Reviews of Doro Nawas

"The descriptions of Doro !Nawas mention it being dark and forbidding looking, but this is only true from the outside. I believe they were trying to make the building appear to be a part of the rock outcropping upon which it sits. From within it seems fairly light and airy, and there is a nice deck from which one can observe comings and goings at the water hole below. Our thatched chalet was huge.

We did a walking tour and an afternoon wildlife drive with a guide named Mamie. She was knowledgeable, enthusiastic, and good at explaining information. We learned a lot from her about the desert environment which makes this place so unique. We saw elephants, giraffes, quite a variety of birds, and the tracks of other animals. Among the plants we saw was the famous welwetschia mirabilis.

When we arrived at Doro !Nawas, the staff gathered to sing us a welcome song, which felt a little embarrassing. They sang to people as they checked out as well, although we were lucky enough to avoid this. In general, we found the staff a little too helpful, too subservient, too attentive. They would come in our room multiple times each day, to make up the beds with different blankets or something? We really weren't quite clear about why they'd come change the bed coverings more than once a day, when not at all would have been sufficient. One could not even fill a water bottle without someone hovering, wanting to take that task off your hands. It made us uncomfortable. When there was an issue that I might have wanted to mention, such as when I was served undercooked chicken, I didn't mention it because it seemed that it would have been such a big deal, when really it was just a small thing, and could have been easily remedied.

One other thing that seemed strange about Doro !Nawas was the presence of feral cats around the buildings. For a place where one comes to see wildlife this was surprising, and almost certainly reduced the variety of birds in the immediate vicinity of the lodge.

While in the area of Doro !Nawas we went to Twyfelfontein, the Damara Living Museum, the Organ Pipe Rocks and the petrified forest. All of these were interesting excursions and we'd recommend them. If I had to miss any of them I'd probably skip either the petrified forest of the Organ Pipe Rocks.

Mammals we saw at Doro !Nawas included:
Springboks, desert elephants, desert giraffe, red hartebeest and baboons." See all these reviews: 12n in Namibia

"It was superb. The location, the staff, the room, everything was perfect." See all these reviews: 11n in Namibia

"I very much enjoyed my stay at Doro Nawas.

The staff were invariably friendly and accommodating; the activities were varied and led by expert guides.

The landscape of Damaraland is breathtaking in itself, and from the lodge you may enjoy the views across the countryside. -" See all these reviews: 16n in Namibia

"Good location with amazing views and very helpful staff.

The food was very good with the chef happy to talk about it.

The platform for stargazing was a highlight as was seeing the rare desert elephants." See all these reviews: 12n in Namibia

"Wow, what a fantasic setting to be in, and what a brilliant "room" (tent) with excellent amenities and inside and outside shower.

If less mobile it would be very difficult to get to the tents or dining area.

We did the Desert Elephant afternoon excursion (which was brilliant, as was the sundowner drink it included) and we got back very late in the dark and just in time for dinner as we saw lots of elephants inc a mother and baby." See all these reviews: 22n in Namibia

"Beautiful lodge and chalets that have outside showers and possible to roll your bed on the patio for sleeping. Too bad it was too cold to take advantage of that. Really great staff that go out of their way too please you. They make their own carbonated water which I really appreciated. Great food. They even had a barbecue on the roof with blankets and water bottles (bush babies). I was missing walking but you were told you could not walk trails without a guide?
Did take a tour to see dessert adapted elephants. Exciting!" See all these reviews: 19n in Namibia; 4n in South Africa

"Stunning location

This would have competed for my favourite hotel of the trip if they hadn't messed up breakfast on the last morning. The location is stunning, set on a hill with views of mountains all around and with a lovely cool breeze. The activities weren't as inspiring as some places and my early morning walking tour was with a new guide who was obviously still getting to grips with what to do, show.

The rooms are great, with their own private balconies and big doors which you can wheel the beds out off to lie and watch the stars or even sleep under them if you fancy. The staff are great, plenty of singing and they really look as though they enjoy themselves.

The food was good and they take pride in not wasting anything but they ran out of meat during the buffet for the second night and then breakfast on the last morning she completely messed up the order and I ended up with a sausage that hadn't been cooked. When I mentioned it the server didn't seem to care and I got no follow up.

However, that apart, definately another place we'd like to return to" See all these reviews: 12n in Namibia; 2n in Botswana

"An impressive fort like main building with amazing views from the roof terrace and lovely surrounding deck area from where you can enjoy the delicious afternoon cake and savouries.

The thatched tented rooms were lovely with both and indoor and outdoor showers. We were in a standard room with an additional single bed for our 16 year old son, whilst this provided plenty of room, it wasn't the family chalet that we had been advised of on our booking itinerary and meant we were a bathroom and bedroom down. It wasn't made clear whether this was conscious change of room or not and we didn't complain as it appeared that the only family chalet was already occupied and we were happy to make do and share. We didn't take up the option to sleep under the stars with the roll out beds as it was a little chilly so we don't know if this would have been available for all of us had we wanted it.

The staff were very friendly and happy to help but didn't always seem to understand what we were asking them or what was being offered by the lodge in terms of services. Before our trip we had tried to prebook activities at the lodge but were told by Expert Africa that they couldn't do this. We tried contacting Wilderness safaris ( the company that runs Doro Nawas) only for them to have Expert Africa contact us asking us not to contact them directly. We didn't find this very helpful and not terribly polite and whilst Expert Africa did give us an indication of costs of activities and that there would always be availability so there was no need to pre book we couldn't actually find out what options were going to be available for us. We had hoped for a night-time creepy crawly hunt with UV lights but were only told on arrival that this wasn't available in the winter.

The trips to Twyfelfontein and the Petrified Forest seemed to basically be a glorified taxi service to these sites which if self driving seemed very unnecessary. However as we didn't know what the activity options were before arrival we had to miss out on visiting the rock paintings, which was very annoying as we had practically driven past Twyfelfontein with plenty of time on our way to Doro Nawas. The trips offered were basically a taxi service to the rock paintings at Twyfelfontein (including the Organ pipes and Burnt mountain) or the Petrified forest. A game drive to find the desert adapted Elephants as well as a scenic nature drive (we never found out how this differed to the Elephant drive). These activiities were available either in the morning or the afternoon with the more expensive morning option also including lunch which was taken at the lodge. There was an option for an afternoon short guided nature walk from the lodge.

We chose to do the Desert Elephant game drive which was expertly guided by Fanuel, he was knowledgeable and good company, he found the elephants and gave us plenty of time to enjoy the sightings. In the afternoon we took part in the Nature walk which was led by Innocent, this was an enjoyable hour and a half but could have been slightly more planned. Innocent is currently working as a barman with hopes of guiding so we did feel a bit that we were paying for his work experience but we wish him all the best in his further training.

Meals were a buffet selection which were of adequate if not exceptional quality.

On the whole our stay at Doro Nawas was enjoyable but we do feel that are areas for improvement and we feel there must be more professional lodges in the area." See all these reviews: 11n in Namibia

"Excellent accommodation in a stunning setting. Friendly and attentive staff. We enjoyed the game drive looking for desert elephant - which we spotted.

The food on the buffet was excellent. However if you were one of the last to arrive for meals, there was little food left, and the staff had to prepare and produce more. This was particularly apparent with breakfast on the second morning.

Amazing staff in that several of them remembered our names after just one introduction." See all these reviews: 12n in Namibia

"Amazing accommodation situated in an elevated position with incredible views. Very clean and comfortable. Food was excellent. Mamie our guide was brilliant. We saw desert elephants, giraffes, baboons, antelope etc." See all these reviews: 14n in Namibia