Travel reviews by Ms H & Mr D from Oldham
Review Distribution
Total number of trips
1
Countries visited
1
Lodges stayed in
8
Excursions taken
0
Great trip - even better than expected.
Namibia between 6 Oct 2009 and 22 Oct 2009
"We had a wonderful time, we loved the isolation, the landscapes, the peace and quiet, the wildlife and the great lodges. We found the driving easy and enjoyable and the people were very friendly and welcoming. Namibia was a perfect destination for us and one that we will return to.
Gwynneth was very helpful making suggestions for accommodation when my preferred, researched ones, were unavailable. I had not realized in my inital dealings with Gwynneth that she was from Namibia though her knowledge and personal experiences should maybe have gven me a clue!! What I was impressed with was Gwynneths 'connection' to my trip - I didn't need to remind her of were we wanted to go or wanted to stay and felt she got a good measure of us and our needs/wants in making the recommendations she did. She also dealt with any query, no matter how minor, with ease and enthusiasm (even though I'm sure I asked some pretty basic and cautionary questions). Gwynneth also dealt with the unfortunate cancellation of Air Namibia flights from London very efficiently and calmly - which helped me not get too worked up about it either.
We would recommend Expert Africa to our friends and hope to travel with you again. One of the great pluses of your service is that you confirm the whole trip prior to any comittment being made by the customer - don't change it!! Loved the travel document wallet too (the little things count)."
Gwynneth was very helpful making suggestions for accommodation when my preferred, researched ones, were unavailable. I had not realized in my inital dealings with Gwynneth that she was from Namibia though her knowledge and personal experiences should maybe have gven me a clue!! What I was impressed with was Gwynneths 'connection' to my trip - I didn't need to remind her of were we wanted to go or wanted to stay and felt she got a good measure of us and our needs/wants in making the recommendations she did. She also dealt with any query, no matter how minor, with ease and enthusiasm (even though I'm sure I asked some pretty basic and cautionary questions). Gwynneth also dealt with the unfortunate cancellation of Air Namibia flights from London very efficiently and calmly - which helped me not get too worked up about it either.
We would recommend Expert Africa to our friends and hope to travel with you again. One of the great pluses of your service is that you confirm the whole trip prior to any comittment being made by the customer - don't change it!! Loved the travel document wallet too (the little things count)."
Terra Africa, Namibia (this camp has since closed)
"good starting point to our trip"
1 night
Arrived
7 Oct 2009
Good
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good
Location
Good
Service
Good
Facilities
Good
Rooms
Good
Food
Average
Not currently featured by Expert Africa
Zebra River Lodge
"Perfect start to our trip"
2 nights
Arrived
8 Oct 2009
"Wow, what a place this is. We loved the location and the friendly 'house guest' feel of the place. All the staff were accommadating and met all our needs so effortlessly, including changing and repairing our one and only flat tyre!
We had what we think must have been the best room and enjoyed the fabulous night sky from our own elevated veranda and the sunrise from the comfort of our bed via the floor the ceiling windows. The food was fantastic especially the home baked breads and the gin & tonics at the sundowner spot were perfect.
There are some great walking trails from the lodge which saves on more driving and makes this already relaxing place even more so.
This place was one of our favorites and will stay in our memories for a very long time. We cannot recommend ZRL highly enough."
We had what we think must have been the best room and enjoyed the fabulous night sky from our own elevated veranda and the sunrise from the comfort of our bed via the floor the ceiling windows. The food was fantastic especially the home baked breads and the gin & tonics at the sundowner spot were perfect.
There are some great walking trails from the lodge which saves on more driving and makes this already relaxing place even more so.
This place was one of our favorites and will stay in our memories for a very long time. We cannot recommend ZRL highly enough."
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location
Excellent
Service
Excellent
Activities
Excellent
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Excellent
Facilities
Excellent
Kulala Desert Lodge
"Great sunsets over the dunes"
2 nights
Arrived
10 Oct 2009
"Whilst we had a nice time here we considered it to be expensive for what you got - I guess, from the price we paid, we were a little disappointed. The main thing going for this place is it's private gate to the dunes but as this could only be accessed by going on one of their drives you either had to pay for a rather expensive trip or make the 35k drive to the main public entrance (and back of course) before you even start to drive the 'dune road'.
We had pre booked and pre paid for 2 trips on one of our days at the lodge which were good. When we visit this area again though,we will probably go for one of the lodges near to the main public gate and do the trips ourselves as we did not feel the time saved by the private gate justified the cost.
The food was OK though it was always on the cooler side of just warm. The bar and dining room also lacked atmosphere though the pool and terrace were nice and relaxing.
The chairs on our private 'veranda' were very tatty and needed replacing or at least a lick of paint.
Though the comments above are negative we nevertheless had a lovely time here due to the natural beauty of this unique area of Namibia."
We had pre booked and pre paid for 2 trips on one of our days at the lodge which were good. When we visit this area again though,we will probably go for one of the lodges near to the main public gate and do the trips ourselves as we did not feel the time saved by the private gate justified the cost.
The food was OK though it was always on the cooler side of just warm. The bar and dining room also lacked atmosphere though the pool and terrace were nice and relaxing.
The chairs on our private 'veranda' were very tatty and needed replacing or at least a lick of paint.
Though the comments above are negative we nevertheless had a lovely time here due to the natural beauty of this unique area of Namibia."
Good
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good
Location
Good
Service
Average
Activities
Average
Rooms
Average
Food
Average
Facilities
Average
Villa Margherita
"Lovely house in good location"
2 nights
Arrived
12 Oct 2009
"A lovely, stylish, well furnished house. Breakfast was lovely and everything was professionally delivered."
Good
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good
Location
Excellent
Service
Good
Facilities
Excellent
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Excellent
Mowani Mountain Camp
"Literally a great hidaway"
2 nights
Arrived
14 Oct 2009
"We loved this place. The lounge and dinning areas were fabulous and not just because of the magnificent views. The food was excellent, the staff friendly and knowledgable and the toilets were pretty cool too!! The sundowner spot was one of the best not just because of the great vantage point but also because of the well prepared/served drinks and canapes.
We loved our 'tent' and enjoyed sleeping with the canvas open to the wilderness of our front garden!
A great place to stay. One we will be returning to. We even, with the help of some locals, found the huge sink hole known as Wondergat - we were thrilled."
We loved our 'tent' and enjoyed sleeping with the canvas open to the wilderness of our front garden!
A great place to stay. One we will be returning to. We even, with the help of some locals, found the huge sink hole known as Wondergat - we were thrilled."
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location
Excellent
Service
Excellent
Activities
Excellent
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Excellent
Facilities
Excellent
Okaukuejo Camp
"Great water hole"
1 night
Arrived
16 Oct 2009
"Our waterhole accommodation was outstanding - viewing the visitng animals from our bedroom veranda a real bonus. The buffet dinner and breakfast however left a lot to be desired (though in fairness what can you expect with a camp of this size which included a variety of accommodation from the luxury which we had, to basic pop up tents)."
Good
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good
Location
Excellent
Service
Good
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Poor
Mushara Lodge
"Lovely lodge"
2 nights
Arrived
17 Oct 2009
"We had a lovely stay at Mushara Lodge, relaxing by the pool in the gardens on our day of arrival and then taking 2 good game drives the next day.
On both evenings the food was excellent and the atmosphere intimate and romantic!!"
On both evenings the food was excellent and the atmosphere intimate and romantic!!"
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location
Good
Service
Good
Activities
Good
Rooms
Good
Food
Excellent
Frans Indongo Lodge
"Good place to end (or start) trip to Namibia"
2 nights
Arrived
19 Oct 2009
"As this was our last place prior to flying back we just relaxed, taking a couple of walks, reading by the pool and watching the animals visit the waterhole. We did though go on an evening game drive which was OK and gave us the opportunity to see rhino but the stark contrast between the animals behaviour in Etosha (relaxed and calm) compared to here (frightened and wary) was disturbing to us (We suspected that this may be used sometimes as hunting lodge or maybe there was one nearby - we didn't want to ask).
Whilst some of the staff were very nice there were a couple who appeared a little morose."
Whilst some of the staff were very nice there were a couple who appeared a little morose."
Good
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good
Location
Good
Service
Average
Activities
Average
Rooms
Good
Food
Good
Though I wouldn't stay in for the dinner again it was OK for 2 tired travellers."