Travel reviews by Mr & Mrs G from Beckenham

"We were lucky to be upgraded to Robin's House giving us the unexpected, but very welcome, luxury of our own bungalow complete with a dedicated team to look after us. We also had the benefit of game drives with just the two of us on board. The game viewing wasn't spectacular - as is often the case at this time of year - but our guide, Obi, ensured that there was always something of interest to see just around the next bend. Game viewing highlights included a pair of Pels Fishing Owls, spending time up close with elephants and their calves, and a male lion roaring from only 10m away!

Having the use of boats on our doorstep (literally) to get across the river, and into the park, added to the overall experience. Opportunities for walking were somewhat curtailed due to the muddy conditions underfoot, but we manged to get out twice during our 6 days there.

The carol concert, where all the safari lodges and their guests congregated under a nerby baobab tree, is a memory that will stay with us for many Christmas's to come So, too, was the excellent play performed by local drama group, Seca. This is the second time we've been to Nikwali, and we hope it won't be the last."

"The location of Pumulani, with stunning views over Lake Malawi and with its own private beach, was the main draw for us when booking this holiday. We were also looking for somewhere to completely relax. We were not disappointed.

As well as lazy days on the beach, or slightly more energetic activities such as hiking along the coast path and kyaking back, we also really enjoyed a guided walk through the neighbouring fishing village and a bike ride through the local countryside.

We expected high standards, having enjoyed stays at Robin Pope establishments before. Again, we were not disappointed. Simon and Zelda and the team ensured that we did not want for anything. They were very attentive and above all, so very friendly. (In fact Simon and Zelda were relief managers, but you would not have known, as they had obviously been very well briefed , and they really cared about maintaining the high standards which Pumulani has set itself.)

The villas are very well appointed, and we were fortunate enough to have 180 degree views of the lake from the balcony.
It was hard to drag ourselves away from Pumulan when it was time to go home, and that feeling of being well relaxed, with batteries fully recharged, should last us for a long time to come.

One little criticism might be the cooking. Everything was well cooked and tasty, but not very imaginative in terms of menus and recipes. As such, it didn't exactly live up to what we expected from the advertising literature. But, we hadn't chosen to come to Pumulani for a fine dining experience, so overall, we were not disappointed."

"We have stayed in many city centre hotels around the world, .......................and this was one of them! As an overnight stop it did the job, but wasnothing special. The bed linen and towels seemed laundered, but were a bit stained in places. Overall the hotel rooms lookstired and need a refurb. Next time we will try a different hotel.

Having said that, the band playing in the grill restaurant is worth checking out, although the food was average."

"Passenger made own arrangements in this period."

"Drinks and food are expensive, but otherwise it was clean and confortable, and the staff were very courteous.

The shuttle bus was waiting for us on arrival, and having double-double checked the night before, it was also waiting for us next morning at 5.30am as requested. Allow at least 20 mins to checkout at that time of the morning! There seems to be lots of paperwork."

"Starting with Dave and his team at Lusaka airport, they were excellent. Liz was late arriving from Heathrow, and they sped her through immigration and customs in order to make (just) the connection to Mfuwe.

RPS were just excellent. The guys at Nikwali set the standard for the rest of the holiday. We really couldn't fault anything. Everyone, including Robin himself, were so relaxed and welcoming. It was a great place to unwind and immerse yourself in Africa - with all the creature comforts of course!"

"Ollie and the crew at Kapamba matched the level of service from RPS, but the isolation of Kapamba and their excellent chalets (and baths!) and the attention to detail, made this the best part of the holiday. We can't speak highly enough about Ollie and the team, especially the chefs, Davy and Georges, and not forgetting excellent guiding - in difficult circumstances - by James. We would have liked more walking at Kapamba, but the weather didn't help.

We saw a fair cross-section of wildlife, although they were very scarce and skittish. The elephant contendedly feeding outside our room in the middle of the night is something we'll never forget.

Being hyper-critical, the only little niggle was that we wonder if the Bushcamp Company are pushing it a bit by extending the season at Kapamba and Billamongwe. Basically, the rains greatly curtailed how far we could travel from Kapamba on game drives or walking safaris. Our options were quite limited because we couldn't ford the river, and it did feel as if we had a very restricted range for our game drives. Also, wildlife was harder to find than we anticipated.

We'd definitely want to come back to Kapamba, but maybe next time will be in the dry season!"

"Did you hear that we never got to Bilimungwe, as they closed it due to the rains? Instead we stayed an extra few days at Kapamba, although this was no hardship!"

"Unfortunately, Kapani was a disappointment.

Yes, the lagoon lodges were more spacious than our previous accommodation, but they weren't very clean, and very much needed sprucing up. We had to ask the staff to clean the bathroom before we used it. The toilet seat was dirty, and parts of the shower hadn't bee cleaned for weeks, and the bath mat clearly hadn't been changed since the last occupants. Also, some of the seat cushions were dirty. Admittedly, they took these away very promptly, but never replaced them!

The food at Kapani was nowhere near as good as the other lodges, and the staff much less attentive. Our guide was not as good either.

To us, it seemed as if no one was in overall effective charge at Kapani. This may have been the case, as we heard from a reliable source (his mother and father!), that, David, the current manager at Flatdogs would soon be taking up the position of general manger at Kapani. Hopefully he can make a difference.

Don't get us wrong, Kapani wasn't bad, but we wouldn't go back there and wouldn't recommend it to anyone - at least not without being assured that it had improved."

"See previous comments [Ed: see below!]"

"Your agent in South Africa (Gill) was excellent. We rang her on 7th Jan and asked her if we could arrive a day earlier at the Fancourt, and it was absolutely no problem for her to organise this for us.

Europcar had sub-contracted to Imperial, but that was no problem. The car was fine. We certainly use them again."

"The Fancourt hotel was excellent. We really can't praise them enough.

They laid on champagne for Ian on his Birthday and when he was feeling unwell, they arranged a doctor without any fuss at all. We were even upgraded to an Execurtive suite, which was a pleasant suprise.

We really can't speak highly enough about this hotel."