Travel reviews by Mr & Mrs M from Canada

"Since Azura Selous is in a game reserve, the 4x4s are not restricted to staying on the "roads". This was a distinction that wasn't clear to us but we learned fast enough by going to Ruaha National Park after (strictly roads only). This means that you are able to see and go into areas you can't in a National Park. We appreciated this since we were going in February, when the grass is a bit taller and the trees are leafed out.

There is only one other camp in the area of Azura and the only time we saw their vehicle in 4 days was at the air strip. This makes for a very remote experience which we appreciated. The quality of our guide at Azura was very good and the vehicles were comfortable. We liked that our sundowners and breakfasts were set up on tables, with camp chairs.

All of the staff at Azura were wonderful and very welcoming. Everyone, without exception, wanted to ensure that our stay with them was totally enjoyable. The individual "villas" are beautifully appointed and I loved the stone waterfall shower outside, as well as the plunge pool that overlooked the river. Having air conditioning over the bed was very welcoming as it was very hot out and didn't cool down at night.

We enjoyed lazing around in the pool, watching the hippos and waterbucks down at the river, and the lounge area is newly furnished and comfortable. Chandeliers in tents - gorgeous!

The camp held dinner in a different spot every night. One night was a private dinner on our porch, another was down by the river (hurricane lamps surrounding the area with a Masai guard keeping an eye out), and the last one was a group bush dinner. It was really quite magical. They lit up an area in a clearing with hurricane lamps, and set up a buffet and family style table for eating. The service was excellent. An enjoyable side-benefit was that the general manager of the camp was an astronomy enthusiast, so he gave a talk pointing out all the constellations that we could see.

One activity that we really enjoyed was the river safari. We took some fishing rods along and fished on the banks of the river just before sunset. A very memorable experience!

The diversity and number of game in this area was fantastic on our trip. We came across wild dogs a few times, and saw pretty much everything we were hoping for except Leopard and Cheetah. (The grass was too long.) And not a single mosquito in sight!

One area for improvement is the food. It was inconsistent and mostly average. I also felt that the quality of the complimentary wines could be improved. It also seemed that ice was in short supply because it was only put in drinks in small quantities. When questioned, they said that this was indeed something that they were trying to address.

The camp has a lady that provides massages and other spa services. The fees that were associated with these services were quite high in my opinion as they matched North American prices.

If the food was better, I would give this camp a rating of Excellent."

"We were not aware that going to a National Park meant that we had to stick to the dirt roads, with off-roading strictly prohibited, but it all worked out, albeit it was a different experience than Selous.

The staff at Kwihala were very welcoming and did everything possible to ensure we had a great time. One thing I'll always remember is the night when they made a cake for another guest's birthday, and brought it into the dining tent all singing a Swahili birthday song, tapping on cans or bottles with sticks, and 'dancing'. Every night we met before dinner at a campfire for drinks, where we were advised of the dinner courses for the evening, and then led back to the main dining tent. Dinner Kwihala is served family style which is a nice opportunity to get to know people from different countries and hear about their experiences during the day.

The main dining/lounge tent is quite large and very comfortable. There is a washroom tent very close by which is handy. The sleeping tent that we were in didn't have any sort of view from the porch which was a bit of a drag but I don't believe any of the others had a view either. The sleeping tent was very comfortable, although the shower head was a bit low and my husband had to duck to get water on his head. I wasn't expecting turn-down service in a tent, but sure enough...

The quality of the guiding was very good. They have a training program for Junior Guides which is nice to see. The vehicles were also good and seated 6 in 3 rows. The first row, however had very cramped leg room so we always moved to row 2 or 3. I may not have been happy if the vehicle was full and I had to sit in the front row. Breakfast on the road and sundowners were always standing up as they didn't bring camp chairs along. I think an option for this would have been appreciated.

There was a large number of elephants and baboons when we visited in February. This was in contrast to the Selous area. It was very nice being able to sit and watch how social these groups are - especially since there were many babies. We saw two or three elephants that were only 1 - 2 weeks old! We also saw 3 different prides of lions - all with young ones. Again, the roles each of the lions play in their interactions within the pride was very interesting to observe. As it was green season, and viewing was more difficult, the guide needed to be well versed in the birds and fauna. He made sure to pass on all his knowledge - which was quite deep.

The food at Kwihala was a bit hit or miss. This is the one area that I think they could concentrate a bit more on. The quality of the ingredients was good - just somehow not put together quite tastefully all the time. We are both vegetarian (but eat fish) and this may have been the challenge. One thing they do get right is the wine! The complimentary red and white wines were very palatable. After telling the staff how we like our gin and tonics made the first night, they went out of their way to replicate them afterwards. All these little things add up to a wonderful experience.

The camp was offering guided walks and night drives for an extra fee. We chose not to go on the night drive simply because of the fullness of the vegetation and the inability to see anything not right in the headlights, but we would certainly do it in the dry season.

Overall, I would very much recommend staying at Kwihala. Sandy - the camp manager - is very helpful and oversees all the details."

"The bungalows are wonderful - each with a porch overlooking one of the pools and the ocean. The area had a nice strong breeze every day, which made for good kite surfing. While we don't kite surf, it was really entertaining watching them all. Since there are only 8 bungalows, it made for a relaxing stay.

We didn't really enjoy the food at the hotel, but there was lots of options a short walk down the beach. The hotel food seemed to be priced similarly to other restaurants down the beach. The hotel seemed to run out of liquor quite regularly. One day it was gin, another day it was red wine, and don't order a margarita! They were horrible. They had two kinds of white wine - both not worth drinking. The red wine that I tried also wasn't good so we stuck to Serengheti beer.

The beds had mosquito nets around them, they sprayed the rooms every night (didn't smell the spray at all), but we didn't see a single mosquito inside, outside or at other locations down the beach. We really appreciated having the pools at Ocean Blue as the tide is sometimes way out, and at other times there is a lot of seaweed. This seems to come and go and is a fact of nature.

We were very happy overall with our stay at Ocean Blue and would return."

"All of the staff were very welcoming and accommodating. The tree house accommodation was decorated in an aesthetic that fit in well with the eco-nature theme of the whole place. That said, I'm not keen on very luke-warm water showers first thing in the morning and the beds were a bit firm. Two nights was enough.

The snorkeling really was excellent and the reason we went there and stayed two nights. It was the most coral that I've seen, although I haven't been to Australia.

The food and wine really was very good! The first course was served at the table, but all the hot foods were on a buffet and there was lots of selection. They could improve on the chairs at the dining tables - they all sloped forwards. It's a little thing but it interfered with our enjoyment of meals."

"While the hallways aren't air conditioned, our room was and it was absolutely necessary in February! The room was very large and there was a rainshower in the bathroom. The lounge/breakfast area on the roof top has a nice breeze and is a nice area to relax in. Also - best coffee in Tanzania!!

There is no elevator in the Coffee House, so if you're totally out of shape, this may not be the place to stay. A member of the staff will carry your bags to and from the room, however.

There is a small honour fridge on one of the floors which is convenient for when you don't want to go out for a drink.

The narrow streets outside the hotel and where all the small shops are were kept quite clean."