Travel reviews by Mr & Miss S from London

"Hugely surprised at the number of animals we spotted just in the short journey from the airstrip to the camp! Camp was well located in the valley and tents were spacious, clean and very comfortable.

Our safari guide, George, was excellent and ensured that we saw most of the 'Big Five' in addition to a wildebeest crossing in the 48 hours that we stayed at Kicheche Mara. Camp staff were extremely welcoming and attentive."

"Kicheche Bush Camp really felt like home from home. Darren and Emma were fantastic hosts and made us feel like nothing was too much trouble. The tents were luxurious and our tent attendant - Joseph - did a great job of looking after us (almost like having our own personal butler!)

This was a superb spot for big cats and we were fortunate to see all of them really close up - lions, cheetah, leopard. Our excellent guide, Patrick, also managed to spot rhino for us on our last day which successfully completed our viewing of the Big FIve!"

"Conveniently located for an overnight stay and has a good view over Nairobi National Park, however the current construction work to build a major road junction on the front doorstep of the hotel risks spoiling future hotel stays for guests."

"Perfect location to "escape from it all" and relax, although the journey was a little longer than anticipated (4 hours from Nampula airport).

Chalets were of a good size and secluded, so privacy was guaranteed, and it was clear that the focus was on sustainability. Food was surprisingly very good and staff were very helpful, although most don't speak very good English. On the 2nd day of our stay, our room was not cleaned which was quite surprising given the small number of chalets."

"We were very lucky to have Terraco to ourselves as the only guests. Antonio, the hotel manager, was a great source of local knowledge and recommended some good restaurants on Ilha.

The house has been beautifully restored using both local and imported furniture and historical artefacts."

"Idyllic location offering excellent snorkelling within the lodge's own lagoon (c. 70 species of fish). Villas were extremely spacious and luxurious with a designer influence and ours had an uninterrupted sea view across the beach.

Food was excellent and we always had a choice of meal times and often what we would like to eat. Carlos, the chef, even gave us a tour of the kitchen and we watched him fillet our fish for dinner! The lodge is well-managed by Doug and Laura, who have established very close ties with the local community, and the lodge is helping to fund the building of a new school in neighbouring Cabaceira Pequena, as well as employing 95% of their staff from the same village."

"No request was too small at Breezes and all the staff were hugely friendly and falling over each other to help - this could have been because the resort was only half full, but I don't believe this was the case.

The location is perfect for total relaxation, although there are a number of activities available should you wish to move temporarily from your sun lounger! The rooms (in my case a Deluxe room) and other facilities are very good, although the equipment in the gym was very limited. The therapists in the spa (all from Thailand or Bali) were excellent and there was a good range of treatments at reasonable prices. The food was faultless - wide choice available at breakfast and a number of themed buffet evenings which meant that you could choose whatever you fancied.

As a single, female traveller, this was a perfect resort. It could have been the time of year, but there were no children in sight which is great when you're looking for a peaceful and relaxing break!

If I had to try and search for something negative to say about Breezes, it would be that my room wasn't ready when I arrived. Nevertheless, I only had to wait 90 minutes, so could have been worse. However it would have been nice to have known this in advance, after travelling for 13/14 hours, so that I could have expected the wait."

"This was the first time that I had stayed at an eco resort and I found the design and functionality of the bungalows fascinating. The work being undertaken to protect the Chumbe Island Coral Park and to educate the local people about the importance of protecting the reef is fantastic - I wish I could have sat in on some of the environmental education sessions with the local schoolchildren.

The service and food on the island were excellent. The staff made you feel like you were part of one big family and would come and find you if you didn't turn up for a meal! The rangers who took us on the daily forest walk were hugely knowledgeable and they were experts on locating the biggest coconut crabs after dark for our tourist photo opportunities! Unfortunately we were unable to go on the inter-tidal walk for the whole time that I was on the island, due to the fact that it was neap tide. This meant that the daily programme of activities was very limited.

The only slightly negative comments I would make about Chumbe would be that, as a complete snorkelling novice, the pre-snorkelling tuition could have been much better - it was non-existent! Also, the island was a little bit too quiet for me. In hindsight, I think that 2 nights would have been long enough as the daily programme becomes rather tedious after 2 days. Perhaps I would have appreciated the tranquility more if I had visited Chumbe at the start of my holiday....."

"I am so pleased that I stayed at the Coffee House, even if it was for only one night. The location was perfect - just 5 minutes walk from the market and not much farther to the waterfront and many of the historic places of interest. My room - the Cappuccino Suite - was huge and, although I arrived early and well ahead of the usual check-in time, the staff ran around and cleaned the room so that it was ready within 30 minutes of my arrival. Just enough time to sample the fabulous coffee!

The Coffee House is 100% run by ladies who were all very helpful. They recommended an excellent (and very reasonably priced) local tour guide who I spent an extremely enjoyable and educational 3 hours with walking round Stone Town. Unfortunately I had to leave very early the following day, so wasn't able to sample the breakfast. However if their coffee and homemade chocolate cake is anything to go by, then it would have been delicious! My only regret about the Coffee House (and Stone Town itself) is that I didn't stay longer.

One thing to note for future travellers is that the room does not have a safe, nor is there a secure facility at reception. There is a small box in each room which you can use to lock away your valuables, however you'll need to have your own padlock."