Reviews of Taleni Etosha Village
(93%) From 17 travellersThey do not necessarily represent the views of Expert Africa.
| 
Taleni Etosha Village review
The staff were polite but not overly friendly or welcoming.
The extra matress was provided but still had to be made up by us.
Handy location
It was good to have extra blankets as it was very cold at night here and there are gaps between the floor boards. Enjoyed the meals here.
No one advised us of any activities that were available.
Kasane to Cape Town Day 10
A great place! Friendly welcome from Cyril. Very comfortable tent with outdoor bathroom and loo. Delicious food cooked and served by the ebullient Olly (nb dinner is stir-fry plus a game meat barbecue – some lamb and pork is available for those who prefer not to eat game). All staff we encountered were pleasant and helpful.
We thought this was an excellent place just outside the park; we'd definitely go back again and have already recommended it to a couple we met later in the trip who were hoping to book Etosha accommodation at very short notice
Taleni Etosha Village review
We loved our stay at Taleni. The staff was great, the food was wonderful. Access to Etosha from here was easy.
This was a great place to stay. I don't hesitate to recommend it.
It's not like any place else we stayed, it's more like camping, but with great amenities.
Excellent Lodge only 2km from Anderson Gate
Very good accommodation, friendly staff, pretty gardens and excellent food.
Read more about the whole safariTaleni Etosha Village review
We would thoroughly recommend staying here and thank Sabina for this recommendation.
Having eaten hotel food for several days we decided on a BBQ since this was a self-catering establishment. Imagine our surprise when we reached our tent to find that there were no utensils at all and we had bought our food along with us! However, a large box of all the equipment one needs can be hired from Reception plus kindling at minimal cost and we had a thoroughly enjoyable meal.
Spotty the semi-tame zebra was also a feature. Being only 2km from Etosha this was an ideal spot to start for our next day's adventure.
really relaxing place
We would have given this an excellent as the rooms were the best we stayed in - we loved the outside showers and loos - the pools were great (and not too cold) and the food was plentiful and varied.
However, both the kids were struck down with violent stomach upsets within hours of each other on the evening of 30th August and we can only think that they got food poisoning from the evening meal at Taleni.They both had a stir fry there which neither of the parents had.
I would be interested to know whether anyone else was ill on 30th August. We effiectvely lost a day as neither of them was up to doing anything - just sleeping
Expert Africa comments
We were sorry to hear that the children of this party became ill during their trip, and thankful that it lasted less than 24 hours. Whilst such upsets are unusual for our trips in Africa, they do occur – although in our experience, cases like this aren’t often because of ‘food poisoning’ (ie: incorrectly stored or cooked food); they’re usually down to poor hygiene.
Taleni Etosha Village assures us that they maintain high standards of hygiene, and investigated this incident thoroughly. 38 other guests had dinner with this family on 29 Aug. They comment that their ‘stir-fry is very popular, and usually 60% to 70% of the guests order it’. The majority of these guests also stayed the following night, 30 Aug. They had no other reports of any illness.
Whatever the cause; we’re very sorry it impacted on this family’s trip – but thankful that such incidents are a rarity, and that this one was so short-lived.
The best of the trip
V friendly and helpful. The food was the best of the holiday.
The tents were very cold at night so had to close window and door flaps with difficulty in the dark, something I would have expected the staff to do while we had dinner. Also they were quite close together especially with a noisy family next door.
The pool area was lovely complete with resident zebra.
Taleni Etosha Village review
Fantastic, the staff were lovely & the food was great, both adults & children were very happy here
Read more about the whole safariTaleni Etosha Village review
Taleni had the truest 'camping' feel of all the lodges - not least because the accomodation consists of large family-sized tents on raised wooden platforms, and it is I believe, billed as 'affordable accomodation'. The units have been set-up to allow self-catering (kettle, sink, 2-ring cooker etc) - but no utensils or crockery were supplied - but didn't see anyone doing this - most prefering to use the excellent outdoor restaurant areas with the familiar game-meat & stir-fry stations as at Sossusvlei Lodge.
The restaurant staff were all very keen to please & friendly.
For those who like their privacy - be warned that the individual shower and toilet are housed in wooden 'staked' enclosures which are not sound-proof - but just about preserve your modesty! A zebra was a regular visitor to Taleni, taking advantage of the lush green grass!
We have always believed that acting responsibly is the only way to approach tourism and we're one of
the few companies to hold AITO's original coveted 5-star status for responsible tourism. It's a lead
that others are now following.
