Travel reviews by Ms Meerkat from Surrey

"We only used the Holiday Inn (now the Southern Sun) for an overnight as we arrived at 2359 and departed the following morning at 0700. However the staff were really hepful even when my companion's suitcase lock wouldn't budge and at 0200 they were still able to produce a 'technician' to break the lock. The breakfast was very good with a lot of variety."

"We spent 3 nights at Mdonya and wished we had spent longer there. Everything was 'second to none'. The fact that there was no electricity enhanced the experience. We really felt that we were on safari. Before we even went on a game drive an elephant and his pals came into camp and walked around eating the foliage whilst we finished our lunch.

The camp is managed by a very capable man, Nick who was available at all times to help us and arrange our drives & walks and was always there to welcome us 'home'. The two guides that were assigned to us from the beginning were Vincent and Moses. Moses (a plain clothes Maasai) was the driver but was just as knowledgeable as our guide Vincent. Vincent was charming. He was initially a little shy about his english but soon got over it and his knowledge was incredible about the animals, birds and plants we saw giving us the common name, Swahili, Latin and explaining their habits. If Vincent didn't understand our english then Moses who had a better command of the language helped out, but over the period Moses just joined in and we benefitted from both.

Moses and Vincent took us on our sundowner drive and a full game drive the next day serving our meals and educating us along the way. We were very spoilt and very well looked after.

On the third day we decided to take a walking safari which meant we lost Vincent and Moses. The other couple in our truck were lucky enough to keep them and we gained another two friends, Zach and Alex. We couldn't believe our luck! Another two members of staff that made our safari special. Zach was the guide and Alex the driver. Zach improved our Swahili, giving us a list of names for the game and some simple sentences. Over the three days we saw so much game and many birds and learnt about Tanzania.

We were unlucky with Lion, Cheetah and Leopard but we were enthralled by the abundance of the other species and we were not there just to tick boxes! We were very sorry to move on. The kindness we were shown was exemplary.

Well done Mdonya - full marks"

"Gerard met us at the airstrip with refreshments and cold towels - a very good welcome. We were then transferred by river launch to the camp which was much more luxurious. Our tent on stilts had a river view enhanced by the visit from an elephant who cleared much of the brush that night. We also had electricity. We had more choice of food and separate tables in a dining room.

On our last night we had a barbecue where they put all the tables together and we dined together. We thoroughly enjoyed the food. We took one river safari, a walking safari and a couple of game drives. We found that the game was not as plentiful at Impala [Ed: as it was at Mdonya Old River Lodge, their previous stop] as most of the activity was by the river.

We did manage to see a pride of lions at close quarters and a small pack of wild dogs which we hadn't seen at Mdonya which made our visit. Again the camp was run very efficiently and the staff were both friendly and knowledgeable. We didn't seem to stick with the same guides but were escorted by the best available guide for that medium.

I think I preferred the intimacy of Mdonya where we were able to form a relationship, however brief."

"Our last 6 nights in Tanzania! It was hard to relax after such a busy and exciting time on Safari. The rooms were very comfortable and the luxury of full electricity was very welcomed. The grounds, pool and beach were beautiful and well maintained.

For the first two nights there were only 21 guests (Fairmont has 90 bungalows). This reflected on the food and the service. Only 1 restaurant was open which had a very limited menu and the food and the service was under par. For instance for breakfast we ordered cornflakes and got rice crispies. On the menu it stated waffles with whipped cream and preserves - the waffles arrived but nothing else. We weren't interested in the cream but the preserves would have been a good accompaniment. When we asked for the preserves we got a blank stare. So we tried to help by saying jam and then a small plate of jam was brought. It was obviously a lack of knowledge and training regarding the menu. This was just one instance but the 'enhancements' to a dish were always forgotten or omitted.

After a couple of days more guests arrived and the larger buffet restaurant was opened and everything improved. There was a daily programme of activities but due to the lack of people they didn't happen. Again, things changed when more guests arrived."

"What an incredible place! Just one night here so that we were close to the airport to catch our flight at 0600. We had a short walk in Stonetown but because we got lost so quickly felt a little intimidated. We didn't have time to get used to the difference from the resort and didn't give it a proper chance.

The hotel staff and accommodation were very good."