Travel reviews by Mr B from New York

"A timeless classic and a great starting place before heading off for the main safari camps. The hotel was comfortable, the service and staff were very good. Breakfast in particular was very good with a lovely setting and plenty of variety to choose from. Hotel has undergone a slight renovation a few years ago but for many it might be considered to be in need of a little more work to polish it up. Our view might be slighted tainted by having a poor room location, being just off the main thoroughfare (Bulawayo Room) in the hotel."

"A spectacular experience and beautiful location with top class rooms and service. Has recently been renovated and everything in the camp from the entrance to the general areas and the rooms themselves were wonderfully done. The staff were friendly, helpful and made us feel extremely welcome and comfortable. They often would good 'above and beyond', such as laying on a special celebration for our anniversary.
The scout we were assigned was very knowledgeable and experienced. He made sure we saw a variety of wildlife as well as educating and informing us of specific details related to it. The concession around this camp had a large quantity of wildlife and there was very little we did not see. The 'stand-out' feature for this camp is the water hole right in front of the camp that hosts a large (and noisy) hippo pod as well as attracting many other mammals, birds and a reptile. One day a herd of elephant wandered through the camp passing us just feet away."

"This camp has a wonderful and different type of location being set on a tiny island accessible only by small boats. It is a very small and friendly camp and we found the staff to be extremely warm, friendly and capable. We particularly enjoyed on Botswana Independence Day the celebration and special meal the whole staff participated in and through it gave us more insight and connection with the country.
The rooms and facilities were very comfortable and relaxing. Perhaps in comparison to our other camp at Sable Alley the rooms were not as stylishly designed but still were of a very good standard.
As a small camp (6 tents) it has a preference for community eating at a long table. This might be worth mentioning in the camp's description so people know what to expect.
The variety of wildlife here was spectacular. Maybe not in great quantity because of the amount of water around the area but the quality was exceptional. The guide we were assigned was very good and had incredible tracking abilities. We will never forget how he managed to finally find a leopard that he spent over and hour trying to track and we still couldn't see it even when he had pointed it out in the distance to us!
The water location also gives Little Vumbura the ability to offer some variety to the daily schedule. instead of just going out on safari drives twice a day we enjoyed going out for one afternoon on a Mokoro and on another taking a small boat further into the Okavango Delta. For this reason Little Vumbua was a perfect second camp since it had such a different feel and location to Sable Alley."