Reviews of Sossus Dune Lodge
(89%) From 129 travellersThey do not necessarily represent the views of Expert Africa.
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Sossus Dune Lodge Review
Everyone wanting to visit Sossus Vlei should stay here! We were really impressed with the location and the quality of our room. The big advantage is being able to have an extra hour inside the park gates, morning and evening. The room was really spacious, with a great balcony, comfortable sun-loungers, bath robes, filter coffee & biscuits.
Our evening meal was also excellent, particularly the oryx.
We were a little disappointed with the lack of information available to us when we arrived. For example, it would have been useful to know
(i) that the lodge has its own road into the park and you don't have to waste 15 minutes driving back to the main gate like we did
(ii) that you don't need a permit if you're staying at the lodge
(iii) that lunch is included, even if the booking states you're on a dinner, bed & breakfast plan
(iv) what time you are expected back at the lodge after sunset
(v) that you apparently need to make a reservation for breakfast (our ballooning trip was cancelled so, having been told breakfast was from 6am, we turned up at 6.10 to find that 'the chef is still waking up'! They eventually started serving at 7am when other guests arrived but they didn't set a table for us or take a hot food order as we shouldn't have been there. We ended up setting our own table and skipping hot food as we'd already wasted an hour of daylight.)
A few minor improvements would make this place fantastic. We'd definitely stay here again.
Great location for Sossusvlei
We stayed at Sossus Dune because it is the only lodge inside the gate and being keen photographers we wanted to be at Sossusvlei for sunrise. As far as the location goes you can't beat it.
The lodge itself is lovely - it has been very sympathetically designed to blend into the landscape and the rooms are beautiful. After saying that there is a lack of atmosphere at Sossus Dune. The staff were all very helpful and eager to please but didn't have the passion which staff at other lodges had. There didn't seem to be anyone in charge when we were there - maybe this is because it is state owned - and i think this showed.
But it was definitely the best place for us to stay. We met so many frustrated photographers at Sossusvlei who hadn't managed to get through the gate until sunrise and then had to drive a further 60 km to get to Sossusvlei. Some of the lodges do have their own private gates but I understand you can't take your own vehicle through them - you have to go on an organised trip.
Beware at Sossusvlei there isn't much sign posting. We arrived before anyone else and had no idea how to get to Deadvlei. In the end we had to wait for another car to turn up to show us where to go. The sign had in fact fallen down but there weren't many markings.
We also went ballooning while at Sesriem which was wonderful. Expensive but well worth it. An experience we'll never forget.
One tip we would give - if you can afford it and you are used to driving a 4X4 we would definitely recommend hiring one. Most of the roads we drove on were gravel roads and we were very pleased we had a 4X4.
Sossus Dune Lodge review
Overall this stay was a little disappointing. Whilst the location is very beautiful and being inside the park gate is a plus we felt that the accommodation was almost over-the-top luxurious (does a bathroom really need matching his and hers washbasins?). Also, we felt that the staff were also almost trying trying too hard (in a rather formulaic way rather than naturally wanting to please) to be a sophisticated, up-market lodge and somehow it didn't quite work.
On arrival we were greeted not once, but three times! First by someone with a posh tray with two damp face-cloths, rapidly followed by someone-else with two small soft drinks followed by a third person with a tray with two glasses of sherry which hardly seemed appropriate after a 4/5 hour drive from our last stop.
We were then 'checked-in' by Engelbert (one of the managers) who wasted no time in trying to sell us their N$500 sunrise trip to the Sossusvlei dunes which we always intended to do under our own steam. We did do the sunrise ballooning trip on our final morning which was a marvellous experience although it didn't quite have the 'wow factor' that I 'd anticipated. The breakfast on landing was a super experience being in such beautiful and remote surroundings (although the 'champagne' was, in fact, sparkling wine) which, with the trip costing about £300 person seemed a tad naughty.
Dramatic desert plain scenery
Memorable location and good early morning trip right into the largest sandunes area (discussions with other tourists later revealed that, being in minibuses etc. as opposed to our 4-wd, they had only travelled half way in, stopping at a 'model' large dune).
Rustic accommodation and amenities excellent and characterful. Fantastic view across a 15km desert plain to the distant dunes. Plenty of springbok all around but not much else. Not to be missed but two nights enough as activity opportunities very limited in number.
Staff polite but not very knowledgeable.
Even hotter.
Very helpful in overcoming tyre problem.
Management and staff of a high standard.
We believe patio furniture problems being addressed.
Room fans need augmentation.
Even staff suffer from heat.
Again tour costs overpriced.
Sossus Dune Lodge review
Nice place to stay, staff excellent apart from management team who did not appear to be clear about local site seeing, advised us that at Elan Dune trip we would see the same as Sousevilli Dune trip which is extremley not the case.
Read more about the whole safariSossus Dune Lodge review
This camp is really first class and I would have no hesitation in giving it five stars.
The staff without exception were all so friendly and helpful from the first moment we arrived until we finally left feeling that we had struck gold.
This camp is inside the park, and has the advantage that you can go out very early and stay late. Our guide, Rambo, was incredibly knowledgeable and went to endless trouble to ensure we had a great time.
This was one of our highlights.
Sossus Dune Lodge review
A great location and very spacious accommodation. The pool area needed some shade but the pool was very warm and in a lovley setting.
The lounge and dining room were welcoming, although we had all our meals on the terrace overlooking the small waterhole.
We had booked to do a balloon flight through Expert Africa while we were staying here. It was a wonderful experience watching the sun come up and then having a champagne breakfast in the desert. Eric the owner of the company gave us a superb flight - an expensive trip but worth every penny.
Sossus Dune Lodge review
This was a flaw in our programme, both because of its proximity to Sossusvlei Mountain Lodge (less than an hour by road) and the lodge per se.
NWR, government sponsored, had poured a lot of money into building this lodge, but the staffing was appalling - the majority of the staff seemed to have been there only a couple of weeks, having been recruited from unrelated jobs such as parking attendant, and were lacking in training.
The activities of the two lodges were the same, and having done the dune excursion at Sossus Dune, Sossuvlei Mtn Lodge had to put on a drive they don't normally do, to entertain us. It would have been better to have done the dune excursion with Sossusvlei, as they have an air conditioned closed vehicle for this drive, whereas we endured Sossus Dune open jeep for over an hour, at speed, on the 'main' road.
The rooms were incredibly hot - we and all our products liquified - and the outlook not scenic. The 'desert' chalets looked out on a pile of shale, put there to hide the parking area.
