Travel reviews by Mr & Mrs H from Hampton
Review Distribution
Total number of trips
1
Countries visited
2
Lodges stayed in
5
Excursions taken
0
My Aug 2013 trip
Tanzania and 1 other country between 25 Aug 2013 and 5 Sep 2013
"We had an excellent trip and felt we were particularly lucky with sightings at the first three camps/lodges due to the expertise of our Asilia driver, Stanford. We were particularly pleased that once an animal had been spotted we were able to observe at leisure and have wonderful memories of a very restive leopard in a tree. We watched for about half an hour as he tried to find a comfy spot and walked up and down and all around the tree. Having our own vehicle really made a difference.
As I had made our booking some months before the trip I had forgotten that this would not be the case at Lamai. I think that it would be a good idea to make a note of this on the confirmation invoice or in the final letter you send just before departure. We had taken this paperwork with us but had not printed out all the emails leading to the final trip details. The couple we shared with were extremely pleasant but they had just flown in from the UK and were on safari for only 3 nights before going to Zanzibar whilst we had gone to the north more for the wildebeest. Things worked out well but this could so easily not have been the case and I will certainly bear this in mind for a future trip.
We had an excellent guide, Kakae, at Lamai, not only was he very good indeed at spotting game but he had a detailed knowledge of all the animals we saw. He had a great sense of humour and we enjoyed conversations with him on a number of topics."
As I had made our booking some months before the trip I had forgotten that this would not be the case at Lamai. I think that it would be a good idea to make a note of this on the confirmation invoice or in the final letter you send just before departure. We had taken this paperwork with us but had not printed out all the emails leading to the final trip details. The couple we shared with were extremely pleasant but they had just flown in from the UK and were on safari for only 3 nights before going to Zanzibar whilst we had gone to the north more for the wildebeest. Things worked out well but this could so easily not have been the case and I will certainly bear this in mind for a future trip.
We had an excellent guide, Kakae, at Lamai, not only was he very good indeed at spotting game but he had a detailed knowledge of all the animals we saw. He had a great sense of humour and we enjoyed conversations with him on a number of topics."
Macushla House
"Macushla House review"
1 night
Arrived
25 Aug 2013
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location
Average
Service
Excellent
Facilities
Excellent
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Excellent
Little Oliver's Camp
"Oliver's Camp review"
2 nights
Arrived
26 Aug 2013
"Although we expected, according to our itinerary, to stay at Oliver's camp we were taken instead to Little Oliver's. We did query this with the camp manager but she assured us that it wasn't a mistake. In honour of our anniversary we were given the honeymoon accommodation. The camp was lovely and very well run. The relief manager, Mouse, was an excellent host and her stories of East Africa around the fire and at dinner added to a very convivial atmosphere.
As we had the same guide/driver for all the Asilia camps/lodges we'll comment further in the final section but we thoroughly enjoyed watching the elephants, in particular, and were also lucky to see much other wildlife including lions."
As we had the same guide/driver for all the Asilia camps/lodges we'll comment further in the final section but we thoroughly enjoyed watching the elephants, in particular, and were also lucky to see much other wildlife including lions."
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location
Excellent
Service
Excellent
Facilities
Excellent
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Good
Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge
"Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge review"
2 nights
Arrived
28 Aug 2013
"Having read other reviews we did not have very high expectations of Sopa Lodge but we were very pleasantly surprised.
We had chosen to stay there because of its wonderful location right on the crater rim and its closeness to the eastern descent road which meant that we were the first vehicle into the crater on the day we visited.
Although the lodge is busy the staff were very attentive and the food was good. Evening meals alternated between a set menu with choices on one night and a buffet on the next. The choice of food was good though some of the buffet food we chose was luke warm ( a little surprising as we went into dinner shortly after the restaurant opened).
On our first night the restaurant staff brought us an anniversary cake accompanied by singing from the Lodge choir which was a nice touch."
We had chosen to stay there because of its wonderful location right on the crater rim and its closeness to the eastern descent road which meant that we were the first vehicle into the crater on the day we visited.
Although the lodge is busy the staff were very attentive and the food was good. Evening meals alternated between a set menu with choices on one night and a buffet on the next. The choice of food was good though some of the buffet food we chose was luke warm ( a little surprising as we went into dinner shortly after the restaurant opened).
On our first night the restaurant staff brought us an anniversary cake accompanied by singing from the Lodge choir which was a nice touch."
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location
Excellent
Service
Excellent
Facilities
Good
Rooms
Good
Food
Good
Dunia Camp
"Dunia Camp review"
3 nights
Arrived
30 Aug 2013
"We really enjoyed Dunia Camp.
Peter is an excellent host and gave us a very clear introduction to camp life. The camp is very well-run. We had had some apprehension about the bucket showers but they were very easy to use and hot water was always extremely promptly provided.
The staff were all very welcoming and seemed to enjoy helping us to learn a new word of Swahili every day."
Peter is an excellent host and gave us a very clear introduction to camp life. The camp is very well-run. We had had some apprehension about the bucket showers but they were very easy to use and hot water was always extremely promptly provided.
The staff were all very welcoming and seemed to enjoy helping us to learn a new word of Swahili every day."
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location
Excellent
Service
Excellent
Facilities
Excellent
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Good
Lamai Serengeti
"Lamai Serengeti review"
3 nights
Arrived
2 Sep 2013
"Lamai has a beautiful location and lovely accommodation. Rather surprisingly we had more problems with the shower here than at Dunia. The backup system for heating hot water for our room did not seem to be working so it was a cold shower or none on our first morning there. Hot water later in the day was not a problem once the solar panel had kicked in.
As the rooms are quite spread out we did wonder why Lamai only provided an air horn in the room for contacting staff rather than a two-way radio as at other camps."
As the rooms are quite spread out we did wonder why Lamai only provided an air horn in the room for contacting staff rather than a two-way radio as at other camps."
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location
Excellent
Service
Excellent
Activities
Excellent
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Excellent
Facilities
Good
We enjoyed an excellent, cooked to order, breakfast next morning. Our main regret was that we did not feel we had sufficient time to enjoy the place given that we arrived at 11.00 pm and had to be up to leave at 5.30am to avoid the traffic.
On reflection, we thought we might have welcomed staying another night or perhaps staying somewhere closer to the airport even though it would not have the same atmosphere or introduction to Africa."