Travel reviews by Ms R & Mr M from York

"We enjoyed our stay there very much. We were upgraded to a room with a delightful view of Table Mountain.

We ate one lunch and three dinners there, and thought the standard of the food and service very high. The hotel was of considerable historic interest, and the grounds were delightful. We would recommend this hotel to anyone, although it is a little distant from the city centre."

"This was a very pleasant stopover.

Our chalet had great views and we enjoyed the terrace. We thought the food was of a high standard.

We did not have time to book any activities but liked the short self-guided walk."

"The location was quite spectacular and very splendid: worth the difficulties of reaching the lodge. The chalets were architecturally interesting, if rather minimalist. The food was fine, if not outstanding, served in a magnificent dining room. The views were quite fantastic.

We booked a full-day hike and enjoyed the descent into the canyon very much. We were however very annoyed to be told at the bottom that we would not be allowed to continue and had to return by jeep. Of course, one cannot challenge the decision of local guides (even if, as experienced walkers, we thought the decision wrong) but we had not been told that there was a risk of being thrown off the walk at the bottom, and we had paid the full amount.

We left Fish River Lodge feeling very bitter about the experience. So our Average covers an extremely mixed experience."

"This was an extremely useful stopover, and something of an oasis, with an attractive garden.

The room was spacious and perfectly comfortable, though the instructions from management were rather on the negative side.

The supper was at a fixed time, and fairly basic though adequate."

"A very comfortable lodge, and an excellent base for exploring the desert.

The food was very good, and our full-day trip to Sossusvlei, with a very well-informed and interesting guide, and a fine lunch, was most enjoyable."

"This was a fine base, within easy reach of restaurants in Swakopmund, fulfilling all our needs.

Excellent breakfasts and very comfortable."

"This was a very different kind of experience, signalled by our first sung welcome, in the Damara language. Everything was extremely comfortable in the tented chalets arranged around the central areas, all with fine views.

We booked an afternoon trip to to see the desert-adapted elephants; we found it extremely exciting, as our guide located tracks and we left the jeep to walk towards a group of elephants. We had a perfect view of the group, across a gorge, which fulfilled all our hopes.

Later, we enjoyed an evening meal, with the menu again sung in the Damara language. The service was excellent and we would certainly recommend this lodge."

"This was another very successful stay, in this beautifully located lodge; we enjoyed the early morning walk and the afternoon's scenic drive, and appreciated our guide's knowledge of plants and trees as well as of the wildlife.

The communal meals and generously offered drinks were all much appreciated and we benefited too from our hosts' conversation and knowledge of the area."

"We had a premier chalet close to the waterhole here. Though the view of the waterhole was a bit limited, we enjoyed the terrace and we made the most of our proximity to the waterhole in spending time there in the evening.

The wildlife we saw there was fantastic; after one rather quiet half hour, twenty or so elephants came ambling in. At all times there was something to see. The chalet itself was very comfortable, although it needed a bit more care (the downstairs living room had no light when we were there, though one was rigged up by the maintenance man).

The food was buffet-style, for large numbers of people, but perfectly adequate. We did not take any of the tours available but as we drove around in the national park, we found some amazing viewpoints, where lines of game were queuing for their access to water. We were very glad to have gone there and experienced the park, in spite of the numbers of people and pressure on services."

"We thoroughly enjoyed our time here; we went on a sundowner hike, and an early morning hike, and then did an extended self-guided trail in the afternoon.

In between we relaxed on the terrace of our very pleasant chalet and enjoyed the views.

If there had been more trails to take, we'd have liked to have had more time here. The food and service were excellent."