Travel reviews by Mr F & Ms L from London

"The road across to Ras Kutani is NOT for the faint hearted! Would have been fine in a 4x4 but in the mini bus they picked us up in it was a rather unpleasant two hour plus ride (apparently the pot holes have worsened of late). So advise a 4x4 is booked for guests

The place itself was beautifully done and the suite was well worth it - incredible views - totally chic. Could have done with a mini bar/stock of drinks as was a shame to be on the terrace so far from the restaurant etc without being able to enjoy a cool drink.

Manager was slightly "in your face" - considering it is a small place a chat once a day is quite enough but he was new and seemed to want to have a quick chat any time we passed by - felt rather suffocating. Staff were fine - nowhere near & bEYOND standard but that is to be expected - very sweet and eager to please. Excellent cocktails

Loved the boat ride to the airstrip"

"Incredible rooms - best of the trip. The decor was sumptuous, the facilities impeccable, and the views majestic. This place MADE our honeymoon!!

Food was consistently good - only comment is that sometimes if you wanted something simple and plain it was not easy to come by. The food was very rich

Was slightly frustrated that we landed at midday but did not manage to get into the crater that afternoon (instead we had a leisurely picnic lunch then ambled to some random african shops to pass time and then on to the crater). It seemed to us that had this transfer been arranged more swiftly then we could have reached the crater before the 3pm cut off for entry time - so rather frustrating. We did then manage to get a walk in with the resident naturalist Joachim which was v rewarding and would recommend to guests with spare time"

"For those who want to experience safari in the true sense of the word this camp is a great choice. Off roading, walking, night drives and only one or two other vehicles out in the expansive private concession hence you really get to feel close to the wildlife and not on the tourist trail.

Hosts were the warmest and friendliest we met and so were the staff. People clearly enjoyed working there and it permeated to the guests. The lodge is extremely low key and comfortable - not glam like the crater lodge but the staff, the views and the food ensure it is at the top of its game. (Rangers were the best we came across)

Bush bar with bonfire and lanterns was the best we saw of the entire trip. They really went the extra mile

Only comment - portions of meat/fish felt very small especially at lunch and often had to ask for a bit more chicken etc as one drumstick for a main meal for example would be served."

"Magical location on the edge of the Grumeti river next to a hippo pool. The evenings at the camp were amongst the most memorable of our trip - eating by candlelight around a bonfire whilst chefs prepared fantastic cuisine and then a romantic dinner on our private terrace.

Excellent all round lodge - by far the best food of the trip, great location (except how close it is to the airstrip - you are definitely in the flight path), lovely permanent tented rooms that are nicely decorated with local influences and really nice staff."

"Excellent overall - in terms of:
The suite - by far the most magical room of the trip - imagine Robinson Crusoe meets a feng shui designer - really something special!
Everything is built using local materials and chic barefoot luxury pervades the entire resort
Loved the sandy walkways between the main area and all the rooms - it really does feel like the ultimate island getaway
The jetty bar - watching the sunset over the Indian Ocean - so good we did it as often as possible - cocktail in one hand camera in the other
The shop with full internet access - made a change from the previous places we stayed
Snorkelling and relaxing on Misali island - amazing !

But certain areas need improvement
The service - definitely the most average/poor from our trip - English was limited, service often came across as sullen rather than upbeat and everyone we met raised the same comments so it wasnt hard to detect. When we checked in there was no mention of how one was supposed to order things for the room (eg different drinks to those stocked in the bar) and for the whole stay we often felt a bit in the dark in this regard (people we met told us they had "found" the number to call for drinks on our penultimate day - nothing like this was made clear and it should have been upon check in).

The food - portions FAR too small - for all meals. At breakfast for example, if you wanted an egg with more than one piece of toast there was no way of requesting this except to learn (from other disgruntled guests) you had to say"two toast" or "three toast" - there was no mode of actually getting a portion of toast delivered to your table. We met a few guests who found the lunch portions so small that they would eat lunch at the main restaurant and then go up to the pool side bar to have a second one! We all took this tip on board by the end

Honeymoon package - badly handled from start to finish. We met some friends at the resort who had got the honeymoon package which included a dinner on the beach. It had initially frustrated us that despite the hotel being ALL INCLUSIVE if you wanted dinner on the beach you had to pay a further $80 per couple. So we asked the manager - who then informed us two days before we were due to leave that actually he had checked the booking and we WERE entitled to the honeymoon package - but had to rush to do the beach dinner that night, and he then remembered we also had a massage included - so again we had to rush to book this on the last day. None of it relaxing or easy. He gave us some champagne as a thank you but really the whole situation should have been handled in a more slick fashion (and the hotel should realise on a separate note that charging $80 for a beach dinner regardless in an all inclusive resort does not engender goodwill from guests).

Feedback form - from the above you can see that certain things irked us but we despite checking with the manager (when the above honeymoon issue arose) and being assured a feedback form was given nothing was actually offered to us on check out. We checked on the boat and nobody else was given the form - so no wonder there are the above issues as nobody can submit their feedback!"

"Lovely restored home converted into a boutique hotel - and a v nice welcome from the staff upon check in.

However the rooms were not "comfortable" especially the bed and the bathroom was oddly part of the same room - just in a corner."