Travel reviews by Family from London

"We were very happy here - we had incredible sights of wildlife, including spectacular wildebiest River Mara crossings . Due to the mobile character, we were very close to all animals, they were only short drives away from camp, whereas visitors from other camps/lodges were driving full days. We had an early drive (including picnic breakfast) of approx. 5 hours, then a long lunch break and another shorter drive in the early evenings of approx. 2 hours.

Very knowledgable, professional, friendly and competent guide who was the reasons that Serengeti was one of our highlights; very friendly and professional staff at the camp."

"Camp
After the splendour of Nomad, this Camp was a bit of a disappointment in various aspects. We were the only guests. That was indeed special and we enjoyed family time together. We had a group of zebras walk through the camp at night.

The camp was on top of the crater, but unfortunately had no views. There was a nice lounge tent with comfortable chairs and gas heaters. Our tent, furniture and bathroom fittings were well aged, stained, damp and at places torn. To fight the cold we had open gas heaters inside the tents with which we did not feel very safe.
Staff was very helpful in providing us with extra blankets and were keen to make our stay nice.

As we were already within the gate to the crater, we were the first car down in the morning and had the amazing scenery to ourselves. We very much enjoyed the first two hours of our early morning drive as the crater was very quiet and only a few cars were driving around. Besides others, we saw a male lion very close and a rhino from far away.

As we had our own driver we did not experience any activities run by the camp itself."

"It was such a relief to arrive in Rivertrees. Spacious rooms, warm running water, very attentive staff. Despite the fact that the pool was closed due to renovation, we enjoyed a quiet afternoon under the trees by the river.

The massage was OK but the towels and sheets used clearly not fresh."

"This was the favourite of our trip. We were welcomed by our guide at the end of the airstrip and enjoyed the 60 minute trip on board of their beautifully restored boat during which we were given some first facts and insights about life, fauna and flora of lake Tanganijka.

Situated at a stunning location, the lodge has 8 luxurious tents at the moment - but we were the only guests. We very much liked their elevated lounge/dining area with a selection of good books, comfortable sofas and a constant breeze from the lake. We equally enjoyed their inviting sun beds under newly thatched huge parasols on the beach; unfortunately, we could not snorkel or swim as a crocodile was in the area.

We enjoyed many hikes to (and with) the chimps and had the most surprising and memorable situations with wildlife here. Accompanied by a superbly knowledgable and funny local guide we learnt much about the chimps, but also about vegetation and fish. The management was extremely friendly and nice and we shared many meals and bonfire nights with them. They were very flexible with the activities they offered and were incredibly accommodating. We learnt much about the area and beyond and had a truly remarkable stay. All their staff was local and very kind, helpful and truly professional."

"Very modern and well equipped and staffed city hotel in a vivid location. Amazing breakfast."

"We came here to dive and relax and that is what we did and enjoyed. The lodge is well looked after, elevated above the beach to guarantee a constant breeze and the pool is welcoming.

After the raving reviews we had read prior to our stay we had expected a bit more luxury; to us, the beds were very small and uncomfortable and we experienced the dining room chairs equally uncomfortable. As the lodges philosophy is to only source everything from Mafia, the furniture was of a very simple style not perfectly suitable for our aged bodies.

The staff was very friendly, well trained and with good attitudes, no wish remained unfulfilled. The quality of the food was mixed - we had days of outstanding quality and meals we did not enjoy at all. We did raise this at PolePole and the management is well aware of this as other guests have given similar feedback.

We would recommend to explain to future guests that swimming from the lodges beach is impossible due to tidal currents and corals at most times. Smells are strong at low tides. The diving and snorkelling was superb, as was the PADI base a short walk away."