Travel reviews by Two couples from Bucks

"The Manager was away for three weeks and it showed. This is a strange Lodge, in some ways it is excellent - for example the cooking - but in others it is quite dreadful.

The negative part first. After a long flight from London and then a two hour transfer from Windhoek we were pretty exhausted but were given a nice friendly welcome when we arrived and then were shown to our rooms. Our room was the furthest from the house and was dark and unwelcoming. The duvet covers looked tired and washed out. As we entered the bathroom the first thing we saw was cigarette ash left in piles around the toilet area and, on closing the bathroom door a pile of dirt facing us in an area which cannot have been cleaned for months.

I informed the Manageress about the problem but she couldnt do anything about it until the cleaning staff came back mid afternoon so we had to hang around and wait to have our room cleaned - not a good start to the holiday. The problem was further compounded by the fact that there wasnt any soap in the shower and when we asked for some we were told we would have to buy it! The lack of cleanliness saga continued with cigarette butts dropped along the pathway to the rooms and then, to finish it all , when we were leaving and doing a 'final check' under the bed we found a pair of someone else's dirty pants which must have been missed by the cleaners.......

On a positive note the situation is lovely and Niko our guide took us out for a lovely sunrise drive and walk which was magical. He was full of information and stories and looked after us very well during our trip. The kitchen staff produced wonderful food (especially the homemade bread which was delicious) and we had a nice braai.

Canon Lodge is expensive for what it is. Nothing is included in the price which makes this quite an expensive place to stay - compared with Sossusvlei Wilderness Camp this lodge was a dump.

It was a shame that we had such a dirty, tired room - nowhere else in Namibia did we come across such a problem. Infact everywhere else it was quite the opposite. This lodge needs to lift its standards."

"Everything about this place is good. The service is friendly and cheerful and nothing is too much trouble - even breakfast in bed at 4.45 in the morning before a Sunrise Safari was delicious!

All the bedrooms were lovely, bright and clean with crisp white linen and towels. Pretty touches were everywhere. The views were spectacular. Our room's extensive windows gave us a panoramic view over the desert valley across to the mountains and the red sand dunes beyond. There is a small watering hole down on the valley floor and we sat for hours watching various animals come and go.

We were taken up the Big Daddy sand dune very early in the morning by Angula - what a climb and what a descent! As we both perched, wobbling, on the dune's ridge at its very top wondering how we were ever going to get down it, Angula gave a huge whoop and plunged over the edge and, shouting at us to follow, sand sailed down making jokes and singing as he went! Taking a deep breath we followed him to the bottom and looking back couldnt believe how steep the descent had been - it was really exhillarating!

The only quibble was that as the meals were taken on a long table together with all the other guests (which worked very well) the evening meal was served very late to accomodate everyone who was returning from the Sunset Ride - if you had been up at 4.45 that morning for the dune climb it was a bit late to eat and we were almost asleep by the time we sat down to eat......

A lovely place and we would have loved to have stayed another day."

"...very much an institution. Lovely pool and views from the terrace. As the weather was bad and they were not serving dinner on the terrace we went downtowm to Joe's Diner which is much to be recommended, the meat was amazing!"