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Traveller reviews

Travel reviews by riguss from Belgium

Review Distribution

Excellent
Good
Average
Poor
Terrible

Total number of trips

2

Countries visited

4

Lodges stayed in

10

Excursions taken

0

My Dec 2013 trip

Tanzania between 22 Dec 2013 and 3 Jan 2014

Trip rating: Excellent
"We enjoyed it"

Southern Sun Dar

Southern Sun Dar

"Southern Sun Dar review"

1 night Arrived 22 Dec 2013
"although the premises are conveniently located, the rooms are very small and the airco was not maintaned. We slept in bad smell of humidity, typical of uncleaned airco filters."
Average
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Average

Location
Good
Service
Good
Rooms
Poor
Food
Good
Lake Manze Adventure Camp

Lake Manze Adventure Camp

"Lake Manze Adventure Camp review"

4 nights Arrived 23 Dec 2013
"Tricia and Phil are excellent managers and the camp is run smoothly and effciently. Guides are very competent, friendly and smiling. Small investment in renovating the tents (zips malfunction or shower clearly rusting for ex) would make it perfect."
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location
Excellent
Service
Excellent
Activities
Excellent
Rooms
Good
Food
Excellent
Facilities
Good
Chole Mjini Lodge

Chole Mjini Lodge

"Chole Mjini Lodge review"

7 nights Arrived 27 Dec 2013
"We spent 1 week at Chole. The place is amazing and potentially as close to paradise as possible. The reef is beautiful and in some places really unspoilt. The very idea of the tree houses as put in place together with the special relationship between the lodge and the village left us admired and happy to be there.

We also appreciated being disconnected from the world without electricity, running water, flashing toilets etc.

However, this is an expensive place, not only to stay in but also to reach (the costs of the marine park are high) and to fully exploit as most of the activities get easily to serious prices for one family (one trip to see the whale sharks is 100$ pp). Guests are therefore entitled to expect a service which matches these costs.

Unfortunately this is not the case. Some examples:

1) we were exposed to potential life risk at sea 2 and half hours from the lodge (faulting boat engine, very low level of remaining fuel, uncaring captain) The same captain was again unable to operate another engine and to bring us on a sand bank off the lodge on the last day of our stay.
2) the toilet was given to us the first night full of tropical cockroaches 3/4 cm in size. I killed more than ten myself and had to ask in order the toilet to be sanitized, but only the day after.
3) while the food was good, the quantities were ridicolous: typically one would get a lot of rice and very little fish (30g). In 2 occasions we were refused additional serving "because the remaining portions were for the other guests".
4) common facilities are non existent: apart some sitting space in the breakfast area, no organised sunbathing anywere, not a deck chair, not a bench near the sea. The terrace in our treehouse had no shade.

We understand that the management has changed several times in the last 3 years and Jean and Anne are now reassuming direct responsibility. It is about time and having met and talked to them we have appreciated their strength and vision. Our advice would be, however, that you check thoroughly the conditions of the lodge under the new management before sending new clients."
Good
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good

Location
Excellent
Service
Average
Activities
Good
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Average
Facilities
Poor

satisfaction

Zambia and 3 other countries between 15 May 2009 and 31 May 2009

Trip rating: Excellent
"the activities were as we expected or even better and the logistics worked smoothly throughout the whole trip"

Arranged By Tracy Lederer


Kapani Lodge

Kapani Lodge

"Kapani Lodge review"

2 nights Arrived 16 May 2009
"excellent starting point into Lwanga. Probably at its best when the pontoon on the river is accessible (not our case).
Rosie is real professsional with charme.

Park guide Lawrence outstanding in knowledge touch and personal contact, the best in our trip"
Good
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good

Location
Excellent
Service
Excellent
Activities
Good
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Good
Facilities
Excellent
Kakuli Bushcamp

Kakuli Bushcamp

"Kakuli Bushcamp review"

1 night Arrived 18 May 2009
"Too short to really get the feeling of the place and had no opportunity to walk to Nsolo and Lwui. Next time, we hope. But very professional and enjoyable."
Good
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good

Location
Excellent
Service
Good
Facilities
Good
Rooms
Good
Food
Good
Mchenja Bushcamp

Mchenja Bushcamp

"Mchenja Bushcamp review"

2 nights Arrived 19 May 2009
"Simply the best we could expect under every aspect. Very professional and human at the same time.

Elisabetta got her birthday gluten-free cake with a singing choir in the middle of the savana: simply amazing!

Walking safari very interesting and not to be missed if one wants to really understand the bush."
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location
Excellent
Service
Excellent
Activities
Excellent
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Excellent
Facilities
Excellent
The Airport Grand

The Airport Grand

"The Airport Grand review"

1 night Arrived 21 May 2009
"Despite some relatively good points (breakfast, navette to the airport) the negative sides are numerous and unacceptable for a trip of this standard. The reception was reticent and did not deliver what was kindly asked them to do, the hotel is just under the descending path of the incoming flights of the airport, so forget about sleeping. Rooms very small and poorly decorated.

Our suggestion is: scrup the place from your list"
Poor
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Poor

Location
Terrible
Service
Poor
Rooms
Poor
Facilities
Average
Avani Pemba Beach

Avani Pemba Beach

"Pemba Beach Hotel review"

2 nights Arrived 22 May 2009
"How to comment such a place: a big hotel almost empty, full of potential and possible high rank activities which is spoilt by an appaling management. Some examples: we had to fight to get the right bill since the reception was fiddling around with the exchange rates trying to make us pay 8% more of what we had really consumed; the dive center made me pay for an average dive the same price that you would pay in the best diving center in the Seychelles; tuna fish cooked as if it were stone fish, waiting time for the transfer to the airport of 1 hour after three telephone calls and a lot of bargaining...."
Average
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Average

Location
Good
Service
Terrible
Activities
Poor
Rooms
Average
Food
Poor
Facilities
Good
Vamizi Lodge

Vamizi Lodge

"Vamizi review"

6 nights Arrived 24 May 2009
"Above our expectation: a real paradise, well managed with style and human touch.

We would highlight splendid cuisine, very professional staff, activities well managed (excellent dive center with smile) and the conservation project seems convincing to us. Two points to consider: better connect the charter flights with the LAM timeschedules to Pemba (so to avoid waste of days) and use of more local food products albeit of non perfect western standard

Thank you in particular to Didi, Paulo, Isabel, Leyla, Adamo."
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location
Excellent
Service
Excellent
Activities
Excellent
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Excellent
Facilities
Excellent
Oyster Bay

Oyster Bay

"Oyster Bay review"

1 night Arrived 30 May 2009
"An unexpected final present. The hotel is a real "bijou" but the best is Maretha, who manages it with passion and style."
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location
Excellent
Service
Excellent
Facilities
Excellent
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Excellent

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