Reviews of Kulala Desert Lodge
(88%) From 144 travellersThey do not necessarily represent the views of Expert Africa.
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Kulala Desert Lodge
Kulalas best feature is it's private access to Sossusvlei. This meant that being there for sunrise was not too arduous.
The lodge diid feel a little impersonal. This may have been due to the lodge being managed by one person whereas in other camps there always seemed to be a couple. Having said that the manager couldn't have been more helpful when one of us was feeling unwell.
The waterhole was too small and too far away to be of interest.
Kulala Desert Lodge review
Unfortunately we were disappointed with Kulala, very surpised we were put here rather than Little Kulala which seemed much more in line with our budget etc.
Food was good but it was very rushed, dinner was over in about 45 mins
They sang at night but noone told us so we missed it the first night!
Manager pleasant but always running around
NOt a a tranquil place at all.
Staff pleasant but a bit distant, talking over the room at each other, there was no sense of calm or serenity here at all
Rooms ok but nothing special which is what we had asked for so felt let down here.
Desert trip - annoying as we kept stopping on the way in so got there fairly late! Our guide Nanguei was very pleasant though all the way through.
Expert Africa comments
We always go to great lengths to explain the options in detail to our travellers – so that they can make the right decisions about their trip: where to stay, how long to stay, what to do, etc…
Kulala Desert Lodge was in line with the budget of this trip; it was one of the more costly places included. If we’d included Little Kulala, that would have been by far the most expensive place on the trip. However, we have apologised for not discussing Little Kulala with these travellers in more detail before their trip was decided upon. Everything we do is tailor-made … so we don’t usually ‘put’ anyone anywhere.
We’re naturally concerned about the comments on the management and staff here, and have passed them back to head office, and the camp.
Great location - awful service
This lodge was our first experience of Wilderness Safaris and the experience could not have been worse. On arrival, we checked that the lodge had received an advance copy of my wife's dietary requirements and they said they had. However, when my wife tried to run through this in more detail she was told quite abruptly that there was no need for this - "we know what she wants" - and the reception staff were more interested in getting our signatures on the disclaimer forms. It was quite obvious from the start that this was a badly managed lodge - in fact the (sole?) manager was away.
Our room was also not very clean with quite a lot of sand about and large balls of fluff and dirt in the wardrobe.
However, this was only the beginning. At dinner my wife was served the only 2 vegetables she does not eat as her main course. We then had to wait a long time while the restaurant staff then went through my wife's dietary requirements in detail! Eventually we were served an acceptable meal but by then it was getting quite late.
Because of the problems the previous evening, my wife and I did not get "brunch" at Sossusvlei at the end of our dune excusion and instead were taken back early to the lodge for lunch there which consisted of a greek salad (less feta cheese and cucumber!!!) - ie an olive and lettuce salad with a few tomatoes. As a final insult the lodge tried to charge us for 2 beers with the lunch which were freely available at no cost on our dune excursion, not to mention the complimentary glass of wine which they gave us the night before while we waited 2 hours for our dinner!!
It is also worth noting that having been on holiday in Southern Africa for 23 days, this was the ONLY lodge/B&B which served tinned fruit salad at all mealtimes when fresh fruit was freely available.
At lunch on our final day, we sat down with the staff and wrote out again a list of my wife's dietary requirements which we asked them to pass on to Doro Nawas and Wilderness Zambia.We also discovered that the list Kulala had received from Wilderness was considerably shortened and while this would normally excuse them a little, the fact that they refused to run through the detail on our arrival was Kulala's fault alone.
Overall this stay was very disappointing and very poor value for the money we paid.
Expert Africa comments
Kulala Desert Lodge has apologised to the clients for not taking the time to chat through their dietary requirements with them on arrival. They have said that changes will be made to their systems to ensure that a similar instance doesn’t occur in the future. Expert Africa has also noted ways of ensuring details of any special requests are fully noted by the lodges.
By way of apology the lodge has refunded the cost of the morning excursion to the dunes at Sossusvlei.
Welcomed by pale chanting goshawk
Very welcoming reception, staff very charming, dinner fairly good but packed lunches were great, we were eating the contents for days.
Great location overlooking dry river bed and convenient for driving yourself to Sesrium Canyon and the dunes. Accommodation very good, safe bolted to wall.
Lovely setting, stunning dunes
Being greeted with a welcome drink and a smile set the scene for this beautiful place.
We enjoyed the morning dune drive, JJ our guide was a wealth of knowledge & great fun, unfortunately one of our party was ill and missed the morning drive, but JJ went out of his way to make up for this with our afternoon nature drive when we were all fit and healthy again, this was a real highlight, to see the dunes in different lights was quite spectacular.
The accommodation was excellent, unfortunately too cold at night to want to sleep under the stars (next time) and northing was too much bother, we felt quite pampered. The chocolate tart was the best pud of the trip.
stunning desert lodge
Kulala seemed more slick than Zebra River Lodge. We had more formal greetings and it is a bigger lodge in the Wilderness Safari company and so we signed forms on arrival and it felt more impersonal. However, we soon realised it had its own beauty and a location which was amazing and we had the most informative of Namibian guides Christoff who took us on an early morning excursion to the dunes and we climbed (crawled!) Big Daddy with him. He gave us an unforgettable picnic under an acacia tree with everything as a safari lunch should be - please can Christoff see my words and know how much we appreciated his conversation and his kindess. HOpe the owner can let Christoff read this.
We asked to sleep outside on our roof and in a twinkling bedding was set up - all noiselessly and with great politeness. Shooting stars and clear skies and I woke at dawn to see the balloons floating off in the distance. The catering staff did an impromptu dance and songs one evening which we loved. This broke the formality. Great idea to have the tea station from 3pm onwards as children can get hungry at that time. Really appreciated the welcome drinks on arrival all done in great style and on arriving back from the dunes too.
We felt the balloon trips were very expensive so didnot do one. Would have loved to have more dancing/singing from local staff as this is one of the few chances to see local Namibians do their own thing. Staff were so polite and attentive to us. LIked the rooms too. Perhaps they should emphasise more the chance of sleeping outside on roof as it really is special!
Kulala Desert Lodge review
Kulala was a very comfortable and imaginatively designed lodge with well trained and very friendly staff who made us feel very welcome. Our over all rating would probably have been higher had we not subsequently experienced Dora !Nawas !! The public spaces,in particular, are improved at the newer lodge. Hot water bottles a great joy!
The guide on the early morning drive to Sossusvlei was excellent - as was brunch - and the same was true for the afternoon walk
Fantastic desert experience
After a long drive from Windhoek, we were greeted with a refreshing iced tea from friendly and welcoming staff. Although the lodge looks a little like the French Foreign Legion, rooms were comfortable and public areas were attractive and stylish.
Our chalet style room looked out onto a fantastic view and gave a real feeling of being in the wilderness. We also took an organised trip to the Dunes at sunrise with a guide called David who was entertaining and informative. A great place to stay!
Kulala Desert Lodge review
Service really welcoming, friendly and attentive, a few minor blips. Location perfect for early-morning dunes trip with J-J our excellent guide.
Read more about the whole safariKulala Desert Lodge review
Excellent in all respects.
Balloon ride was fantastic.
We were not given key to our chalet but having a key was not necessary. Wonderful relaxation area with comfortable chairs and fire.
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.
