Travel reviews by Ms P & Mr C from London
Review Distribution
Total number of trips
1
Countries visited
1
Lodges stayed in
2
Excursions taken
0
Trip to Kenya
Kenya between 10 Aug 2013 and 18 Aug 2013
"As this form does not have a section for our road transfers I would just like to mention them here. They absolutely made our trip the experience it was, namely thanks to our two drivers Shem (Nairobi) and Albert (Tsavo) who were punctual, friendly, extremely knowledgeable and expert, and did everything they could to make sure we had the best experience. Albert, for example, picked us up an hour early for one game drive in Tsavo because he had heard there were some lions we might see, giving us a full extra hour's drive - and we did see the lions!
On our way back from Tsavo, Tom and I wanted to spend some time in Mombasa which the bus driver was happy to facilitate, dropping us near Fort Jesus and giving directions then taking our luggage back to the hotel for us. We then took a taxi back to Diani later in the afternoon.
Franklin who was based at Pinewood told us about the bicycle trip to Kaya Kinondo mentioned earlier and booked it for us, and it ended up being one of the highlights of the trip. He also offered various other trips I am sure we would have done if we had been there longer. I wasn't sure about attending his 'briefing' meeting when they first asked us because I couldn't see the point, and only went because it mentioned needing to confirm our flights, but I would recommend other guests do pop down because of the trips he can arrange.
Overall, we had a wonderful time thanks to our drivers as well as the staff at both Pinewood and Satao. Also thanks to our taxi driver who took us back to Diani from whom we learned an enormous amount about Kenyan life, politics and culture!
But above all thanks to Richard and Expert Africa who created the perfect trip at relatively short notice and with a minimal amount of time needed to 'brief' him on our requirements. We have never used travel agents before, but being a bit further from our normal travelling comfort zone wanted to be sure we booked places that would be clean and well run, and that our payments and bookings were secure. I would recommend Expert Africa to anyone travelling to Africa (and in fact have now noticed that your brochure is on many of our friends' bookcases already!) and not hesitate to use you again for any African trip. Richard seemed to instinctively understand what we were looking for and our requirements, and we were very pleased with the final cost of the package - I think it was probably cheaper than if we had made the individual arrangements ourselves and whilst we may have found the locations ourselves through the Rough Guide we wouldn't have had the benefit of our drivers and all the timings/logistics working so well.
In the circumstances of the fire at Nairobi airport it was a huge comfort to know that not only where you watching the situation and keeping me informed, but also that had my travel been affected you would have made the necessary arrangements to rearrange bookings etc, and at a stressful time this was the kind of reassurance that money can't buy.
Thank you again"
On our way back from Tsavo, Tom and I wanted to spend some time in Mombasa which the bus driver was happy to facilitate, dropping us near Fort Jesus and giving directions then taking our luggage back to the hotel for us. We then took a taxi back to Diani later in the afternoon.
Franklin who was based at Pinewood told us about the bicycle trip to Kaya Kinondo mentioned earlier and booked it for us, and it ended up being one of the highlights of the trip. He also offered various other trips I am sure we would have done if we had been there longer. I wasn't sure about attending his 'briefing' meeting when they first asked us because I couldn't see the point, and only went because it mentioned needing to confirm our flights, but I would recommend other guests do pop down because of the trips he can arrange.
Overall, we had a wonderful time thanks to our drivers as well as the staff at both Pinewood and Satao. Also thanks to our taxi driver who took us back to Diani from whom we learned an enormous amount about Kenyan life, politics and culture!
But above all thanks to Richard and Expert Africa who created the perfect trip at relatively short notice and with a minimal amount of time needed to 'brief' him on our requirements. We have never used travel agents before, but being a bit further from our normal travelling comfort zone wanted to be sure we booked places that would be clean and well run, and that our payments and bookings were secure. I would recommend Expert Africa to anyone travelling to Africa (and in fact have now noticed that your brochure is on many of our friends' bookcases already!) and not hesitate to use you again for any African trip. Richard seemed to instinctively understand what we were looking for and our requirements, and we were very pleased with the final cost of the package - I think it was probably cheaper than if we had made the individual arrangements ourselves and whilst we may have found the locations ourselves through the Rough Guide we wouldn't have had the benefit of our drivers and all the timings/logistics working so well.
In the circumstances of the fire at Nairobi airport it was a huge comfort to know that not only where you watching the situation and keeping me informed, but also that had my travel been affected you would have made the necessary arrangements to rearrange bookings etc, and at a stressful time this was the kind of reassurance that money can't buy.
Thank you again"
Arranged By Richard Trillo
Pinewood Beach Resort
"Relaxing and luxurious in a stunning location"
2 nights
Arrived
11 Aug 2013
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location
Excellent
Service
Excellent
Facilities
Excellent
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Good
Satao Camp
"A unique experience"
2 nights
Arrived
13 Aug 2013
"Needless to say the location of Satao by the watering hole is breathtaking, and we found it extremely relaxing to be somewhere so peaceful.
The quality of the accommodation was fantastic, we felt extremely secure in the tent and the bathroom and other facilities were exceptional. I would have preferred to have had a mosquito net over the bed, but there were nets over the windows and door and we were supplied with room spray.
The food was especially excellent, and again the staff extremely friendly. It is a meticulously well thought-through experience at Satao, and we felt completely safe there and had huge confidence in everyone. Incredibly they also had free Wifi access!"
The quality of the accommodation was fantastic, we felt extremely secure in the tent and the bathroom and other facilities were exceptional. I would have preferred to have had a mosquito net over the bed, but there were nets over the windows and door and we were supplied with room spray.
The food was especially excellent, and again the staff extremely friendly. It is a meticulously well thought-through experience at Satao, and we felt completely safe there and had huge confidence in everyone. Incredibly they also had free Wifi access!"
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location
Excellent
Service
Excellent
Facilities
Good
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Excellent
We particularly wanted to feedback on the excellent staff who were friendly and helpful without being overbearing. We had relatively complicated arrangements at Pinewood because we were coming and going, and they were hugely helpful with things like packed breakfast for the early start, looking after luggage while we were on safari, and letting us keep our room after we had checked out until our late afternoon departure.
The food was also great, particularly the evening down on the beach for the BBQ and the swahili food evening.
The beach at Pinewood is obviously fantastic and we were able to take walks without being too deterred by the beach boys along the way! Obviously the Diani 'strip' offers a huge number of hotels, and we felt we were in an excellent choice. It is quite far down the beach road, and is on the rockier part where there isn't a tarmacked road, but we didn't have any trouble getting transport up and down, and it felt a bit more out of the way as a result of being further from some of the bigger resort complexes.
We did a fantastic bicycle tour booked through Franklin at the Pinewood and organised by Diani Bicycles down to Kaya Kinondo then around the village/banana and mango trees, which was one of the highlights of the holiday and an absolute bargain for 35 euros for a half day. Pinewood is in a great location to visit Kaya Kinondo which would probably be walkable from the resort and we recommend to any visitor."