Travel reviews by Mr W from Richmond

"We had an incredible five days at Selous Impala at the end of June. The camp combines luxury living with great customer service and of course amazing guiding. We were met at the airstrip by our guide Ezra and driver Rajabu and given cold flannels, drinks and snacks – that level of attention continued throughout the trip. The tents are gorgeous, with comfortable beds and great views. We had good wholesome food serviced by the same attentive waiter every day.

Of course the wildlife was great. We saw giraffes just wandering next to our tent. Game drives with lions, elephants, zebra and more giraffes and boat trips with crocodiles and hippos watching as we cruised along.

But it is the little touches that make the camp so special, sundowner drinks on the first night, a birthday cake and “Happy Birthday” being sung in Swahili by the waiters and Andre, the assistant manager, lending me clothes as mine were stuck in Nairobi!"

"The only time we felt properly alone in the bush was at the fly camp. Of course there was an armed ranger nearby and several other members of staff, but sitting in the tent, looking out over the lake, we could have been completely alone. In the middle of the night all you could hear was the wild life, we lay there wondering just how close the hippos were.

The fly camp was a complete change from Selous Impala Camp. A small, basic but comfortable tent, a pit toilet and camp shower, but still the same level of attention to detail and of course great guiding.

The only down side was that our guide, rather strangely, joined us for the “romantic lakeside dinner” – making it slightly less romantic..."

"As above."

"We spent three nights at Pongwe Beach after a safari and it was the perfect place to relax and chill. The beach is beautiful and well maintained and the bedrooms very spacious and comfortable. The timing was just right – any longer and we’d have wanted more options for eating and activities – but for a couple of days it was great.

The food was good, but you were meant to decide on dinner choices straight after breakfast – I guess this reduces waste, but it felt a bit unnecessary. The service was very friendly, but variable at times, some long waits and once main course arriving before we’d finished the starters."

"We have very mixed feelings about Jafferji House. We were upgraded to the Karma Sutra Suite – which was beautiful. The suite was spread over two floors and with an outside bathroom! We poked our noses in a couple of other rooms which also looked lovely.

However the service was erratic and left something to be desired. Too often we had to ask for water, tea and coffee and loo roll for the room. Breakfast had the same menu every day; it was serviced at a snail's pace in a dining room that lacked atmosphere. Unfortunately some of the reception staff had poor English (surely a basic requirement) and so sorting out logistics was difficult. On the final day we had an early start and had been promised a take away breakfast – this didn't materialise.

Having said all that we did enjoy ourselves, the staff were very friendly and the hotel is in a great location – it just needs some attention to the detail of the service and it would be great."