Travel reviews by Bintang from Cambridge

"An ideal place to stay for the first couple of nights. Only an hour from the airport and a great place for a relaxing start to our trip. Well signposted walks in the bush.

We also visited nearby Peperkorrel to see the sculptures by Dorte Berner. Although not particularly interested in sculpture we did find this visit both interesting and informative."

"A beautiful place to stay and ideal to view the dunes.

The sundowner drive was not so much a drive as a romantic drink at sunset.

As the tiny swimming pool was rather overcrowded we cooled off in the bath tub (once we'd borrowed a bath plug from reception). Not the most comfortable bath, built for style not comfort!"

"Not on the Expert Africa list of lodges but an interesting place to stay. The owners are very involved an the hospitality is very personal and not left to hired staff. This is more of a ranch than a hotel. Without doubt the best swimming pool we encountered on our holiday.

Food was excellent, the Kudu steak being particularly tender and tasty.

Our room (No 5) was fine although rooms 1 and 2 have a nice view.

Sundowner drive was a real off road experience with sightings of Mountain Zebras as well as Oryx. We shared our view of the sunset with a large troop of baboons who, not having had any human contact, simply settled down to sleep, ignoring us.

There is an Observatory for star gazers although we didn't visit it.

A very relaxing stay and the didn't charge for doing our laundry!"

"A beautiful location with a sea view from our room. Very comfortable.

The adjoining restaurant, The Wreck, is possibly the best in Swakophund and you need to book a table as it is very popular. Expert Africa could consider including restaurant reservations when they make the booking for The Beach.

We went on a living Desert Tour with Tommy's Living Desert Tours although Living Desert Adventures is equally good and does exactly the same tour. Expert Africa should include this in their itinerary as it was the highlight of our visit to Swakophund.

Although it can be cold and misty in Swakophund, we could have spent 3 night rather than 2 as there is plenty to do."

"We were glad that we had been booked in here rather than Doro Nawas as it is more convenient for visiting the rock carvings under our own steam rather than having to take a tour.

Chalets are all located amongst the rocky outcrops giving complete privacy.

Highlight of our stay was the game drive to see the Desert Elephants. We saw a lot and from vey close quarters. One walked past our vehicle just a few fee away.

No need to take a Sundowner Drive as you can walk up to the viewpoint where they have a bar and cushions to sit on and watch the sunset."

"We stayed in a Premier Waterhole Chalet, on of 4 double storey chalets overlooking the waterhole. Well worth paying the extra cost even if you don't need all the beds. Other waterhole chalets don't actually look over the waterhole. You can sit on the upstairs veranda enjoying a quiet drink whilst waiting for the game to arrive. A times there was no activity but then the waterhole was full of elephants, followed by other game, all appearing to take their turn.

Expert Africa's information is a little out of date. The N$500 is a key deposit, there is no longer an inventory, nor is there anything in the chalet except for bedding, towels and some glasses. No chance of self catering unless you take all your own equipment including crockery. They also request payment by credit card which is just a quick as elsewhere in Namibia. One of our cards was declined at the petrol pump but another one worked OK.

Service is generally slow, especially for dinner in the restaurant at peak times."

"Interesting architecture, a bit middle eastern with water channels separating the reception building from the rest of the lodge. Apparently guests frequently fall in! The restaurant has floor to ceiling glass doors, several of which are cracked due to guests walking into them thinking that they are open.

People stay here rather than in the Park as the food and service is excellent and it is only 20 minutes to the Eastern Gate."

"This was the only room available and it was absolutely amazing, although not cheap! The Suite has two identical huge bedrooms with bathrooms so large that you can get lost! Bath, 2 showers etc etc.

We has our own hostess, a chef, guide, housemaid and gardener. View over the bush with a little swimming pool which was surprisingly deep. Rather excessive but something we won't forget. We would probably been equally happy in the Bush Camp which looked quite adequate.

The two activities we went on were the Leopard tracking and the AfriCat experience. Both included seeing them at close quarters. literally a few yards.

We should have stayed for two nights as there were other activities that we'd have enjoyed.

The options in the table below are not adequate to grade this accommodation, superlative is more appropiate!"

"We stayed here due to error in our booking for the Etango Ranch Guest Farm, and we are glad that we did!

Getting to the Lodge was confusing as they are currently quarrying road material between the main road and the lodge. Fortunately our host met us at the gate and showed us the way. They also guided us back to the road in the morning despite it being 4.45am.

Accommodation is simple but quite adequate and our hosts went out of their way to make us feel at home. Dinner was served in a small rondaval overlooking the bush and was the best kudu steak we'd had on the whole trip. They also smoke their own game and we bought two packs of smoked kudu which found to be delicious and very smokey.

The lodge is 15 minutes from the Airport rather than 5 minutes, and as we had to be there by 5am we didn't need breakfast, so they provided a flask of coffee instead.

They are currently in the process of extending the accommodation and adding a campsite. They are renaming Acacia B&B to Ongolo Lodge, website: www.ongolo.net"