Travel reviews by Ms. R from Canada

"The hotel was clean. Staff welcoming.

After I got settled, I discovered my watch battery had died. When I tried to go down to the lobby for guidance about getting a new battery, the elevator wouldn't work for me. I discovered my room key was showing red not green so I couldn't get down to the lobby. A nice guest used his key so I could go down. The staff arranged for me to go by car ($30 USD) to Galleria mall to get - not a new battery but a new watch. At least I had a working watch.

The last night at the hotel there was a band. My room was above the bar, so I got very little sleep. And I had to ask more than once for more drinking water. They kept forgetting. But otherwise, the hotel was comfortable and the restaurant fine - very slow service, long wait for food, and a bit on the expensive side, but reasonable if you ordered from the bar menu."

"Because of the number of guests we were offered the private house. It was a treat having our own pool. No-one was in the family tent for the first two days so we had the pool to ourselves.

The house had a fridge with cold drinks which we enjoyed. The main bedroom had a huge tub! In the early evening we sat on the covered porch watching the dikdiks and birds. On our third night I woke at 2am with my back, right side (the side I sleep on) and upper arms covered in itchy welts. I assumed something (mites?) was in the bed. It was very very uncomfortable. Fortunately there was a third twin bed in the room I was sharing, so my roommate installed me in that bed so I could get some sleep. But now, 9 days later I have raised red spots that are only slightly itchy if I rub them by mistake.

A number of us experienced itchy welts around the time we were at the camp, so we shared antihistamine tablets some brought, which helped temporarily. Eventually we were given some anti-itch cream at another camp, also with mixed results, providing temporary relief. I strongly recommend bringing antihistamine tablets and bug bite cream. There was some doubt about where I got my bites. But I know for sure I was in bed and wakened at 2am by itchy itchy welts and I felt like I was being bit. Expert Africa was empathetic and tried to figure out the source.

Food was good but sometimes hit and miss. The beef was tough tough tough. Don't have any beef there. Chris was a pleasant server but he often mixed up orders."

"We paid a premium for Jackson to be our guide. I felt he spent more time talking to his trainee than to us. When he did talk to us, he was hard to hear because he faced the windshield. After having a gold guide at Tortilis he was a disappointment.

The other guide Lucy was a great driver, especially when it rained and hailed. She was in control in the mud and didn't get stuck. But she only answered questions and rarely offered information. We didn't know what questions to ask. She also didn't seem to understand how best to position the vehicle so we could get the best pictures. Please don't face the sun. My roommate and I spoke to Jackson about Lucy. we feel she has lots of potential and as one of very few women guides she needs to be encouraged and helped to improve. She can be great.

The food was plentiful, really good but too much. Lunches were like dinners. And for dinner, I prefer plated meals, not served family style where you have to dish up your own plate. Even with hot hot plates, by the time everyone served themselves, the food was no longer hot.

The staff were pleasant. There was always someone around to escort us in the dark. The last night was cold and wet and they didn't leave hot water bottles in our beds that night. We could have used them. Brrrr.

I have one complaint. The morning we were leaving, I went for breakfast. When I returned to our tent to finish packing, the staff were already stripping the beds. I felt rushed. All the pillows from my roommate's bed were piled on top of my bed along with mine. While the cleaner left the room, I still felt rushed and didn't think to pull back the bed covers. As a result I left behind my expensive headlamp and my carrying case for my monocular. I take responsibility. But if they had waited until I left to clean the room, I feel I would have checked the bed and not left behind my important belongings."

"Best camp for comfy beds, huge hot shower, excellent excellent excellent (three excellent!) guides, engaging and caring staff and fabulous food. I wish I could have stayed longer.

Our time felt so short because we packed so much in, in the three days there.

I loved the tents. They were large with comfy beds and linens. The one thing I would change is have lounge chairs inside the tent that I can actually sit upright in...the ones they had were angled back to recline and you couldn't adjust them. The bathrobes fit. I am not a large person but the robes at Tanguila were for size teeny tiny people. The robes at Kicheche were super soft and fit well."