Travel reviews by Mr & Mrs L from Brighton
Review Distribution
Total number of trips
1
Countries visited
1
Lodges stayed in
7
Excursions taken
0
My Namibia trip June 17
Namibia between 24 Jun 2017 and 8 Jul 2017
"Amazing! Whilst we have travelled around the world, this was meant to be the trip of a lifetime and it was. It is a holiday we will long remember. We have always wanted to go on safari and see elephants, lions and other wildlife in their natural habitat, but it was also special in terms of the fantastic scenery, friendly people and some of the amazing places we stayed. A great way to mark a special birthday! Thank you."
Wolwedans Desert Lodge
"Amazing place"
2 nights
Arrived
25 Jun 2017
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location
Excellent
Service
Excellent
Activities
Excellent
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Excellent
Facilities
Excellent
Hoodia Desert Lodge
"Disappointing and unwelcoming place"
2 nights
Arrived
27 Jun 2017
"I have already passed our comments on, but this was the one dud part of our fantastic holiday.
The staff were surly, rude and unwelcoming from the start. We told the guide that I had a bad back and couldn't do much walking on the excursion to the Dunes, but we were placed with a (very nice) Swiss couple clearly wanted to go hiking up the Dunes. The guide, who was disinterested from the start, told us to wait by the Landrover whilst they went for a short walk. However, we were left alone for nearly two hours without water or anywhere to sit and did not receive any apology from the guide on his return or from the manager at the Lodge.
The room was nice - if a bit too small and the food was okay.
The location was amongst the least photogenic of the places we stayed on our trip."
The staff were surly, rude and unwelcoming from the start. We told the guide that I had a bad back and couldn't do much walking on the excursion to the Dunes, but we were placed with a (very nice) Swiss couple clearly wanted to go hiking up the Dunes. The guide, who was disinterested from the start, told us to wait by the Landrover whilst they went for a short walk. However, we were left alone for nearly two hours without water or anywhere to sit and did not receive any apology from the guide on his return or from the manager at the Lodge.
The room was nice - if a bit too small and the food was okay.
The location was amongst the least photogenic of the places we stayed on our trip."
Poor
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Poor
Location
Average
Service
Poor
Activities
Poor
Rooms
Good
Food
Average
Facilities
Poor
Feedback response
We are very sorry that these travellers did not enjoy their stay at Hoodia Desert Lodge. As they alluded to in their feedback we were also in touch with them whilst they were in country to let them know that the owner of Hoodia had contacted us about the situation, but more importantly to find out if they were both OK and if there was anything that we could do to make the rest of their stay more comfortable and enjoyable.
We were reassured after our conversation with these travellers that they were both fine and that one of the travellers had hurt their back prior to the trip which we had not been made aware of. The core of the bad experience at Hoodia stemmed from the full-day activity that runs into the Namib-Naukluft National Park. Although we consider this to be one of the best excursions on offer in the area, it is an active full day out and we realise that we may not have made the extent of this activity clear.
We are really very sorry that these guests were left on their own for nearly two hours. It sounds as though there was an unfortunate breakdown in communication and the guide had no way of gauging how long they would take on the tour, with the other guests, as it really depends on what they find along the way and what the other traveller's levels of interest are. We know that Hoodia’s guides are some of the most professional and we have always had very good reviews about the Hoodia guides from our past travellers. It is very unfortunate that these travellers' experience was very different from our experience of the activity.
We have relayed all these traveller's comments to the owners of Hoodia and no doubt it will help their service going forwards.
We were reassured after our conversation with these travellers that they were both fine and that one of the travellers had hurt their back prior to the trip which we had not been made aware of. The core of the bad experience at Hoodia stemmed from the full-day activity that runs into the Namib-Naukluft National Park. Although we consider this to be one of the best excursions on offer in the area, it is an active full day out and we realise that we may not have made the extent of this activity clear.
We are really very sorry that these guests were left on their own for nearly two hours. It sounds as though there was an unfortunate breakdown in communication and the guide had no way of gauging how long they would take on the tour, with the other guests, as it really depends on what they find along the way and what the other traveller's levels of interest are. We know that Hoodia’s guides are some of the most professional and we have always had very good reviews about the Hoodia guides from our past travellers. It is very unfortunate that these travellers' experience was very different from our experience of the activity.
We have relayed all these traveller's comments to the owners of Hoodia and no doubt it will help their service going forwards.
Strand Hotel
"Best massage ever at this hotel!"
2 nights
Arrived
29 Jun 2017
"Great buffet breakfast and helpful staff at this well located modern hotel. We enjoyed our stay in Swakopmund and I can highly recommend the very reasonable spa - we both had a massage here, which was a nice treat. Comfy rooms."
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location
Excellent
Service
Excellent
Facilities
Excellent
Rooms
Good
Food
Excellent
Doro Nawas
"This is a special place which I will remember"
2 nights
Arrived
1 Jul 2017
"This is indeed a special place in terms of people, location and room. Very stylish design, comfy rooms, and lovely welcoming staff who sang to us on arrival and departure! The service was helpful but also laid back, perfect! The guide went out of his to ensure that we saw the desert elephants. Staying here was definitely one of the highlights of our trip."
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location
Excellent
Service
Excellent
Activities
Excellent
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Good
Facilities
Excellent
Ongava Lodge
"Amazing view of wildlife from the dining room"
2 nights
Arrived
3 Jul 2017
"Great location right at the gates of Etosha and it was amazing to see wildlife including rhinos from the dining room. The evening drive enabled us to see lions close up.
Great luxurious room with a view of zebras from the bathroom. Really good for wildlife overall.
The welcome was a bit lacklustre - there was an attempt to sell us activities without explaining how much they were or what happened on them. More information would have been helpful.
The food was poor overall - I had an omelette at breakfast which I couldn't eat as the eggs were still raw!"
Great luxurious room with a view of zebras from the bathroom. Really good for wildlife overall.
The welcome was a bit lacklustre - there was an attempt to sell us activities without explaining how much they were or what happened on them. More information would have been helpful.
The food was poor overall - I had an omelette at breakfast which I couldn't eat as the eggs were still raw!"
Good
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good
Location
Excellent
Service
Good
Activities
Good
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Average
Facilities
Good
Onguma The Fort
"A beautiful room"
2 nights
Arrived
5 Jul 2017
"This was a beautiful and luxurious place to stay with probably the best food on our trip. We had our own private riad with a view of the watering hole. The room was amazing with a fire and large separate bathroom.
There was less wildlife to see here so if visiting again we would probably just dry into Etosha and not do the activities although they were good value."
There was less wildlife to see here so if visiting again we would probably just dry into Etosha and not do the activities although they were good value."
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location
Good
Service
Excellent
Activities
Average
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Excellent
Facilities
Good
Okonjima Plains Camp
"Okonjima Plains Camp review"
1 night
Arrived
7 Jul 2017
"We upgraded our room for the last night of our stay and it was worth it - there was a good view of warthogs and other animals from the deck and it had very comfy beds.
We were glad to see cheetahs on the excursion.
A well designed dining room but the service could have been better at breakfast time. We kept having to go and ask the staff for cooked food and hot drinks. They were friendly though."
We were glad to see cheetahs on the excursion.
A well designed dining room but the service could have been better at breakfast time. We kept having to go and ask the staff for cooked food and hot drinks. They were friendly though."
Good
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good
Location
Excellent
Service
Good
Activities
Good
Rooms
Good
Food
Good
Facilities
Good
My only negative comment was that the hot water system broke and I couldn't have a wash one day!"