first two nights of this trip to Namibia and being halfway to Etosha is in easy reach of Windhoek. We particuarly enjoyed the walk onto the plateau" See all these reviews: 19n in Namibia

"It was an easy drive to Waterberg from Ongava, and we arrived at lunchtime, or what we thought might be lunchtime. We asked at reception (which is 2km from the lodge itself) if we could get lunch and they said yes, but when we rolled up at our room at 1.30 we were told the chef was at lunch and no food was available!

The room was very basic, but clean and tidy but frustratingly had cups, tea and coffee but no kettle. This was not a good start after no lunch, and no availability of hot water because, yes, the chef was at lunch.

Afternoon tea (and cake) helped, and we then went out of a sundowner drive which turned into a great experience: We saw more giraffe and antelope, but then came across two White Rhino. We were encouraged out of the van, and walked to within ten yards of these huge animals. When they started to approach us, we slowly moved back to the van and watched them from there - a mere few yards away, and completely lovely! They posed beautifully!

Dinner that night was around one large table and most guests were german; warmth was provided by a nice big log fire. The next morning, after breakfast, we were guided on a four hour walk up to the plateau top, which was great fun, and had amazing views. We ralaxed that afternoon by the (freezing cold) swimming pool, and watched the wonderful, colourful, local birds.

Our second dinner was not great and the food in this lodge was the poorest we had throughout the holiday. The last evening was also spoilt a little by the staff making an early retreat, and leaving us to drink up in the dark (with only an honesty bar and the fire embers to keep us warm). The only time we saw the hosts was when Mr Rust greeted us back from the afternoon drive, and when his wife did the check-out at reception when we left.

A bit of a mixed bag - beautiful location, great activities, okay rooms but poor service generally." See all these reviews: 14n in Namibia