Travel reviews by Miss & Mr B from Herts
Review Distribution
Total number of trips
1
Countries visited
2
Lodges stayed in
3
Excursions taken
0
A memorable adventure
Zanzibar and 1 other country between 1 Jun 2010 and 13 Jun 2010
"As a whole we had a fantastic trip full of memorable experiences.
The people were friendly and welcoming and the accommodation was generally good. The shooting Star lodge was a little disappointing but did not ruin the overall experience.
The service we received from expert Africa has been ecellent, and I would recommend them."
The people were friendly and welcoming and the accommodation was generally good. The shooting Star lodge was a little disappointing but did not ruin the overall experience.
The service we received from expert Africa has been ecellent, and I would recommend them."
Arranged By Elizabeth Chapman
Lake Manze Adventure Camp
"Back to basics at Lake Manze Camp"
3 nights
Arrived
2 Jun 2010
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location
Excellent
Service
Good
Activities
Excellent
Rooms
Good
Food
Good
Facilities
Good
Feedback response
We observe that the numbers of 'creepy crawlies' in Southern Tanzania are highest immediately after the rains – which is when these travellers visited, at the start of June; they then reduce rapidly as the dry season progresses.
Innovation Manager
Shooting Star Lodge
"Beautiful views at the Shooting Star"
6 nights
Arrived
5 Jun 2010
"The Shooting Star Lodge has lots to offer, a great location, beautiful beach, a lovely bar/restaurant area and the rooms are very nice. The staff were friendly and the service was good.
The food however was not of a high standard and was very repetitive, the lunch menu was also lacking in choice and imagination. The cocktails are very expensive at $12 each and were mostly disappointing, the wine was also very expensive starting at around $30 a bottle. The spa and the beach bar that were promised in the brochure were not open until the last day of our 6 night stay, which was very disapponting. We also felt that the attention to detail from the mangement was poor, I did not feel that there was a genuine desire to satisfy the guests from the manager.
The bed in our room smelt damp and musty and the toilet seat was broken, washing that was done was returned to us damp and ruined (all our whites are grey). It is a shame that the lodge as a whole has huge potential but is not living up to it, and most guests could be found in the hotel next door at lunchtime.
An effort to arrange some activities such as a BBQ for guests one night would have gone a long way to improve the atmosphere and possible the standard of food."
The food however was not of a high standard and was very repetitive, the lunch menu was also lacking in choice and imagination. The cocktails are very expensive at $12 each and were mostly disappointing, the wine was also very expensive starting at around $30 a bottle. The spa and the beach bar that were promised in the brochure were not open until the last day of our 6 night stay, which was very disapponting. We also felt that the attention to detail from the mangement was poor, I did not feel that there was a genuine desire to satisfy the guests from the manager.
The bed in our room smelt damp and musty and the toilet seat was broken, washing that was done was returned to us damp and ruined (all our whites are grey). It is a shame that the lodge as a whole has huge potential but is not living up to it, and most guests could be found in the hotel next door at lunchtime.
An effort to arrange some activities such as a BBQ for guests one night would have gone a long way to improve the atmosphere and possible the standard of food."
Average
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Average
Location
Good
Service
Average
Activities
Poor
Rooms
Good
Food
Poor
Facilities
Poor
Feedback response
We are sorry to hear that these travellers had some issues while at Shooting Star – as was the manager there, Kris, when we shared these comments with him. Specifically:
- On the food – Kris apologised that their head chef had left just prior to these travellers stay, and tells us that they are in the process of recruiting a new head chef. He was sorry if this had affected the quality of the food, although is confident that standards will rise again with the new head chef.
- On drinks prices – Kris insisted that Shooting Star’s drinks prices were in line with those of other nearby lodges, and noted that their high levels were the result of Zanzibar’s Muslim culture, which taxes alcohol fairly highly.
- On the spa and the beach bar – Kris apologised that “Some of the renovations scheduled for May did overrun into June. This included the Spa, which has been re-roofed and repainted.”
- On the ‘damp and musty’ observation – Kris noted that “the weather was fairly overcast and wet during over the period these travellers stayed, which meant that the rooms may have felt slightly damper than usual; however the housekeeping team did everything they could to keep this to a minimum.” We’d observe that Shooting Star is a small lodge which does not have electric tumble-driers, instead they rely mainly on the sun to dry clothes.
- On the broken toilet seat - Kris is sorry that he wasn’t aware of this. He says that had he or his senior staff known about it, he assures us that they would have fixed it immediately.
- On the management issues – Kris comments that Shooting Star were much more stretched than usual during this time, and he apologises for the disappointment of these clients. He tells us that he was working very hard and stretched very thinly, and so wasn’t able to spend as much time with the guests as he would have usually liked to have done.
On a more positive note – he assures us that most of these issues will swiftly be sorted out, and won’t extend into the rest of the season.
- On the food – Kris apologised that their head chef had left just prior to these travellers stay, and tells us that they are in the process of recruiting a new head chef. He was sorry if this had affected the quality of the food, although is confident that standards will rise again with the new head chef.
- On drinks prices – Kris insisted that Shooting Star’s drinks prices were in line with those of other nearby lodges, and noted that their high levels were the result of Zanzibar’s Muslim culture, which taxes alcohol fairly highly.
- On the spa and the beach bar – Kris apologised that “Some of the renovations scheduled for May did overrun into June. This included the Spa, which has been re-roofed and repainted.”
- On the ‘damp and musty’ observation – Kris noted that “the weather was fairly overcast and wet during over the period these travellers stayed, which meant that the rooms may have felt slightly damper than usual; however the housekeeping team did everything they could to keep this to a minimum.” We’d observe that Shooting Star is a small lodge which does not have electric tumble-driers, instead they rely mainly on the sun to dry clothes.
- On the broken toilet seat - Kris is sorry that he wasn’t aware of this. He says that had he or his senior staff known about it, he assures us that they would have fixed it immediately.
- On the management issues – Kris comments that Shooting Star were much more stretched than usual during this time, and he apologises for the disappointment of these clients. He tells us that he was working very hard and stretched very thinly, and so wasn’t able to spend as much time with the guests as he would have usually liked to have done.
On a more positive note – he assures us that most of these issues will swiftly be sorted out, and won’t extend into the rest of the season.
Innovation Manager
Zanzibar Coffee House
"Zanzibar Coffee House"
2 nights
Arrived
11 Jun 2010
"We loved our room at the Zanzibar Coffee House, it was large, airy and very comfortable, it was in a great location near all the hustle and bustle of Stone Town. The staff were friendly and helpful.
Unfortunatley when we left at 6am to come home there was a powercut and we had to pack and get ready in the dark, but in some ways it just added to the experience."
Unfortunatley when we left at 6am to come home there was a powercut and we had to pack and get ready in the dark, but in some ways it just added to the experience."
Good
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good
Location
Excellent
Service
Good
Rooms
Good
Facilities
Good
The camp is very much back to basics, no electricity and showering under the stars. The tents are clean and comfortable and provide everything you need. The guides are fantastic and our favourite part of the holiday was the lake safari's with rasheedi.
The evening dinner is quite an experience, a communal dinner out amongst the wildlife, if you don't like creepy crawlies you may stuggle a little as there are thousands of them, including all over the dinner table, I did find this hard to get used to, but enjoyed the experience nonetheless."