Travel reviews by Mrs S from france

"For the purpose of the stay (a stopover en route to safari), it was perfectly acceptable, the rooms a bit basic, only one towel and one bottle of water provided for two people, and quite a strong drain odour in the en suite bathroom. But the staff were friendly, and both the seafront and terrace restaurants were pleasant."

"An oasis of calm, Siwandu has impeccable standards, and our second visit lived up to all our expectations. The staff are friendly but discreet, and very efficient. The tents and facilities within are of a very high quality, spotless and comfortable with amazing views down to the lake. The food is fabulous, every meal a joy, portion sizes perfect. And lovely to have a lunch out on the lake again. It’s great that Siwandu is now all inclusive, but I was slightly disappointed that there was no longer a little shot of liqueur offered on return from the evening game drive!

Activities were excellent, with a combination of drives, boat on the lake and walks. Would like to see different levels of walking tour offered though, as we all found the walk too sedate, despite being incredibly interesting. But we had excellent sitings every day.

The only slight negative, which is totally beyond the reach of Siwandu to fix, is waking up to the sound of trucks rumbling down the newly widened road on their way to the dam construction site. We hope this doesn’t have a negative impact on Siwandu and the reserve as a whole in the coming years."

"Fabulous location on top of an escarpment with stunning, far-reaching views from both communal and private spaces. Great, open design means the regular breeze keeps spaces cool. Accommodation was very spacious and comfortable and of a high standard. I would have liked part of the bathroom (sinks and toilet) to be included in the tented area to avoid the constant zipping and unzipping at night when getting ready for bed, but that’s splitting hairs!

Service was great, the staff are very friendly and open, and encouraged to chat and banter with guests which we found charming. As well as the manager Jake, and the owner Mark when he’s on site, The guides took turns to join the communal dinner which was a nice touch, and made for entertaining evenings.

The food was wonderful, fresh and innovative at every meal. Lunch comprised of a chilled soup, a buffet style main with lots of salads, and a light dessert, whilst dinner was a starter, main (which I found a little on the large side) and dessert. Everything was beautifully presented and very tasty. Ikuka also offered us a glass of juice retuning from our morning drive, and an Amarula returning from the afternoon drive...a lovely touch!

Activities were excellent, our guide Festo was brilliant, very friendly, open and extremely knowledgeable. Ruaha has such a variety of landscapes and terrains that there’s always something new to see, and we had excellent game sightings. We also did a walking safari with Mustapha, covering about 7km so we felt we’d had some exercise as well as learning a lot about the flora and fauna (and poop!) of our surroundings. And a fab bush breakfast to finish."

"Felt like we were experiencing the real Zanzibar, hotel was very atmospheric having maintained it's original character and architecture.

The service was friendly and efficient, and the food was fabulous!"

"Incredibly friendly, efficient, professional team at Siwandu made our stay an absolute delight!

Location fabulous, food was really, really good, accommodation excellent, guide and activities brilliant, attention to detail spot on!

Would love to go and stay there again!"

"Stunning location, comfortable and well appointed accommodation, but tent and bathroom looking a little tired, could do with an update.

Staff very friendly. For two out of our four nights, we were the only guests in the camp, and as mealtimes were communal, this meant it was just us and the manager Alex eating together, which was ok as she was nice, but it felt a bit strange and we really welcomed some new arrivals on our last night!! Food was a bit eclectic, both lunch and dinner were buffet style, with too many competing flavours between the dishes.

The staff were helpful, but we felt they were lacking some training.

The guide and driver were great!"

"Stunning location, although not easy to find, without even a nameplate on the gate!

Beautifully designed interiors, and exteriors, luxurious and comfortable, an oasis of calm!

Staff very friendly and attentive, but also discreet, food was fabulous.

Although we were very undemanding guests, we felt that nothing would have been too much trouble!"