Travel reviews by Mr T & Mrs G from UK

"We were picked up promptly at Livingstone airport and the driver gave us a good introduction to Zambia on our drive to the hotel. We were greeted by a quartet of lads in costume singing and dancing to new arrivals. This gave a great atmosphere to start with! We enjoyed watching the zebras and impala roaming the grounds in amongst the iron work animal statues dotted around the grounds.

Our rooms were clean and very well decorated. Good facilities. During our single day/night, stay, the electric power frequently went off but was indicative of the whole area - not just the hotel - but quickly restored.

Breakfast was good with a wide choice and good friendly service.

The pool was cleaned each morning and checked regularly during the day as leaves etc kept floating into the water. There were frequent checks."

"What a fantastic stay at the Ichingo Chobe Lodge!! Absolutely everything - the accommodation, service, food, safaris, guides, staff, ambience, fishing - was second to none! Excellent quality. We were so impressed with the local people working there.

We were here 14 years ago and experienced the same all round fantastic service. We were thrilled to meet up with Ernest again, who had been our guide and is now the driving force behind the whole Lodge experience. It seems that after Ralph died and the family have left, Ernest has led the new team exceptionally well.

It seems that during this interim period, a new company has taken over and the new people are learning how The Lodge is run. There was a man and wife, whose presence was not in much evidence. The man ( sorry, I can't remember his name), we only met once and his wife we saw sat up at the bar to greet back the South African group of fishermen each evening. She - to be honest - seemed to have little interest in us! Other than that, they had a low profile.

As we left, we were singing the praises of Ernest and Bev appeared and agreed how much she relied on him. Our BIG concern is that even if the local people continue to be employed at Ichingo, if it is taken over by a 'Corporate', then the whole ethos will change. Not just for the island, but the Lodge visitors too. The 'family' feel is something that cannot be replaced.

We, yet again, had a truly fantastic stay and wonderful memories to bring home with us. Let's hope it doesn't change."

"Please see the review of our first 3 nights at Zambezi Sun - now taken over by a new company and called Avani Resort."