Travel reviews by Mr V from Switzerland

"Only stayed one night as we arrived from Europe late in the evening and had a morning flight to Selous. For this it was perfect.

Unable to comment on food, activities and facilities as we did not take advantage of any of this."

"Lovely location with beautiful views over the river from both common areas as well as your private veranda. Well appointed and charmingly decorated "tents" on wooden platforms. The 'family tent' is 2 tents sharing one platform, which worked really well for a family with 2 kids aged 11 and 13.

Wonderful, creative food - enjoyed by both adults and children in our family. Very close to nature: we were awaken by hippos gracing under our platform one morning and by monkeys peering into the tent in the next. The third day there was an elephant gracing in the middle of the lodge!

Very friendly staff an excellent service. It is very nice to have the same driver, guide and waiter throughout the stay. Very flexible in terms of activities - we had our own boat / car the whole time. We had a truly wonderful time with great game drives and boat trips. We saw all the animals that were on our "wish list" except Rhinos and Leopards."

"We really enjoyed staying at Chumbe. The architecture of this Eco lodge is really thought through and inspires you just to relax, sit back and enjoy the vistas or read a book. The place is full of charm.

The staff is very friendly, service minded and flexible and the rangers very knowledgable. Food was good, but mostly buffer style - one of the few areas that we felt might be improved.

Coral reef is very impressive with a big variety of corals and fish. We saw sea turtles, rays and octopus. We stayed 2 nights, but 3 nights would probably have been better as it would have given us more time to properly enjoy all activities and just relax a bit."

"The rooms at Matemwe were nicely decorated and clean. The rooms had nice touches like sun hat, sarongs, mosquito coils etc. There seemed to be problems with the water pressure so the showers did not work that well all the time.

We had been informed that there would be no safe in the room, but were surprised to find out that there was also no safe in the reception either. This made us feel a bit uncomfortable. The advice was to lock valuables in our suit cases, but since we came from safari we only had soft bags which could not be locked. We do not understand why it would not be possible for Matemwe to provide safe (either in room or centrally) or lock boxes like all the other places did that we stayed in. 2 of them had sturdy wooden boxes with padlocks in a style that complemented the decor and that were fastened to the floor/furniture.

A brush to brush of sand or a bucket with water to rinse your feet would be a welcome addition to the rooms in order not to drag in sand. Beach is very nice with lovely views, and nice hammocks and sun beds, pool is small but very nice. Resort provides both beach towels and normal towels which is also nice.

The complimentary dhow sailing is highly recommended. We went snorkeling with the on site Dive Centre. We found it a bit price, but very professional and worth the money: All equipment was provided and as a family of 4 we were lucky to have our own small boat with our own captain and "dive master'. We spotted dolphins and the dropped us so that we could swim with the dolphins!

I also tried the massage, which was a disappointment. It was advertised as aroma - done with local aromatic oils - when in fact olive oil is used.

Food at dinner time was excellent. It was creative and varied and served in a different, lovely place every evening. Food at lunch was good, but slightly limited and repetitive and rather "adult". On 2 occasions, we had to argue with the staff for them to agree to serve something else that our children would enjoy eating. I fully understand the benefits of a limited menu. But we were asking for a simple omelet (which is on the breakfast menu), pasta or sandwich (some of which we later found out was actually on the snack menu)."

"Lovely hotel, charmingly decorated in an old palace in shown town.

Great location with walking distance to the main attractions ( on a narrow street so the last stretch you have to walk on foot)
Fantastic breakfast.

Lovely common areas: Small but beautiful pool and garden, simple but charming roof terrace.

Highly recommended."