Travel reviews by Polybin from Stubbington

"Siwandu was our 4th safari lodge in mainland Africa starting in the Masai Mara, then more recently Botswana and Kruger. We chose Selous because of its reputation as a less touristy reserve as was the case. The welcome was very good from the airstrip and to the lodge. The tents (really?) were excellent. Lovely views to the lake with wildlife wandering through regularly. Facilities were very good with good protection from bugs and mosquitoes. We can't fault the accommodation.

We are not fussy and fully understand wildlife can be fickle and unpredictable but viewing was not as good as Botswana or Kruger (Kenya was 32 years ago so not a fair comparison). Surprised leopards were rare and we expected more buffalo (we saw one lone bull). If you want to see a giraffe, then go here! We got the impression that the wildlife on the other side of the lake was better during our trip over there. We were very surprised that safari's normally started at 8am. Everywhere else we've visited started at dawn and we wonder if that may account for it. We were invited to an early start on one morning which, co-incidentally, was a boat trip across the lake to meet up with the land rover and the best viewing. By no means was it bad but, on our visit, not the best.

The food quality and quantity was very good. The service generally was excellent and any specific requests (tea in the tent) were no bother. The breakfasts in the bush, lunch on the lake and dinner under the stars were great.

We had one trip where the guides forgot to offer a coffee/rest break so we spent some four hours in the vehicle. We feel sure this was due to our guides trying to find some wildlife and just forgetting the sensitivities of tourists. We mentioned this to Conrad and he dealt with it for future trips.

We certainly enjoyed the safari experience here and would thoroughly recommend it for location, accommodation and food. The variety of wildlife may deter some visitors (if ours was typical)."

"The room mix up and the airport transport were not tolerable for a resort that is this expensive. We understand that this has never happened before. We seriously looked into cutting short the trip. Once our complaint(s) had been considered properly then the holiday improved but it will always dampen our overall view of the stay. We were compensated - not our intention - and because this was more than generous we made a contribution to the local school.

Manta is a lovely resort. Accommodation (we tried all three levels) goes from the basic to much more in keeping with our experience of this kind of resort. The seaview rooms are spacious, well equipped and light with generally good facilities. Bizarrely, only these rooms have in room safes. Superior garden rooms are dark but comfortable. Standard rooms (no air con) do not belong in a resort like this. It may be well to inform other clients that the rooms are open at the eaves and the lower level rooms have shutters and not glass. Bugs, mosquitoes and, apparently, even bush babies are not unusual visitors.

We believe that the chef was not around for breakfast which, in our opinion, was very limited again for such a resort. The lunch and dinner meals were generally good with particular emphasis on fish, though the beef and chicken were also fine. The starter was always differently infused bread. Desserts are not the hotel's speciality......swiss roll on our first night! Fine dining it was not but one has to appreciate that it is at the top of a very poor Island and we were very aware of the contrast between our meals and that of the locals.

The service was very good (after the first night) and we built up a good relationship with our friend, Khalfan; the manager Juma, and the other staff. The visit to the local school where Sele and Khalfan volunteer to teach the children was a highlight. Our experience of the daily spa (used every day by my wife) was very positive.

There is obviously room for improvement and we suspect that further development will occur with the quality of the beaches in the area. Manta is obviously trying to benefit the local people and minimise the effect on the environment and the conservation on the reef is to be applauded. There is room for the resort to develop and maybe upgrade the standard rooms at least.

We'd recommend Manta but temper that with our thoughts above."