Reviews of Fish River Lodge

"The views are spectacular and the day trip down to the bottom of the canyon was superb.

Swimming between the cliffs in the clear waters was very special." See all these reviews: 21n in Namibia

"We are staying in Fish River Lodge. Literally, as they write on their homepage “on the edge of eternity”. We are in the last of their chalets with undisturbed views to the canyon and southwest. The tall windows and terrace outside allow views of the canyon to take priority everywhere.

Our chalet is in a very modern style and in fantastic condition when we arrive. Everything is perfectly cleaned, a standard that is maintained over the next 3 days (perfect housekeeping). We have both outdoor and indoor showers, a large bedroom with a view, and a platform outside where we can lie and enjoy the undisturbed view. In addition, we find all the small necessities that you expect in a hotel.

The main lodge itself is also incredibly beautifully built on the edge of the Fish River Canyon, with spectacular views everywhere. A spectacular rim pool provides cool comfort in the hot summer months also overlooking the canyon and nature park.

The 45,000-hectare Canyon Nature Park is a sanctuary for the nature, including the rare Hartman’s zebra, oryx antelope and ostriches, which appear and disappear in the rocky side canyons.

We love to hike! And the Fish River Canyon is a top hiking destination. And Fish River Lodge has access down to the Fish River and meandering paths on the rim of the canyon.

First day, we take the short rim walk for 1,5 hours. Second day, we take the full day canyon drive, Followed by the longer rim walk for 3 hours (!)

The Fish River Lodge has some opportunities for improvements: One of the minor opportunities for improvement was the restaurant, where we found the service to be of very variable nature. Fortunately, always friendly, but not always very professional. Orders and requests were forgotten more than once, and guests (including us) sometimes placed very close to the hot fireplace. However, when the problems were pointed out, the staff immediately reacted (but sometimes forgot again). The restaurant did not provide the same "luxury sensation" as the rest of the lodge.

Another thing to be aware of is that the lodge is extremely exposed to wind. Two out of three nights, we had very loud wind noise all night, partly due to the construction of the roof. For the same reason, there are earplugs in the chalets, which you can choose to use. Also, there is no air conditioning in the chalets, but a fan and high ceilings. It can probably be a challenge on very hot days!

However, all in all we loved the place and would be happy to return." See all these reviews: 35n in Namibia

"Location, location, location.

The views are truly amazing, but I suspect the sheer remoteness creates issues with staffing and supplies. The place felt under-managed and a disorganised compared to other lodges we visited. I liked the design of the individual lodges, but I can see how some people might view them as a little bit hard and industrial.

The food offering was poor in choice and execution relative to the general aspiration and pricing of the lodge, but I repeat that this may be a factor of the extreme remoteness of the place.

The 'activity' on offer is a 4WD drive to the river bed of the canyon which takes about 3 hours each way with an hour to picnic and swim in stagnant water in the middle. It's the only 'game' in town and probably worth doing whilst you're there, but not one I'd think of repeating." See all these reviews: 13n in Namibia

"3 days is the optimum stay. Only downside of the Lodge is the regular night wind generates sufficient noise for ear plugs to be provided - not conducive to a good night's rest! Canyon day trip well worth while. Food top notch. View from the room was stunning - ours had two trees in front of the veranda and small birds regularly sat on the branches and sang. The room was very large and the bathroom had 2 sinks and there was an indoor and outdoor shower.

Note: there is a canyon rim walk from the lodge which you can go on without a guide. It is not clearly signposted at which point you should turn back. It is too easy to continue walking, thinking that it is a circular tour. In the heat of the day this can be a trifle gruelling!" See all these reviews: 21n in Namibia

"Fabulous location, not overly helpful at reception, furthest cabin from lodge, no torches provided as promised." See all these reviews: 10n in South Africa; 7n in Namibia

"Amazing location on edge of canyon." See all these reviews: 15n in Namibia

"If you wish to see Fish river Canyon this is the only place to see it !! The views are just unbeatable!!

The staff are all superb and work extremely hard to make your stay enjoyable - I have a wheat allergy and chef prepared gluten free bread and desserts for me daily !

Unfortunately only lodge where management presence amongst guests was non existent which is a missed opportunity! In fact female manager when seen looked sullen to point of being rude!

Rooms are sadly concrete boxes that never get warm - we had glorious sunny days and it was colder in the rooms than outside. Concrete floors with not sufficient rugs! At night the rooms and sheets felt damp …. We subsequently stayed in many different equally remote lodges (eg: shipwreck lodge) and they have all found ways to make rooms warm and comfortable for the winter.

All that said the staff gave us a fabulous stay and would we return …… of course !! For the view !!" See all these reviews: 17n in Namibia

"A wonderful experience including two nights out in the field at the luxurious camps that form part of the lodge offer. Obviously the grading of the 2 and a half days trekking down around and out of the canyon is subjective and relative to habits and experience. For serous and keen trekkers it was a nice challenge and just right at about 6 hours activity per day. Our guide Willem was first class and very knowledgeable without ever overdoing it. He and his assistant who staffed the camps did so discretely and made sure we ate extremely well and enjoyed considerable comfort.

The options from the lodge include half day and day hikes to the rock pools or two full nights out at the camps. As the camps are quite close and the second day is very similar to the first I wonder why a one night trip is not available? We would have chosen two anyway but just a thought…..

The lodge itself was friendly, well appointed and comfortable. In spite of the remote location (and flying in was much appreciated) it was reasonably busy but not unpleasantly so. We took advantage of the fat bikes on arrival and that is a nice 2 hour activity to consider.

Ratings below refer to the lodge only. The camps were “excellent” in every respect given their role and function." See all these reviews: 16n in Namibia

"Absolutely fantastic place. The lodge is located at the rim of the canyon with plenty of activities from biking to hiking around alone. We did the full day excursion to the canyon and was really great.

Guides are very professional and prepared as well as the staff super friendly.

We had 2 dinners and one package lunch. Both dinners were great. Special thank you to Alexander and Vilhem." See all these reviews: 13n in Namibia

"It was a long, long drive for basically a massively expansive view of a monochrome brown canyon.

A couple of short, dry day hikes along the canyon." See all these reviews: 12n in Namibia; 2n in Botswana