Travel reviews by Mr & Mrs RW from NW London
Review Distribution
Total number of trips
2
Countries visited
2
Lodges stayed in
8
Excursions taken
0
My Jan 2013 trip
Tanzania and 1 other country between 28 Jan 2013 and 11 Feb 2013
Arranged By Elizabeth Chapman
Lemala Ngorongoro
"Lemala Ngorongoro review"
Kusini Camp
"Kusini Camp review"
The couple running the camp were perhaps not as knowledgeable as the very best managers we have encountered but it did not spoil our experience."
Lamai Serengeti
"Lamai Serengeti review"
They have a degree of enthusiasm and professionalism which was not equalled elsewhere."
Matemwe Lodge
"Matemwe Lodge review"
Service in the restaurant was indifferent, probably caused by lack of training and supervision. It improved very considerably after we complained."
We would also point out that Matemwe Lodge is a little remote - which is part of its charm. Activities can easily be arranged for guests who would like to visit the local village. During the day there are a couple of hotels you can wander up to to have a drink, although for the most part - guests should be aware that it is a quiet beach retreat.
Innovation Manager
First Safari
Tanzania and 1 other country between 23 Sep 2010 and 8 Oct 2010
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
We got such good personal advice from Ellie that we hardly looked at the promotional literature. The information pack was excellent and dealt with everything we needed to know.
just one point about Zanzibar. We were recommended to take US$. in fact this was unnecessary. The shops and hotel were all just as happy with the local currency and applying the exchange rates they were quoting, paying in US$ was an expensive option. The museums were all happy with local currency too and there was no saving involved in paying in US$. Please review this recommendation."
Feedback response
We usually recommend that our travellers take US dollars on their trips to Tanzania. This is because the currency is widely accepted in all camps and beach lodges and is easy to get before you leave your home country. You are only able to get Tanzanian shillings once you are in Tanzania, from a foreign exchange or cash machine.
Most travellers will visit remoter areas for the majority of their trip where it is hard to exchange cash or stop at a cash machine. We would still recommend that these travellers have US dollars in cash to settle their bills and for tipping. If you wait until you reach Tanzania to try and get cash, you may find that you are not able to for the first part of your trip. On this particular itinerary, these traveller spent five days in Stone Town where it is easy to get local currency and where most of the smaller restaurants and shops will offer better rates for Tanzanian Shillings. In this case and for anyone spending longer than a day in Stone Town, we would definitely recommend that people get local currency and we are sorry that we didn’t mention this to these travellers. There are plenty of cash machines and foreign exchange beaureux in town where you can do this.
For travellers spending only one night in Stone Town at the end of their trip and the rest of their time out in remoter areas, they may find that it is easier to travel with US dollars which they can get before leaving home.
For further details on what kind of currency it is best to travel with – please feel free to call us and chat to a member of the Expert Africa team.
Mwagusi Safari Camp
"Mwagusi Safari Camp review"
The only negative whatsoever was the reliance on solar power for lighting in the banda. This limited the amount of available light (the bulb in the bathroom did not work). I doubt if the long term environmental advantage is particularly compelling. On the other hand Ellie recommended that we took head lights, which we did and they were invaluable in making up for the lighting deficit.
The solar heated water was fine."
Beho Beho
"Beho Beho review"
If we had not been to Mwagusi, the bush camp at Beho Beho might have felt like a more spectacular experience than it was. Again, a little over the top."
Beho Beho Tree-house
"Beho Beho fly-camping review"
I am sure that most customers would regard the fly camp as spectacular. In most respects it was. However, it was a little over the top for our taste."
Serena Inn
"Serena Inn review"
The bathroom was not nearly at the standard you would expect of a hotel at this price and while this only detracted a little from the overall experience, it should be noted and fed back to the hotel management - they really do need to re-think the design. The fittings were tired, to say the least, and so their replacement should accompany the redesign."