Reviews of Sossusvlei Lodge

"Every aspect of this place is wonderful. My husband and I were totally impressed at the way they handled the wedding. The ceremony and the reception were in two different locations and the only way I can describe the whole thing was that:
"It was a Splendor in the Desert."

The Dune Trip we signed up for was grand. From the magnificent Dunes to the wonderful breakfast our driver/guide prepared for us right by the Big Mama Dune complete with white tablecloth and napkins, the whole atmosphere was divine.

It was surely an unforgettable experience." See all these reviews: 11n in Namibia; 1n in South Africa

"Everything at the lodge was outstanding. We were there for a wedding and the staff out-did themselves in providing an unforgettable experience.

It was magical!!!!" See all these reviews: 10n in Namibia; 9n in Botswana

"Layout and staff service excellent. Would highly recommend this Lodge" See all these reviews: 14n in Namibia; 1n in South Africa

"We spent Christmas Eve and Christmas Day here.The room we had was very spacious and had a lovely outlook across the bush to the distant dunes. It would have been nice had there been a small fridge to keep drinks cool particularly as it is the hottest time of the year.

Meals are served on an open terrace, candle lit in the evening, a huge choice of dishes available on a 'buffet' style arrangement.The only moan was the meats cooked by the chefs was tough as 'old boots' on both evening meals, suggest you ask for meat to be 'well done' to avoid 'endless chewing'.

We did visit the approach to Dead Vlei one afternoon but really no sign of any wildlife on route.

A good place to relax and thats what we did." See all these reviews: 12n in Namibia

"Convenient for the National Park, the room was very comfortable and well appointed with a lovely outside seating area and sunset view. The food was truly excellent, with more choices than we could possibly sample even over three days. Tea and coffee (with cookies) always available free of charge.

The pool provided a view of animals at the waterhole from the comfort of a sun lounger - a perfect way to chill out.

The only negative was a delay in responding to what appeared to be a problem with a leaking gas bottle, but this was rectified at the second request." See all these reviews: 20n in Namibia

"Great location next to the gates of the national park and very well set out. Rooms (tent-style structures) were fine and well spaced out. It didn't feel as though there were 45 rooms at all. The central areas were very well done, including a very good pool, and the views lovely. Meals were all buffet-style, with a good variety of food. Dinner included a barbecue for game and fish, and a stir fry option, with an enormous selection of help-yourself starters and desserts.

We really enjoyed the activities. The activity centre staff are very informative and helpful in choosing what to do.We went on the Sundowner drive round the lodge's estate - seeing a few animals and some rock art, and having a drink on some very picturesque boulders as the sun went down. The next morning we went on the trip to the dunes with a brilliant guide, and got a lot more out of it than if we had gone alone. We ended with a fantastic breakfast near Big Momma dune." See all these reviews: 8n in Namibia

"The lodge is modern and well equipped. It is conveniently located - near to both the Namib-Naukluft Park main gate and a provisioning shop with petrol station and internet cafe. Our climate-controlled chalet-tent (of part solid, part canvas construction) was quietly located and comfortable. Its porch, with light chairs and table, was pleasantly shaded from the afternoon sun by an acacia tree.

We enjoyed our two buffet-style dinners, eaten under the stars on the lodge's large open-air dining patio. On our second evening, I was tempted by the mussels on offer as a starter, my greed suppressing doubts as to their provenance in this relatively remote area, some 200 miles from the sea. They were delicious, as was the remainder of the meal, but that night I came down with diarrhoea, followed by stomach gripes which lasted some 36 hours.

For our first morning, we had decided to make an early entrance to the Park, in order to avoid dune-climbing in the heat of the day. The lodge – catering as it does essentially for Park visitors– offered a helpfully early and full breakfast. After eating, we joined the queue of vehicles at the Park Gate, awaiting the latter's opening at sunrise (approx 7am while we were there). The entrance system was pleasantly efficient. An attendant came down the line to log details of each vehicle. When the gate opened, all were free to drive in, paying the entrance fee only on return to the Ticket Office (some 100m inside the gate) when exiting the park later in the day. This meant that the entire queue was able to clear the gate and to proceed into the Park within minutes of its opening.

We drove to the end of the tarmac road (some 60 kms), where we transferred from our saloon car to one of the several 4x4 shuttles for the remaining 5 kms of sandy track to Deadvlei and Sossusvlei. The shuttles ply back and forth between car park and the vleis. In theory, having paid the fare, one can jump off and on any shuttle at any of the regular stops. In practice, we found that each driver tended to make arrangements to return at pre-arranged times and if, as seemed common, his initial party continued to re-occupy that shuttle, there was little or no room for “extras”.

We found that the time of one hour suggested by the driver for our walk from the shuttle track to Deadvlei (and back, for pre-arranged pick-up) was shorter than we would have liked for a full experience. Subsequently, at Sossusvlei (where the track gets much closer to the vlei), our driver suggested a 45 minute interval to climb the neighbouring dune and to have a good look around – but we extended this to 75 minutes. As it turned out, the driver's estimate was not unreasonable for a flying visit, but we were happy with our decision. It allowed us to sit on top of the dune for a good 10 minutes, taking in the spectacular scenery then, on descent, to circumnavigate at leisure the pan (with its tantalizing “designer” trails in the sand, animal tracks in the dried mud and flamingo and ducks in the remaining water).

Use of the shuttles may be avoided by choosing to walk, by driving oneself in a 4x4 or by joining a party drive organized from the lodge. However, the walk, on loose, shifting sand, is disproportionately tiring and time-consuming, without (so far as we could tell) any pleasant, offsetting experience. Those who choose instead to rely on their own 4x4 vehicle may not find this decision advantageous. Soon after we had first set off in our shuttle, we came across a stranded 4x4 rental, which needed help from the shuttle operators to regain firmer ground – whereupon its occupants decided to transfer to the shuttle. Our driver said that this was a common occurrence.

We were back at the lodge by around 2pm, where we rested on our porch, checked out the watering hole and took in the views from the top of the lodge's water-tower. Around 4.30pm we returned to the Park (the entrance fee being valid for multiple entries between sunrise and sunset), in order to visit Sesriem Canyon, some 15 minutes drive from the lodge. With the sun low in the sky, but shining along the main direction of the narrow, creviced chasm, there were memorable views from both rim and base." See all these reviews: 12n in Namibia; 3n in South Africa

"A busy lodge with friendly and helpfull staff. The half tented room was clean and fresh. A wide selection of food available for the evening buffet. Good location to the park gate.

Many activities looked available, but we made a self drive tour. They supplied us with a magnificent wicker breakfast hamper so we could have an independant breakfast in the dunes." See all these reviews: 12n in Namibia

"Good position just outside the park. Lovely tented chalets with great views.Fantastic food, evening buffet with 12 choices of game steaks to bbq. Most of the dinner tables were set outside, it was a gorgeous setting, though absolutely freezing, so need to dress up warmly. Again, very dark so extremely difficult to see your food.

Great drive through into the park, sand dunes wonderful though it was the busiest and most touristy place we went to." See all these reviews: 13n in Namibia

"Upon entering the lodge we immediately get a feeling of being in the dessert with all the 'red' decor. We were early so had to wait for our rooms but felt that we were then ignored as we had to go back and check every 30-45 min. Upon our third check we were told it was ready - we felt they could've come to get us considering we were just sitting there. We felt like a number not a guest - there was no real interaction between the reception staff and the guests.

Our room was great - a permanent tent with a fully functional bathroom. Unfortunately , we were there when there was a severe wind so most the day was spent indoors trying to prevent the sand from entering the tent and all our belongings and the night was spent listening to the tent flapping away.

The buffet breakfast and dinner was superb. Where else do you get a chance to sample springbok, wildebeest, impala, oryx etc etc all in one sitting. Having the options of pick your own stir fries and BBQ meat and fish was fantastic.

We chose to leave early because of the weather (even though it was all prepaid) and interestingly - we were not asked as to why we were leaving .. I would have thought it would be a good time to get service feedback !" See all these reviews: 20n in Namibia; 5n in Mozambique; 4n in Zimbabwe; 2n in South Africa; 2n in Botswana