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Sossus Dune Lodge
Sossus Dune Lodge
Sossus Dune Lodge
Sossus Dune Lodge

Reviews of Sossus Dune Lodge

Wildlife sightings and reviews

138 independent comments and wildlife information from our travellers who have visited Sossus Dune Lodge and kindly agreed to share their thoughts. They do not necessarily represent the views of Expert Africa

Wildlife sightings by our travellers
Starting in Aug-2019, 7 of our travellers have recorded their wildlife sightings at Sossus Dune Lodge.
Leopard

0% success

Cheetah

0% success

Oryx

100% success

Wildebeest

80% success

Giraffe

75% success

Zebra

67% success

Meerkat

33% success

Aardvark

0% success

Brown Hyena

0% success

Pangolin

0% success

Spotted Hyena

0% success

Showing 11-20 of 138
Duration
Arrival date
Mr J & Ms D
UK

"Sossus Dune Lodge review"

2 nights Arrived 7 May 2018
"Much better than anticipated.

No hassle with credit cards as advised in the tour guide.

Friendly staff and great location" See all these reviews: 10n in Namibia; 6n in South Africa
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Linda & Paul
UK

"Very characterful and wonderful lodges"

1 night Arrived 1 May 2018
"See comments on previous page" See all these reviews: 13n in Namibia
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good

Location:
Good
Service:
Good
Activities:
Good
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Average
Linda & Paul
UK

"Very characterful and wonderful lodges"

4 nights Arrived 29 Apr 2018
"Excellent and very characterful lodges and friendly and helpful staff too.

On arrival we learnt that we only had 5 rooms for the first night and not the 7 that were booked. This was apparently due to a plumbing problem. This meant that 4 members booked into single rooms had to share2 rooms for the first night. The manager was very apologetic indeed and handled the situation well. I agreed a compensation package with her and the 4 people concerned received a refund.

The guide was excellent although he did drive rather too quickly into Deadvlei causing one party member to suffer a back injury. This meant that he could not walk the final section into the salt pan where the dead trees are located. This was a great shame as it was one of the photographic highlights of the trip." See all these reviews: 13n in Namibia
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good

Location:
Good
Service:
Good
Activities:
Good
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Average
Ms L
Queensland

"Poor quality government service"

3 nights Arrived 6 Apr 2018
"The rooms had nice furniture and lots of it. But it was hot at night facing west, with a big rock behind emitting heat. Service was abysmal. The lady at reception named "Memory" seemed to have no memory. Anything requested that were supposed to be delivered to your room never arrived. Asking again still gets nowhere. You literally have to get it yourself. Even when my special meal has been cooked and I was told by her that it was ready when I arrived at the restautant, she showed no intention of getting it from the kitchen for me after 20 mins. I ended up going into the kitchen myself where I was told the meal had been sitting there for a long time, and just ended up eating it there as it was already 9.30pm, and had to wait for the other half of the meal to be cooked.

When I asked for 2 extra towels to use instead of a pillow, some staff didn't want to allow it. I had to beg them with the reason that I had a medical condition.

The chefs were happy to cater for my special dietary requirements, but never bothered to obtain anything requested, not even low fat milk. The food was generally not cooked well. Once I was given a steak that had gone off (verified by 4 restaurant staff). Breakfast was terrible. The fruit they put out should be in the bin. Bread was of the lowest quality possible. Most lodges made their own lovely white and wholegrain bread in Namibia. I was glad I brought my own cereal and bread so had breakfast in my room.

There is really no need to stay in this place to do sunrise at the Deadvlei. I was the first person to arrive at the shuttle both mornings, well before the shuttle drivers who lived outside the park gate. The tarred road is so good you can do 100km/hr on it easily. The sun does not hit the Deadvlei pan for 40 mins after sunrise. Most people caught the second shuttle and arrived well in time to do photography.

Given this lodge is not pleasant, I would recommend staying somewhere near the gate, and just come thru at sunrise. Whether you are the 1st or 50th person to get there, the pan is full of photographers by the time it is right to be photographed." See all these reviews: 15n in Namibia; 4n in Zimbabwe; 1n in South Africa
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Poor

Location:
Average
Service:
Poor
Rooms:
Good
Food:
Poor
Mrs E
UK

"Sossus Dune Lodge review"

2 nights Arrived 20 Nov 2017
"This was a lovely setting but we missed the personal touch with the staff, who were fairly efficient but didn't give us the extraordinary experience we'd had.

Got our rooms mixed up and all in different directions again. Important they understand that people travelling together want to lodge near to each other. It took 10 mins. to walk to 2 of the rooms, which is a long way if you've forgotten something. Maybe they should consider people's ages and put younger ones on the end.

The guiding was excellent and they accommodated our wishes and extra plans without a fuss.

The food was quite good but expensive. In Swakup we ate in the best places with amazing food for cheaper

The little pool and beds in the afternoon were lovely.

The stay was great. We just wanted the warmth and personal aspect we'd been spoilt with!!

These travellers had booked a private guided excursion to the dunes while at Sossus Dune Lodge and had the following to say:

Left at the crack of dawn and were in the dead vleii , on our own as the sun rose, as requested. Very special. Our guide was excellent and very gentle and understanding with 4 old grannies. Got us the best breakfast spot and enjoyed great breakfast.

Asked if we could tag on the canyon as back quite early and took us on the great hike through the canyon.

Whole trip was wonderful. Just what I wanted and back for lunch and siesta. Perfect." See all these reviews: 15n in Namibia
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Average
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Average
Facilities:
Good
Ms S & Mr E
NSW

"The perfect place to stay at Sesriem!"

4 nights Arrived 29 Jul 2017
"Sossus Dune Lodge is the only accommodation within the Namib-Naukluft Park and as such is perfect for visiting Sossusvlei and Dead Vlei at sunrise.

The chalets are architecturally attractive, well maintained, comfortable and large. The thatch roofing is excellent insulation.

Although this lodge is government-owned and managed, the staff are friendly and helpful and efficient. The meals are more modest than we received elsewhere, but still plentiful and tasty.

We would highly recommend staying here if it is available. It books up many months in advance. It was perfect for our photography adventures." See all these reviews: 24n in Namibia
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Good
Facilities:
Excellent
Mr & Mrs P
Australia

"See Deadvlei before the crowds arrive"

3 nights Arrived 2 May 2017
"Staying at Sossus Dune Lodge allows you to be in the national park long before the crowds of tourists arrive. The lodge will take you into Deadvlei by first light (or you could drive yourself if you have a 4x4). Great deck with desert view to have a sundowner or a meal. One of the better National Parks camps in Namibia." See all these reviews: 27n in Namibia
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Good
Activities:
Good
Rooms:
Good
Food:
Good
Facilities:
Good
Mrs S
Surrey

"Good for short visit"

2 nights Arrived 14 Apr 2017
"We stayed here 2 nights - but one would have been enough as there is nothing to do except to visit the dunes which are 60k away (tarmac road) and further few kilometres which are only possible by 4WD. A shuttle is available for the last bit tho it doesnt start until the coaches arrive. The lodge runs a jeep trip to the dunes (start at 4:30) but this is basically just for the transport & at around $600 pp we thought it expensive & it gets back to the lodge for breakfast. We followed it down in our 2WD and were lucky to get a lift for the remaining bit as the shuttle was not yet operational. We saw Big Daddy & Dead Vlei - impressive - but then were best by a sandstorm so returned to the lodge earlier than expected as conditions were most unpleasant.

Lodge was comfortable tho it is quite a long walk to some of the chalets. Set menu, tho costed by the course so you dont have to have alll 3 courses (although we didnt find this out until the 2nd night as there were no prices on the 1st night's menu - odd !)" See all these reviews: 23n in Namibia
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good

Location:
Average
Service:
Average
Rooms:
Good
Food:
Average
Mrs B
Gabriola Island

"Sossus Dune was great"

2 nights Arrived 2 Apr 2017
"The lodge was beautiful, rooms huge and spotless.

We did the sunrise tour to Big Daddy and breakfast with a good guide.

Had issues with broken fan in our room that was fixed promptly when we asked." See all these reviews: 21n in Namibia
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Mr B
Chiswick

"Sossus Dune Lodge review"

2 nights Arrived 2 Apr 2017
"The rooms are spacious and comfortable and there is a lovely pool.

The big advantage of staying here was to get to Big Daddy dune at dawn ahead of people staying outside the park. The guide who took us was very knowledgeable and set out a delicious breakfast afterwards.

We were in one of the rooms furthest from the central bar/dining area. This had the advantage of privacy but it was over 5 minutes brisk walk to the bar which would not suit everyone.

The staff was friendly and helpful. The car park was a little way away from the reception but we were very impressed by the way that the staff looked out for guests arriving back and rushed down to the car park to collect them in the lodge van." See all these reviews: 12n in Namibia
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Showing 11-20 of 138
89%
138 reviews of Sossus Dune Lodge by travellers since August 2007
Overall rating by our travellers
77
50
6
5
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