Travel reviews by Mr P, Mrs A & Mr W from UK

"The room was big - and very good for a family. We had a private outside patio - which was very nice, and spotted our first grey lourie. A good powerful shower and lovely breakfast too. One of the best breakfasts of our trip. Situated in a quiet and secure part of town, and well sited for an evening at Joe's Beer house, which was very atmospheric and fun.

A bit annoying was that we had emailed in advance to ask whether we could come early (as we were arriving so very early in the morning, heads reeling, off the night flight from Frankfurt, and wanted a shower and change before exploring Windhoek. We were told it wasn't possible because the house was full. When we checked in we discovered that the owners weren't there at all (a friend was looking after the place for the owners) and we were the only guests.

That said, the owners' friend was lovely and welcoming."

"The accommodation was a one room chalet, with fridge, bathroom and outside braii area. It was fairly spartan, but functional and what we expected. We had mongoose and baboons running around outside, and it was nice to feel that we were amongst nature. A mattress had been provided for our son, but no bedding, which was a bit of a palaver, as the housekeeping staff were off duty, leaving Philip the restaurant manager to hunt around for bedding. When he had his first ever go at putting a duvet inside its cover (unsuccessfully!) we wished we'd had our video camera. It was very funny.

We had been to a supermarket in Windhoek to buy snacks, beer and fruit and were glad we had - the shop inside the park (and the only one for miles) was expensive. The restaurant and bar were good value though, and portion sizes were enormous.

The walks around the camp were enjoyable - nice to spend time out of the car, and the views from the top of the hill after climbing up were amazing. You need to be able bodied for Waterberg. I'm not sure you'd get much out of game drives here, it's all about walking (and the paths are rocky and uneven) and scrambling.

The swimming pool was freezing, but it was a nice place to sit and relax for a few hours in the hot part of the day."

"The camp was beautiful and the accommodation well appointed, with lots of attention to detail. Well managed, with friendly efficent staff. For example, we had two large chairs placed on the deck outside the tent, and a smaller one for our son.

Dinner was lovely (the wine was very nice) although we thought it was a bit odd (as it was billed as being a child friendly place) that if you didn't want the set menu for your child you needed to pay extra for a child's meal. It was a fairly challenging meal for a 5 year old - feta and beetroot tart, followed by oryx.

We didn't feel as if we were in the wild in Mushara. There was a fair bit of noise from car engines and people, and not so many birds or animals. We were staying at 4 of the national park camps inside Etosha after Mushara, so didn't go on the game drives or into Etosha during our stay at Mushara. If you only stayed outside Etosha, I think you'd miss out a bit - no being able to walk at night to the waterholes."

"We were very surprised by how nice the accomodation at Namutoni was. The room was beautifully decorated with artworks, dark wood furniture, airconditioning, sunken bath, double basins, double showers, outside shower, fridge. It was also very quiet, with all cars being parked away from the rooms. Food was provided in the fort, a buffet, which was plentiful and interesting. Service is rather hit and miss - tables were slow to be cleared.

A negative was that there was no water in camp on our first night - so there were lots of dusty grubby people around. It returned for a short spell in the morning. The staff knew but were not telling people on check in - annoying for people who only found out when they climbed into the shower, and I witnessed a man being told he could have no refund or compensation.

There weren't many animals at the waterhole, but so much to be seen outside the camp.

The credit card machines weren't working either, but park staff said I could delay paying the park fees until Halali or Okakuejo if I wanted, which was helpful."

"On check in the camp had no record of our booking, but could see we had a valid voucher and had stayed the previous night in the park and had valid bookings for the next few days. They very quickly conceded the error was NWR's with the happy result that despite ostensibly being full, we were given a rather nice bush chalet, an upgrade from what we had booked. It was a rondavel, with two bedrooms, bathroom and living room. The kitchen was also equpipped with crockery and utensils.

There was an outside braii area too. It was a very short walk to the restaurant.

The kitchen staff seemed to work hard, but the restaurant staff were pretty unmotivated and slow.

The waterhole was amazing at night - a short walk from camp under the stars to see white and black rhino and elephants."

"A much nicer room than expected again - large and tastefully furnished, with a small separate living room with sofa, fridge and sink. If you were slef catering though you'd need to bring crockery and cutlery with you.

The pool was nice (very cold again though) but with a nice area to sit in. The restaurant was large, chaotic and poorly managed. Drinks didn't arrive, plates weren't cleared, it was so dark people could see what they were eating. People were coming to dinner sporting headtorches. The food was good, but not a patch on the Namutoni camp.

The best part of Okakujo though is the waterhole - vast numbers of animals come day and night, large herds, unpeturbed by people. You could spend all day in camp and not need to go out in the car."

"Jaw droppingly amazing location - up on the hill looking across the plain. I had a lump in my throat when I saw our room - it was so very beautiful - well appointed, comfortable, characterful. The camp is very small - just 20 rooms or so - and we felt very lucky indeed that Expert Africa had managed to get us a night there. The pool was warmer than others, and surrounding it were day beds, oversized beanbags and sunloungers. Attentive bar staff, lovely 'lounge tents' with soft chairs and sofas. The place is stunning.

There was no messing about with the $500 key deposits or booking formalities.

The restaurant was very efficient, the staff took pride in their work and they had reason to be proud.

Staying here gives you access to the West of the park, and it was an amazing place, away from other people and cars, The wildlife seemed suprised to see us."

"After the amazing accomodation at Dolomite, first impressions of Huab was that it needed a bit of a refurb, but the warmth of the welcome makes up for what it lacks in luxury. Accomodation was spacious, comfortable and clean. The food was very nice, with home cooked food and lovely home made breads at breakfast. We had lots of fun at dinner, as we all dined around one table - it was declared UN night, as there was so many nations there. Everyone was especially lovely to our 5 year old, making him feel very welcome and showing him photos of giant snakes.

It was lovely to be able to walk out again after days in the car in Etosha, and we stayed in the Lodge's grounds for the day. If I was going to be critical I think the Lodge could do more to sort out some walking routes and maps for guests instead of encouraging guided walks and drives. I understand why it's done as it is, it just seems that there's a lot of untapped potential there for making Huab a walking destination."

"Our room was huge - a small apartment. With full kitchen, living room. Breakfast was really excellent.

We were checked in very quickly and helped (strongly encouraged) to book dinner in town that night, and calls were made to restaurants for us to find a table. We were very thankful they had done that for us, as it was definitely necessary.

The guesthouse is in a really good spot to walk around Swakopmund, and the owners were happy for us to leave our car in the secure car park after we had checked out while we explored the town."

"We weren't expecting much from this night - it was in the itinerary really just to have somewhere to break the journey on the way to Sossusvlei, but what a treat! The landscape is absolutely stunning, and the drive up through the mountains had been tough but the scenery was majestic.

The accommodation itself was unique - spacious and well appointed. The staff were very friendly and it was clearly very popular with Namibians. It's run by Kucki and his family, whose pub in Swakopmund is now such an institution, and as he walks the floor attentively and keeps the staff busy, it's clear why that place became such a success.

The meerkat rehab area was unmissable for our 5 year old. We also had a very enjoyable dawn walk in the hills to see the mountain zebra."

"The lodge was beautiful, nice big spacious rooms and lovely setting. Location was stunning, and meant we could come back after sunset. We were a little chilly at night, and some extra blankets would have been good.

The restaurant staff were very slow, and the food wasn't very special, but nor was it inedible."