Travel reviews by 4 travellers from UK & Zam

"River Crossing Lodge is only a short drive from Windhoek yet in a quiet bush setting in the hills.

Rooms are dotted around the hill with spectacular views. Also good brdlife. They are well designed and very comfortable wth feather duvets, DSTV (a few channels), drinks fridge, phone.

Service was fine, if a bit fussy, but the lodge has only recently opened, so I'm sure it will settle down.

Directions on internet are inaccurate, the turning off the airport road is about 6km from town. And the signpost is hard to see from the road, look for the sign to the vinyard"

"A large lodge with many chalets laid out in fairly well spaced rows, but our chaletswere in the front with unimpeded views of, and access to, the desert so it was fantastic. I imagine it would have been less enjoyable to sit on one's verandah and have to look between other peple's chalets at the view. Rooms very comfortable with good size verandah.

The lodge was well run and provided for all our needs (except for a book on Namibian birds) and service was good. Food was pretty good, considering the size of the place, braii always had selection of bush meat, wide choice of salads and sweets.

Very convenient for the dunes and Sossusvlei."

"In the middle of nowhere, very interesting room design, a bit small but warm and cosy, Kuecki is a chef and the food is excellent.

Tame zebra - came for breakfast, and porcupine - came for dinner.

We were only there overnight but it was fun."

"We were given rooms in the main house. Queen was large but warm with a sitting area in the bathroom for some reason, King was a suite of 3 rooms, rather unnecessary for 2 of us, and rather cold. Bathrooms well kitted out, as were bedrooms, just needed a bit more thought. Electric blankets provided but no-where to plug them in unless you go out and buy an adaptor so you can have the light on as well.

Very cold when we were there but they wouldn't light the fire in the hall. TV only seemed to have 1, occasionally 2, channels, sport and film. Trying to be luxurius but needs more thought.

Ate there the first night but didn't really enjoy it. Food took a long time to come and we were rather cold so the waiting was painful.
Location convenient for town centre.

Small courtyard area pleasant. Staff very nice. Internet access available and being improved."

"The 4 of us were given the VIP house, with 5 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, etc, DSTV with all channels.

Food was really nice and staff very helpful and friendly. Write-ups run the place down as a bit rough but actually it's fine, and we were very pleasantly surprised. The only place to stay if you want to see this area of the Skeleton Coast anyway."

"Design: lodge looked ugly and bleak, with a steep, stony path leading up to it. If the idea was to not spoil the surroundings, why not build it into the hill instead of on top?

Rooms were nice except for 2 things: first, ours faced west and started to get sunshine by lunchtime so it was too hot to sit on the verandah or even back in the room and the place was therefore very hot at night. Facing East would have been such a nice thing.
Secodly, as a group of 4 we got 2 adjoining tents, which was fine, except that Wilderness had decided to save money on plumbing and put the toilets for the 2 tents adjacent to each other separated only by a window in the canvas! Quite a surprise to walk into your toilet to see your friend through the gauze window!

Manageress did not have a clue about looking after guests and the staff were not well trained, though pleasant. When we arrived we were given what seemed to be the standard half hour lecture on the lodge and what we could and couldn't do - before we were allowed to go to our rooms. On the second evening, they had lit several fires in the dining area, on an already very hot day. Before we passed out I requested a dinner table outside and you would have thought I had asked for the lodge to be moved down the hill, it was going to be so much trouble! I noticed they let the fires die down, once they had found the windiest place to set our table!

Food: pretty bad, including a potjie with bones and gristle but no meat that we could find.

Guiding: we went on one drive on the day we arrived. had to leave 30 mins late as the manageress hadn't finished her lecture, but were charged in full. The guide was very pleasant but had not guided here before and had received no training, so could not identify birds or vegetation."

"Despite being a large camp, the individual bungalows all look out onto woodland and are fairly well spaced. The rooms are well designed with small balconies, tea & coffee, good lighting, air con, etc.

Food was good, and staff were friendly and helpful without being fussy. The place was generally well organised.

Pity the place isn't in the Park."

"Rooms small but warm, with nice beds & bedding, tea & coffeee facilities, plus mosquito nets. Not very nice setting though.
Food was as bad as you'd expect from a government-run camp.

We tried one of their night drives, expensive at 60 pounds per person. The middle row of seats was set at such a height that all one could see was the top of the windscreen and the sun visor. After less than 2 of the 3 hour drive the 2nd spotlight failed so we could only see in fron of us. The guide was not very informative and failed to stop for interesting animals - except, of course, lions. Very dull and not recommended."

"Beautifully designed lodge and chalets, with many little thoughful extras. Very comfortable tents, set out in the bush. Food was delicious and beautifully presented. Pity they didn't have good stocks of wine though.

Hot water bottles in the feather covered beds were heaven.

Staff were all very helpful and pleasant.

A place for relaxing."

"A good stay, mainly as we could walk, after days in a car in Etosha. Though in fact there are not many walks and we had done them in half a day.

Bungalows basically fine but no frills except kettle & tea & coffee. We were 2 couples in one car but they separated us by one bungalow - which was never occupied.

Simple food was OK, but the chef seemed to be having a couple of bad days. Don't ask for poached eggs unless you want them cooked in vinegar! Staff were friendly and helpful.

It was a pity that there was no information about the plants, animals or birds in the area, even to buy."

"This was probably OK, if basic, at one time but the owners aren't really interested any more. They even recommend you to go and eat elsewhere.

Rooms were old fashioned and the bottom sheet was missing, only a mattress cover.

The bar was quite well stocked except there was no wine. The food was plain, one dinner was OK, the other not. We were only there because I had forgotten to change the booking to River Crossing Lodge. Absolutely no comparision!

Though, if you chose a time when there were no groups on horseback there were some nice places to walk. There is a big development starting, between the main road and the guesthouse, it looks like a small town, so the guesthouse won't even be peacful in a few years."