Travel reviews by Ms H & Mr F from Chicago

"My husband and I were part of a group of 8 friends who stayed at Old Drift for three nights. It was everyone's first trip to Zimbabwe.

Old Drift is in a superb location a short drive (maybe 30 min) from Victoria Falls airport, and a short distance away from the falls, but it feels very quiet and serene. The rooms are very luxe and comfortable (loved the outdoor shower!) and each room has a private plunge pool and large deck overlooking the Zambezi river. The rooms have heat and A/C, which was great, since the temperatures could vary quite a bit during the course of a day.

Our guide was Fanuel, and he was a fantastic guide and fantastic person. Upon arrival, we went on a late afternoon river boat cruise and saw quite a bit of hippos and crocs (and we drank a lot of alcohol and ate a bunch of snacks!). He took us on several game drives, to Victoria Falls and lunch at the Lookout Cafe. All of those are included in the cost of the booking. As an optional activity, we went to the Wild Horizons elephant sanctuary and had the most amazing interactions with the gentle giants.

The food was so delicious - every single meal. And the staff was top-notch and made us feel special. I'd highly recommend staying at Old Drift for anyone who goes to Zimbabwe to see Victoria Falls!"

"My husband and I were part of a group of 8 friends who stayed at Linkwasha for three nights. Within minutes of arriving there, a menagerie of animals crossed in front of our rooms - wildebeest, zebras, baboons, etc.!

The camp is in a perfect location on a private concession within Hwange National Park. Since it is on a private concession, there are almost no other vehicles to compete with for viewings, walking safaris are offered, and there is more flexibility in general than not being in a private concession. There is a waterhole in front of camp, where many many animals come to drink during the day, and a hide with drinks (and a bed!) where members of our group sat for over 2 hours looking at the animals up close.

Our guides were Frank and Tongo, and they were among the best guides that my husband and I had the pleasure of knowing in our 8 or 9 trips to Africa. And the animals! We saw hyenas, 28 lions in a single day, my first sightings of cheetah and painted wolves (aka wild dogs) and so much more. Our group went on a walking safari, and saw giraffes, zebra and got within 5-6 meters of an elephant. It was truly amazing and an experience I will always remember. We would end the afternoon game drives with cocktails and excited talk about our day sitting around a fire pit.

The rooms are tents, but they are luxurious and HUGE. One couple said the tent is larger than their condo unit! You can control heat and A/C in the rooms, which was great since the temperatures could fluctuate 25-30 degrees in the span of a day.

All meals were so delicious. And every single member of the staff was so kind and attentive. In addition to our our guides, Frank and Tongo, special shout-outs to Avias, Obie and Nozile.

I actually cried a lot when it was time to leave because I wanted stay longer!"

"My husband and I were part of a group of 8 friends who stayed at The Last Word. It was my husband's and my second stay there. It is a luxurious boutique hotel in a very central location in Franschhoek, yet it is very quiet. Almost everything is within walking distance.

The rooms are large and luxurious. Some have heated bathroom floors. Our room was a little smaller than our friends' rooms, but we had our own outdoor seating area. The hotel also has a large common area upon entering the hotel, and an honor bar with a wide variety of wine, beer, spirits and juice and water, for those who want to be a little healthier! There are also areas to sunbathe, sit with friends and chat with other guests on their second level. My husband and I woke up too late to enjoy breakfast each day, but our friends all commented on how good it was.

With your room comes access to a well-equipped gym a two minute walk away, so I took full advantage of that one day to try and burn off 500 of the 1 million calories I had previously consumed on the trip!

The manager we primarily interacted with during our stay was Franklin, and I dare anyone to find a kinder and more gentle man. Our entire group loved him.

I would highly recommend anyone staying in Franschhoek to stay at The Last Word!"

"This was my husband's and my third trip to Ulusaba Safari Lodge, and there's good reason that we keep coming back and have not considered staying anywhere else in Sabi Sands. This place is pure luxury, and the guides, trackers (shout-out to James and Orange!) and staff are top-notch. We were part of a group of 8 from Chicago.

We stayed in the Treehouse Suite this time, which overlooks a big hippo pond/watering hole. Within 5 minutes of arriving in our room, we saw two rhino drinking at the pond right outside our room. On another day, we sat on our room's deck overlooking the pond, and within the span of an hour, saw elephants swimming and playing, buffalo, crocs, sunbathing hippos and more. I believe we had seen all of the Big 5 on our first full day there. We also did a walking safari and learned a lot of interesting things about smaller animals and plants.

Several of us got the best massages from Tabs and Gugu, and even worked out in Ulusaba's gym. The food and drinks were fantastic, and I believe we were fed 7 times a day, so packing stretchy pants is definitely a must!

We will be back!"

"Hotel was nice & room was comfortable - they left nice little touches in the room like port & chocolate.

Staff was also very nice & breakfast was delicious.

We had dinner in the hotel restaurant & food was decent but we weren't overly excited about it."

"I had a huge smile on my face hours after arriving here. It's such a gorgeous property with gorgeous views.

The rooms are amazing & we esp loved the skylight above the bed where we could see the stars overhead.

We stayed 3 nights & did the Bike Daddy hike, rode ATVs & hike to the caves to see 700 year old bushman drawings. Also loved the observatory where we saw planets & star clusters. Guide Obbie, butler Hilma, managers Clinton & Sarah & everyone else made our stay special."

"Great location next to the beach & boardwalk & super short walk from the city center.

Rooms were nice & comfortable & I liked working out in the gym. We ate at two of their restaurants & food was a little better than average.

One minor complaint that is probably specific to our room was that there was a bad smell coming from the bathroom (maybe from the pipes)? We were too lazy to change rooms & we couldn't smell in when we shut the door to the toilet, so wasn't a huge deal to us."

"The views from the lodge are breathtaking. This is a no-frills lodge but we knew that when we booked so weren't expecting a luxury experience.

The rooms were clean, staff pleasant & food was good. We stayed for two nights & did the cultural tour, which we highly enjoyed - the highlight was a group of talented students singing & dancing for us. If you go, I recommend bringing school supplies to donate."

"We stayed 2 nights here. Upon check-in, when we had been at the lodge for 5 minutes, we saw 3 elephants & zebra at the waterhole in front of the lodge.

Nothing was too much trouble for the staff & service was impeccable. Our room was pretty far from the waterhole, so they immediately switched us to the one closest to the waterhole.

There were only 1 or 2 other parties the day we checked in, so we inquired on whether we could have a jeep to ourselves for the first game drive & they asked if we wanted our own jeep, the next day as well, even though the camp was full the next day.

I fully expected to be charged extra, but they didn't, so we made sure to tip our guide Michael as if he had a full jeep both days. And Michael was amazing! We saw lions eating a giraffe within 10 minutes on our first drive & got to approach 3 rhinos on foot, maybe w/in 10 meters or so. Plus so many other sightings! The tent was very comfortable & we had a lovely time at Ongava."

"The accommodations here were uber-luxe. And the food was so so delicious - probably the best of our entire Namibia trip!

The game viewing was good, perhaps not as good as at Ongava, but one can't predict where the animals will be on any given day & our guide & jeep-mates were so fun that it didn't even matter!

We did see a lot of lions, which was amazing!"

"My husband & I rented the villa, which can fit up to ten guests. It was just the two of us & at first, we felt a little ridiculous having our own chef & guide & the big place to ourselves, but we quickly got over it! :)

Our guide Richard, his lovely wife Zanelle was our hostess & chef Christopher made our stay so special! I am still craving Christopher's amazing & gigantic omelettes! We got to approach a cheetah on foot & saw several leopards, including one stalking a warthog (the warthog got away).

The accommodations are amazing - we loved sitting around the fire pit with drinks & snacks each night after the p.m. game drives, then siting around the fireplace in the room after dinner or outside overlooking the waterhole. The visit to the AfriCat Foundation was also very educational, to see the great work they do for the cats.

We only spent two nights here & my only wish is that we could've stayed longer."

"Loved the heated bathroom floors & welcome champagne in room & wine upon check-in! Also can't beat a hotel with an open bar & hot breakfast! Conveniently located right in the center of town & walkable to everything & service was excellent."

"Everything was casually luxurious. Rooms were so comfortable - can control the temps & oh, the electric blanket was a nice surprise! Guides/trackers were amazing. Food was top-notch. Also made good use of the gym in between the a.m. & p.m. game drives!"

"Hotel is right across the street from the airport international terminal. Very comfortable stopover between safari & the beaches of Malawi. Room service was excellent & hotel has a really large, modern gym."

"This is our second trip to Kaya Mawa in two years, we love it that much. Every meal was amazing & so were the massages. It was so nice to see Michelle, Martin, Harold & MacDonald again! We stayed in the Nkhwazi room for the second time - has its own pool, tons of outdoor space & views of Mozambique. And the lodge now has an adorable dog! We will be back!"

"After about 32 hours of travel from the US, we were met by a Waterberry Zambezi Lodge rep at the airport. We loved that the lodge is away from Livingstone.

Our room was very comfortable & the staff was wonderful. They surprised my husband with a belated birthday cake since this was his 40th birthday trip!

We also loved the sunset river boat cruise & of course, the tour of Victoria Falls!"

"We got to Luwi after sunset, so we only got to have one full day there. However, we loved that day!

We'd never done a walking safari before & we didn't see any of the Big 5 on our walks, but that was OK. We saw lots of plants, smaller animals & just enjoyed being out in the wild. We did hear lions roaring nearby on both nights - that was super exciting! Rooms were rustic, yet super comfortable & we loved the open-air bathrooms & showers (plenty of hot water).

Manager Frank & guide Brian obviously have a great relationship & they are so hilarious to swap stories with during meals & during happy hour. Staying at Luwi was an awesome way to start our adventures in South Luangwa!"

"We spent 2 nights at Nsolo. Actually, one of them was the sleep out in a dry river bed, which I highly recommend. Falling asleep while looking at the stars & the galaxy & hearing lions, leopards & hyenas in the vicinity was an unparalleled experience. The braai we had during the sleep out was amazing.

On our walking safaris, on one day, we came over a hill & there was a giant herd of buffalo. When we returned to camp & came up another hill, there was a herd of elephants we had to slowly go around. Wow!!!

Nsolo's manager, Kolo, is such a fun person & I thoroughly enjoyed our conversations. Phil is a superb guide & Bottle was an excellent ranger."

"We chose to do all drives at Mchenja & had an amazing animal viewing experience! In one day, we saw 9 leopards & 11 lions - we even tracked a pride of about 5 lions on foot at one point. Once, when we set out on our afternoon drive, there was a leopard literally right outside the camp!

Mchenja overlooks a watering hole, so there were always animals around - lots of loud hippos, elephants, baboons, crocs & even a leopard. There always seemed to be elephants around camp, including one who popped by our room on several occasions & was lurking around at dinner!

Manager Amy is a sweetheart & John was the perfect guide - I seriously don't know how he could spot animals like he did & he has an awesome personality as well. Mchenja surprised us with a private champagne dinner set up outside our room. They got all the small details & touches just right."

"There are not enough superlatives to describe how relaxing, perfect, special & magical Kaya Mawa is. My husband & I stayed in the Nhkwazi premium room, which sits on a hill overlooking the lake. The room is massive & has a ton of outdoor seating spots (which is perfect, as we love to sit outside for hours reading, chatting, drinking & enjoying the views) & a private plunge pool. Also loved the outdoor shower w/ a view of the lake! It was so awesome being lulled to sleep by the cool breeze & sounds of water lapping at the rocks right below us.

Kaya Mawa offers a ton of activities (all non-motorized water activities like snorkeling, paddleboarding & kayaking are complimentary). We were mostly lazy & just laid out on the beach & swam, but did a quad bike tour (super fun!) around the island one afternoon, got massages & visited the Katundu workshop on another afternoon. The workshop is staffed primarily by single mothers & their products are great! http://www.katundu.net/workshop.html Kaya Mawa has many of their products in the rooms & common areas of the lodge & we purchased several of their gorgeous items. We also got fabulous massages on our last full day. Despite it being winter in Malawi, it could get pretty warm during the day (I would guess about 80+ F degrees) & the water is so clear & so refreshing to swim in. On the day we left, I went for a 7a.m. swim & was joined by a family of otters!!!

The food was out-of-this-world amazing. Not one meal was even just average – everything was crazy delicious!!! The food is also very fresh & healthy – lots of fruits & vegetables w/ every meal. Ahhhh-mazing!!!

The people who work there are of the highest caliber. They really went above & beyond to make our too-brief stay there extra memorable & special. They arranged a surprise private Swahili dinner on the beach one night as well as private sundowners on a jetty. They also get the little details just right."