Reviews of Bagatelle Game Ranch

"This was meant to be just a convenient stop-over between Aus and Windhoek, but turned out to be a very positive surprise!

Our chalet (Desert Dune One) was superb, spacious and with all amenities you could imagine, including even a deep claw-foot bath tub with a view over the bush and a waterhole. The main building was large too and there were animals: an oryx, a kudu and some springbok that came right into the premises by the swimming pool! Dinner was three-course and quite formal, but very nice indeed; though it was very busy with every seat occupied (including some people wildly coughing away behind us), so we relocated to the lounge area with our desert as soon as it arrived.

We didn’t have any activities pre-booked but were lucky to get two places on the cheetah-feeding and sundowner tour. This was really excellent, again better than expected and a very nice final wildlife activity before our last stop in Windhoek.

Glad we had this place included – it certainly is much more than a “Bagatelle” (something trivial). Here we thought we could have had an extra night – and pre-booked extra activities. Maybe next time." See all these reviews: 21n in Namibia

"We arrived in the dark at Bagatelle Game Ranch due to delays getting through immigration at the airport, but we were warmly welcomed and went into the dining room for a delicious three course dinner.

All the staff at Bagatelle were really friendly and nothing was too much trouble.

We booked a morning game drive for the next morning which was excellent.

We would have liked to spend an extra night here." See all these reviews: 17n in Namibia

"We had rooms near the pool but there were other rooms further from the hotel reception with probably better views of the game reserve.

Nice pool, great bar, very friendly staff, great location set in its own little game reserve with plenty of animals walking around. Evening meal was superb and a good breakfast. Quite a long drive from the main road. One room had no window but the other had a view out into the reserve." See all these reviews: 9n in Namibia

"Excellent stay - far better facilities than expected - large tent with A/C, kettle hairdryer bath etc a/c was in our case was needed on “warm” and was a welcome surprise when we arrived at sunset in the cool winter evening.

Golf buggie with luggage up to room and dune chalet worth the extra as the view was spectacular.

Dinner was excellent too …. Wished we had stayed two nights" See all these reviews: 17n in Namibia

"Our very first experience of hospitality in Namibia. Everything went well.

The standard was good. Everybody was charming. The room was lovely.

We only stayed one night and didn’t see any wildlife, but we saw our first African sunset. So colourful!" See all these reviews: 6n in Namibia

"Too commercial and impersonal. Few animals off in distance only.

Pet, trained rhino seemed sad. Cheetah "show" also sad. Nice scenery only." See all these reviews: 12n in Namibia; 2n in Botswana

"Bagatelle makes an obvious stopover destination when travelling south of WIndhoek and one night is probably enough, but it really beat expectations.

The staff were superb, the game drive exceeded expectations, as did the dinner. There is decent game viewing here, including two white rhino, although these are habituated to people to the point of being tame rather than wild." See all these reviews: 10n in Namibia

"We stayed 1 night at Bagatelle on our way to Sesriem, and Bagatelle was our least favorite lodge of our trip through Namibia. This is a good, non-luxury stop if you are transiting through the area but wouldn't recommend it for more than one night maximum.

The chalet rooms have great deck views overlooking the red Kalahari dunes and a small manmade watering hole. The atmosphere is very casual and relaxed. However the room interiors are very basically equipped and in need of renovation (e.g., mosquito nets do not cover the bed, shower tile grout is almost black with age, window screens had holes).

The main building and attached boma/breakfast patio is very nicely decorated and it is easy to walk unaccompanied between the main building and chalet rooms at all hours of the day. Golf carts are available if needed. Hand sanitizer stations were positioned through the main building during our stay in April 2021, but Covid protocols were very relaxed and not enforced despite "wear masks inside" signs being posted on lobby doors. Most guests ignored any mask-wearing or social distancing guidelines. Dinner was plated and average-to-good quality, served at isolated tables in the main building's boma. Breakfast was buffet with optional hot menu options (eggs, sausage, etc) to order. For those needing to stay connected: there is spotty MTC mobile connectivity in the rooms but no wifi. Wifi is available but extremely slow in the main building only.

The staff and family/owners were all exceptionally friendly and accommodating. The ranch is a family-run establishment and while it houses a lot of different animals (horses, cheetah, 2 white rhino, sable antelope, wildebeest, oryx, giraffe, eland), the ranch feels more like a petting zoo than a conservation reserve. We paid the separate charge upon arrival for a sunset game, which was a shared vehicle with another couple. Most of it was spent driving around the fenced property with the guide calling out the prices paid for each animal. Enjoyable for sundowners but felt like a zoo, which was disappointing.

Overall we did not find Bagatelle to be a good value. It underwhelmed in many areas (room interiors, food, zoo atmosphere) to justify the room rates compared to other lodges throughout Namibia. Will look to stay elsewhere if we return to the area." See all these reviews: 13n in Namibia

"This is an old favourite and hopefully a future destination to.

It gives a real introduction to a trip, there is plenty of wildlife to see and the guides and staff are very friendly.

Hope to return again soon." See all these reviews: 19n in Namibia

"Great location, great views, great Safari!" See all these reviews: 14n in Namibia