Travel reviews by Dr D & Prof H from UK

"Fine as a stop-over in Windhoek for a night or two.

The food at breakfast and dinner was excellent & freshly cooked.

There were some nice facilities in the room (e.g. bath as well as shower) but the general fabric of the room (polished cement) 'jarred' a little, and would benefit from a little updating and/or 'softening' to give a less 'tired' feeling."

"As this is a relatively large lodge we were expecting to see lots of large groups and to feel fairly anonymous. This wasn't the case at all.

The lodge has a nice, pleasant atmosphere and recent refurbishments have given it a stylish air. The restaurant is particularly well designed and the food was very good.

We went on a sundowner game drive which was excellent value for money. The reception was efficient and the shop was very well stocked with some high quality items.

We'd definitely return."

"Sossusvlei Desert Lodge is absolutely outstanding in every way and we're already planning a return visit as we loved it so much.

The service is exceptional and we felt very well looked after by all the staff, headed by Grant. The staff-to-guest ratio means that there is always someone on hand to answer any questions and we felt that the staff had a genuine interest in making our stay a thoroughly memorable one. There were so many 'nice touches' including drinks on return from activities, staff waving us off when we left, little notes in the room. The view from the bathroom is stunning as is the design of the lodge as a whole.

Our 'butler' was Kristof who served all of our meals and who had just the right balance between efficiency and informality. He always seemed to pre-empt our needs and each night we were given a different location to dine including in the wine cellar and by the pool. The food was exceptional. Our guide was Bonniface (Bonni) and he made every activity an individual, relaxed and thoroughly enjoyable experience. He went out of his way to point out different wildlife, both large and small, and was a pleasure to be with.

One of our main reasons for selecting Sossusvlei Desert Lodge was to take part in the astronomy/observatory. This didn't disappoint, mainly due to Paul, the resident astronomer, and his outstanding knowledge of the night sky, telescopes and astro-photography. Views of the Milky Way, planets and moons were stunning and Paul went out of his way to make sure that this part of our stay was really special.

In short, a real treat. We didn't want to leave."

"Fine for one night's stay in Swakopmund. Nice gardens. Served its purpose.

One member of staff on reception was friendly and helpful although another was less engaging."

"We chose this lodge for the unusual location, interesting design and the fact that it's relatively new.

The stylish design and decor met our expectations and, although we enjoyed the general ambience, we felt that the main lounge/restaurant/bar area was slightly lacking in atmosphere, and was 'cold' in more ways than one. The staff went out of their way to rectify this, however, providing blankets and hot water bottles. The lounge might benefit from features such as more 'softer' furnishings, a log fire and staff being around more of the time.

The rooms were cold while we were there and the canvas on the chalets flapped around during the night (ear plugs were provided!).

The activity that we did was fine although the number of available activities seemed quite limited."

"Unfortunately this was the worst place we stayed at during our three-week trip.

The staff are trying their best but there aren't enough of them (or they haven't received the necessary training) to cope with the large size of the camp and the large numbers of visitors. This meant that we encountered inefficiencies e.g. checking-in, booking a game drive and issues around paying for dinner in the restaurant. We stayed in a bush chalet which was in need of major improvement and updating. The room was dark and dingy, and was not at the same level as the other lodges we stayed in.

The big draw is the waterhole although we saw all the game we could have hoped for (and more) from our next base in Namutoni, also in Etosha. The night drive activity at Okaukuejo was OK although more expensive than comparable activities in other camps."

"A much more pleasant experience than Okaukuejo where we'd driven from.

The room was light, airy and modern and the camp itself had a much more relaxed, calm and 'open' feel to it with some well-tended gardens/green spaces. The staff were helpful and had the time to assist us when we needed it. We had a problem with our bathroom and this was resolved in a prompt, efficient and friendly manner.

By driving to the nearby waterholes we saw an abundance of big game - far richer than we could have hoped for - including five separate sightings of lion (one male with a kill, and two females with a kill), female cheetah and cubs with a kill, and a group of about 50 elephants at one waterhole."

"This is a review of Okonjima Bush Camp as we were given an upgrade from Plains Camp.

This was a wonderful way to end our stay in Namibia. The accommodation was spacious, quiet and very comfortable. The lounge area was a really nice place to linger. The fire pit outside the lounge was a real treat, as were the log fires indoors.

The staff went out of their way to be helpful, the guides were knowledgeable and friendly, and the food was superb. The activities were very well organised indeed and we saw a male leopard with a kill.

We didn't want to leave."