Travel reviews by Mr & Mrs C from Romsey

"Vineyard hotel was ideally located for getting out of Cape Town to go to other places. The rooms were nice and large and the pool was lovely. The gardens were well kept and it was nice to see tortoises and different birds roaming around. The breakfast was lovely, and we would highly recommend the eggs benedict. However, we did have trouble eating in the restaurants in the evening - we had tried to book to eat in the bar for evening we arrived but were told we could not book, then we tried to eat there that evening but there were no tables due to a conference having been on during the day. We ate in their main restaurant on that first night and the bar the next, but we were not impressed with either food. Overpriced and got our orders wrong, the food was then not brilliant either. The pool food was good however and so were the milkshakes. Would stay here again but would book to eat out every night."

"Schoone Oordt is a lovely country house that has been beautifully and sympathetically restored. We had a very nice warm welcome with afternoon tea ready for us. The scones were lovely! The rooms were very nice, with lovely bathrooms and toiletries. It was nice to have complimentary water and hot chocolate sachets as well as a selection of different teas. The little note we got on the bed each evening was lovely. However, we did find the mattress hard and hence uncomfortable, but this is personal preference! We also had birds constantly rustling and moving around in the ceiling which kept us awake/woke us up, but we informed the owners when we left and I do believe they will sort this. The weather was not brilliant for our time in swellendam and we struggled for things to do, the pool was cold and swellendam didn’t have loads to offer. We had a brilliant meal at Drostdys and would highly recommend this restuarant. The food at swellendam was ok, the breakfasts were at times a bit out of the ordinary and not exactly what we wanted at that time in the morning. The staff were lovely and very friendly."

"Periwinkle was a lovely place to stay. It had fantastic views both from the lounge / breakfast room and the bedrooms. The complimentary water and the hot chocolate sachets as well as tea and coffee in the rooms were lovely. The rooms were nice and large, however there were a few little things wrong with each room such as tissues having not been replaced, broken towel rail and the floors were not clean. However the management staff were friendly and helpful and it was lovely to get some little Easter eggs from them on Easter Sunday. The massage I had in house was very nice. The breakfast was very nice, lovely selection of food both hot and cold. The pool was also nice and clean and had great views. Periwinkle was in a great location. We had a fantastic time in Plettenberg and Perinwinkle was a good place to stay for this. Despite us feeling the floors in the rooms could have been a bit cleaner we would happily stay here again!"

"Kwandwe Ecca lodge was fantastic. The welcome staff were very friendly and informative of how it would all work. The rooms were lovely and large and very clean. The beds were very comfortable and the showers were amazing! The all inclusive drinks included a nice selection. Kwandwe had a very good and organised set up in terms of meal times and game drives. The safari game drives were fantastic. We had two a day and we managed to see lots of animals - too many to list here! Our guide was excellent, we have been on safari before in Nambia and we learnt more than we ever did on any other safari, with our guide Ivan at Ecca. The special and surprise evening of candles in the room, with champagne and an outdoor meal was fantastic and a great night to end our holiday on."

"Great place to recuperate from the flight. Luxury room was spacious - and the hot water bottles they made at night were a nice surprise.

Had a lovely meal at Joes Beerhouse which was near - tried all different kind of game and crocodile! They were happy to book a taxi for us. The best breakfast we had in the whole holiday was at Olive Grove.

Didn't appear to be much parking but wasn't a problem for us as we seemed to be the only car there. The pool also didn't seem too appealing."

"An excellent friendly lodge in a great location. The manager, Petronella, was very helpful and welcoming.

The dunes activity is well worth booking onto - the guide, Mathew, was very informative, and the landscape is incredible. He even managed to spot a young spotted eagle owl from quite some distance which enabled us to go right underneath it and look at it. This activity also includes a lovely lunch back at the lodge - you cannot fault any of the food at this lodge. The frittas and soups were amazing, along with the warm breads.

The morning we were leaving we went on the hot air balloon (the lodge will book this if you ask them). Well worth doing, and hence well worth staying two nights so you can fit both the dunes and the hot air balloon in. Only small niggle we would say is that the rooms are a little dark even when the lights are on so its hard to see things. However again hot water bottles were very welcome and the lovely honeymoon surprise."

"Sam was very willing to help and offer advice, which we found useful. Especially on how much we should be tipping the people looking after our car - about 6 namibian dollars, maybe a bit more if at night. His dog is also very friendly.

The garden looked lovely although we only walked through it once. Unfortunately the room could do with updating. We would have appreciated two glasses/cups in the room, and also a label or some information informing us what product it was in the shower (shampoo/shower gel). In shutting the curtains on the day we arrived the pole fell down and hit me as there was no stopper on the end of it. We also had the end room which did not get wifi signal - but then you are on holiday and who needs the internet! However this was meant to be the honeymoon/kingsize room and it did not feel like one.

However, Sam was very willing to do us breakfast early which I understand not all the B&Bs will. Breakfast was ok. It did however enable us to get to Jeanne Pelican Point Kayaking on time.

The kayaking was absolutely amazing. There were so many seals - it is hard to describe how many there are and what it is like without doing it. But as keen kayakers it was nice to get so close to nature. We managed to touch the seals and play with them with the paddles, and they loved us paddling fast and sideways. Something we won't forget! The buns Jeanne provided where great too, and so was the knowledge she passed on about the birds etc on the drive to and from the kayaking point.

We also did Quad Biking with dare devil adventures. My husband enjoyed this, and it was nice to get right into the dunes and to see them. However, I have previously (not here may I add) suffered a quad biking accident and when I got stuck because I wasn't going fast enough up a dune at the start, the instructor got annoyed with me or got annoyed with the fact he had to come back. We felt the instructors needed to show a bit more compassion - and reminding us to tip them at the end, not something we liked... However he did do a good thing with the black sand and magnet, which made a good photo, and it was nice to get into the dunes. But by the end of 30 minutes my husband felt we were just driving around to fill the time."

"Wow...what a welcome! It was a nice surprise to be welcomed by a lovely Doro Nawas song - and even for some of the kitchen staff to come out and sing it as well.

We enjoyed the evening meal out in the bush, which we believe they do 3 times a week. No mean feat for the kitchen staff and waiters! We were given hot water bottles to keep us warm, and the food was delicious - especially the soup. All the food was once again very nice, although breakfast on the first morning was a bit haphazard but I think it was due to so many of us being up early for tours. However, the cooked breakfast and cold selection was good once it had all come out. Breakfast on the second day when we had it later was more organised and tasted excellent.

The tour we booked onto to see the desert adapted elephants was very good. It was just the two of us and we got within meters of a family of 4 elephants where we stayed for about 2 hours watching them.

The room was very nice - spacious and light, and the honeymoon surprise was lovely. The bathroom was lovely too, unfortunately it was a bit windy in the afternoons for us to try the outdoor shower. The lodge itself was also very attractive and they made it look lovely at night with a fire and lanterns. The pool didn't look very inviting and we didn't see anyone in it.

On leaving we got another lovely song - it made me feel sad to leave this lodge. Again their English is excellent but also their willingness to show us their Damara Language brings special warmth to this lodge.

Before arriving at the lodge we did the rock engravings and burnt mountain. The rock engravings were good, and some imagination is needed. Although I get the impression different guides give different stories. Burnt mountain for us was not spectacular but maybe we went at the wrong time of day. We also visited the petrified forest after leaving Doro Nawas - my husband especially enjoyed learning how the trees have become fossilized, and they have a nice little craft shop there."

"Check-in was long and tedious with unfriendly staff, and then couldn't check-in till 2.30 (although we are pretty sure the keys were there waiting for us on the hook).

Room was ok, but shower was not good at all. It clearly needed the head cleaning so more water could come out or a new shower head.

Pool looked good, although we didn't use it there was lots of people that were. They also have a tower you can climb to the top off to see of the Etosha plains which was nice.

The dinner was also overpriced compared to where we had eaten previously and not very good - would recommend if you can have a bbq. We couldn't as we didn't have any bbq equipment. The second night we were the first ones eating as we had booked to go on a night drive, and asked if we would sit outside instead of inside (inside gets very smokey). Our waiter said yes and changed two of the table numbers, and for some reason this caused an argument between some of the staff later on - despite the fact we were gone before anyone else came. It appears they need to have a better, more relaxed system in the restaurant which isn't so strict on where people sit and keeps customers happy! Breakfast was a little better food wise, but again the staff never seemed happy. Tried to eat at the kiosk - was told shuts at 4.30, went at 4.00 and got told not doing anything apart from toast as cleaning down.

Also found it incredible that there is a big water shortage in Namibia and the government camp were using sprinklers to water dead grass. All other camps we were staying at were trying to preserve water,

The night drive was ok, but it was on a big vehicle which was full. We did manage to see baby hyenas and a rhino very close.

One thing I would say is this camp is good for the waterhole. We saw lots of animals here. So unfortunately the camp do have that in there favour and I think they know it."

"Fantastic peaceful location - the rooms overlook a beautiful setting.

The food by Erasmus was wonderful. The lunch that we had was simply superb. I could not fault it.

All the staff at the camp were attentive. The morning of the day we arrived a lionness had killed a baby giraffe outside our tree top chalet. She had dragged it away from the lodge, but she was still visible from two of the chalets while she was sleeping. One member of staff had spotted her sleeping and came to fetch us so we could go look at her.

We did the morning bush walk which enabled us to get close to a giraffe and we learnt a lot about termites. We did feel we could have learnt about more varied things on the walk. We also did the sundowner tour which was nice..

The rooms are beautifully done and the outdoor shower worked well. It was nice to eat round a big table with all the other couples at dinner time and get to know them.

A lovely little camp."

"We used this as a stopping point between Etosha and Windhoek and before we flew home. However, we wish we made it more of a destination in its our right and spent longer here than 1 night. 1 night doesn't give you much time to do all the activities they have to offer, or the chance to see the cats because there is a chance that on one of the drives you won't see one.

We got upgraded to a view room - although I have a feeling this was due to some sort of mix up with the booking. We were written in pen at the bottom of the sheet when we arrived at the gate for the reserve, and they were not ready with our check-in sheets when we got to reception unlike everyone else's. The view room we got was also brand new with us being the first in it, and still clearly in the process of having finishing touches being done. However, it was a lovely spacious room and very spacious bathroom with a nice view. We did however, both have to have two cold showers - not sure if this was due to it still being finished off.

The activities were brilliant with an enthusiastic guide who clearly cares for the nature. We got there early enough to go onto the leopard tracking, and we managed to track the first leopard to some deep undergrowth. Unfortunately it was clear that we were not going to spot him so we moved on to try and spot another leopard. All the guides talk to each other, and another guide had spotted a leopard called Shanti, up a tree. So we went to see her. It was incredible to be so close to her while she was up a tree. It was nice to also hear the guide say that sometimes we can't always take photos and its just for looking, when someone was complaining a branch being in the way and could he move the vehicle.

The next morning we got up early to go on the cheetah tracking - this was incredible. We walked with two cheetahs while they were hunting and watch them make a kill. I got the impression it doesn't happen often, and it was something I won't forget!

The food was ok. The cake and tea was nice before the activities. The evening meal was a bit chaotic, but they explained it was the busiest night the camp has had since it opened - I think they learnt a lot that night, and they managed to deal with it! I have a feeling if we stayed another night it would be a bit smoother, and be a bit quicker.

A great place, with friendly staff and fantastic guides and activities. Busy but once on the activities you don't notice that so much. Activities are well organised."