Travel reviews by The giraffes from Kent

"Ruaha River Lodge was the first stop on out trip and it was a great place to start. The game drives were excellent - even on the short drive from the airstrip to the camp we saw giraffe, elephant, impala, baboons, zebra and more! The terrain is Ruaha is quite varied with rivers, bush and plains, which means that you see a wide variety of wildlife. All the wildlife is quite used to having cars pull up next to them which means that you can get quite close, which is great for pictures. We saw four of the 'big five' (rhino excluded) on our stay here, as well as hippos, crocs, jackals, eagles and much more.

The lodge itself is very nice. It's not a luxury camp but the rooms are large and spacious with hot showers at night and flushing toilets.

The buffet-style food was very good and all the staff were really helpful and friendly. All-in-all it was a great start to out trip."

"This was the second part of our trip and it was absolutely fantastic. The camp is superb - I've travelled the world and don't think I've received such a high level of service. A case in point was on our last night when they moved us to a table to ourselves underneath the stars to celebrate our anniversary - a really nice touch.

The tented rooms are great, very stylish with comfy beds, 24/7 hot water, writing desks, 24/7 electricity and more. The staff were extremely friendly and the guides really knowledgeable. The food was superb - a la carte menus (two choices for each course) all cooked to a really high standard. I don't eat fruit so they would often prepare me a special alternative, another example of great service.

The game viewing was very good, although the animals were slightly more skittish than at Ruaha due to hunting in the other parts of the Selous. You can choose from game drives, boat safaris and walking safaris. The boat ones are very good for bird watchers, and you also get to see an abundance of crocs and hippos. We saw a wide variety of animals, including 2 leopards (very rare!), elephant, giraffe, lions, impala, kudu, baboons, colobus monkeys and loads more.

I couldn't recommend this place highly enough."

"We had very high expectations of Echo Beach and whilst we had a really nice relaxing time, there were a few things that didn't live up to them.

We were expecting to be put in one of the original bandas facing the sea, but when we arrived we were told that we would be staying in one of the newly-built ones behind the existing ones, which had no real view to speak of. The staff tried to dress it up by saying it was the nicest room in the hotel, but we felt they were over-compensating so we wouldn't complain. They said they were full for the entire week so we neglected to complain and didn't ask to be moved. The rooms were nicely furnished with a large comfy bed and mozzie net, but not on the cutting edge of design as the website makes out. There was also a constant smell of damp from the wet room.

We were also expecting great things from the food, only to be disappointed on many occassions. The blurb says that Andrew is French-trained, but not once did we see him in the kitchen. A lot of the meals were often luke-warm or cold, and mealtimes often seemed rushed - at most meals all three courses were completed within an hour. The waiting staff also require some further training. Whilst they are very friendly, every day I declined the fruit and my wife declined the eggs, we were made to feel very strange for doing so.

Overall the service was good, but not outstanding. It took the owner three days before he spoke to us and the warmth from the staff felt forced on occassions. That said they were still very friendly and accommodating, they just require a bit of extra training.

I don't want to focus too much on the negatives, as we did have a really nice time. The hotel is in a stunning location with an amazing beach and they do really try with the menu design - the delivery often let them down. Also, the original bandas looked lovely - if we were in one of them we would have been really happy.

If you're expecting five-star service, amazing food and ultimate luxury, this place probably isn't for you. However, if you're looking for a relaxing break in superb surroundings, nice accommodation and reasonable food, this is the place. Just make sure you know what room you will be put in before you arrive."

"This is a really nice hotel but what lets it down is its location. It is hard enough to find in the day but almost impossible at night with no street lights or street names to guide you.

However, they do offer to pick you up from your restaurant and escort you home, which would help.

We stayed for one night and that was enough for our purposes, which was mainly bargain-hunting."