Travel reviews by Mrs & Mr R from Hampshire

"Wonderful personal welcome from Kate the owner and her small son - cold towels to wipe away the dust on arrival and a warm welcome despite the fact that Kate had overlooked our arrival and wasn't expecting us.

The little houses were lovely, the food was good and well presented, the walking trails were well marked, and the porcupine which was fed by the back door after supper was an added bonus.

It was a great place to begin our African adventure."

"Great location and road down to this lodge.

The bungalows were spacious and the car was parked beside each bungalow making baggage handling really easy. This is a well run lodge but the welcome was rather formal and cool. We arrived at 2 o'clock in the afternoon, but too late to book onto a game drive as they were fully booked. We were offered cheetah feeding instead and this was really interesting - the rescued cheetahs are fed every day and we walked alongside them.

We were also lucky to see the meerkats whom are also fed kitchen scraps every day, but it was pure luck that I happened to mention meerkats to one of the kitchen staff which then enabled us to see them."

"This lodge sticks in our minds for all the wrong reasons. When we arrived we were asked about dietary requirements as they pride themselves on their food and their 5 course dinners. I stated that I had to avoid dairy produce but could easily eat my way around most menus so it wasn't a real problem. In the middle of our welcome a bus tour turned up so they took priority, and then the owner turned up in a terrible flap from a shopping trip, having left the shopping in the shop. She apologised for her stressed state on 5 separate occasions which became somewhat irritating in itself.

We turned up at 3.30 for the drive to the canyon, only to be told the drive never leaves at 3.30 - it leaves at 3pm in the winter but as it was now summer it would leave at 4pm - so we duly waited!!!

The rooms in the lodge were bog standard, hotel type, and the views were very average. We elected to go on the sundowner drive to the edge of the canyon - 18 kilometres of extremely bumpy track to reach the canyon, which was not particularly interesting. Fortunately it was the beginning of our trip so expectations were not too high. The drivers were not particularly chatty, and neither were any of the other guests. who had arrived in a tour bus - however their tour guide was very chatty and informative which was a bonus.

The evening meal was a joke. When I didn't eat the 'amuse bouche' because it was covered in a cream sauce, there was concern and then I explained about the dairy problem - again - and then the kitchen went into panic trying to produce a different meal and blaming me for not telling them. In the end, we waited a further half an hour, and finally got some smoked salmon without cream souce, but the main course was covered in cheese, and puidding was a chopped up strawberry. I felt embarrased and was very pleased to leave the next morning."

"This lodge is in a fantastic location and the individual chalet rooms are unique - the layout of the lodge is really special. We really enjoyed the food, and the staff were really helpful.

The location of the swimming pool and honesty bar is stunning - we didn't swim, but it was inviting. Good place for trails and hiking and we enjoyed the views from the top of nearby mountains.

Wished we could have stayed for another night."

"Wow, what a fantastic place - it was really special with rooms built into the rocks and not near other rooms - only 7 boulder rooms and we didn't see anyone else, although the place was full.

We opted for the barbeque pack, and did our own barbeque - fantastic - we were given wood, firelighters and everything we needed to be totally self sufficient for the rest of the day and evening. There were some lovely touches such as the wine tree rack with wine, the biscuit barrel with home made biscuits, and a great barbeque. A fantastic experience complete with desert storm overnight, and the odd mouse scampering about.

The owner Piet was particularly welcoming and chatty, and the walking trails were well marked and good fun."

"We really liked the atmosphere in this hotel - the rooms were built in semi detached blocks and were pleasant, but the dining room was good, serving excellent food and a good atmosphere - the bar area was good as well. The electicity kept failing but that just added to the atmosphere, and the staff were charming.

We drove ourselves to Luderitz, but found the town very uninspiring, but the ghost town tour was interesting, and we found desert horses on the way back to the Inn"

"We arrived about 2.30pm and were given a very polite but not a very warm welcome. We were given a drink and left to our own devices until 4pm. This was difficult as we had been given a double room and not a twin, so wanted to be moved but had to wait until 4pm when tea and cake was served, to ask for a swap to a twin room which was done without any problem. Other guests then arrived and the hosts became very chatty, and tea and cakes were flowing.

We took the walk to the old copper mine with a German couple before supper which filled in time.

The evening meal was okay, and Hannelore was very interesting to talk to. However it was an odd set up and Hannelore sat with us and poured wine but didn't eat, despite the fact that everyone was seated around a communal table. It was a little forced with 2 other German couples staying at the farm - it was all perfectly charming but not very relaxing - one night was sufficient"

"Great place, great welcome, and fantastic location, with good rooms, very good food and excellent entertainment - the only place where everyone was invited to take part in the African singing and dancing after supper - the atmosphere was really special and great fun - the staff made you feel very welcome.

The sand dune activities were also very enjoyable despite the early start, and picnicing in the desert was very civilised."

"Being unable to have 2 nights at Kulala Desert Lodge, we moved 10kilometres to Sossus Dune Lodge which was a good experience and the rooms were fantastic - the bungalows were very large and very comfortable. However we found the atmosphere quite lacking and very down beat - the food was good but the service was very stiff.

The dining room was spacious with great views but again very formal - it was memorable for the luxurious living but not for the atmosphere."

"This was a great hotel in a great location.

The individual rooms on stilts were very roomy and contained everything needed for a relaxing stay including wine and coffee - our room was on the end with a great view of the river and the ocean. Breakfast was good in another great location, and we ate at The Tug each night which was a great fish restaurant.

We went quad biking in the dunes which was a fantastic experience as the weather was warm and sunny - great place - really helpful staff - a really great 2 days."

"We stayed in Mowani luxury bungalow and loved every minute of our experience here, including the snake and ghekos in our room - it really was luxury including hot water bottles in our beds every night (although it was quite warm), and service that was truly out of this world - the staff were so humble and couldn't do enough for you. The rock and bar for sundowners was so memorable and the staff served drinks and wonderful canapes.

We went on the desert elephant trekiking trip and eventually found elephants - great experience.

When we came to leave we had moved our car to the entrance and while we were paying our bill another member of staff took it on himself to wash our hire car - real service and he didn't expect any more money (but we gave him something towards his own car fund) I can't speak to highly of Mowani."

"I loved Mowani, but Ongava was equally good in a different way - our bungalow with twin sinks overlooking the waterholes were stunning - the bungalow was really spacious and comfortable. Everything was good including the food and service.

The game drives and tracking were excellent - everything was included in our package which was great, and we had nothing to pay at the end of three very memorable days, both in Etosha and in their own reserve. We also expewrienced the first rain of the season - a spactacular thunderstorm lasting several hours - wow it was a great light show as it happened in the evening.

Tracking rhinos on foot was fun, and Etosha was spectacular - what more can I say!!! other than the staff were great too - everyone was so pleasant."

"Our final nights were spent here, and again we were not disappointed. The dining style was communal which was fine, with lots of people of different nationalities mixed in together. However the game drives were split into English or German or whatever speaking customers and so worked really well.

The game drives were great because you could radio track leopard and hyena - great experience. The warthogs were good value too, as were the birds and the bird food for feeding them.

The lodges were spaced really far apart so you felt alone in the bush, and were particularly well designed.

Another highlight was the night time hide where they fed the porcupines, and occasionally a leopard - altogether a great experience."