Travel reviews by Mr. & Mrs. E from UK

"Villa Violet was a good choice for a one night B&B stop over in Windhoek after an overnight flight from Frankfurt.

It was straightforward locating it on driving from the airport, which was important as a first experience after taking over the rental car. The rooms were clean and nicely decorated, the staff were friendly and gave good advice on transport to and from a local restaurant, and breakfast was good.

The owner was very helpful the following morning in giving advice on the best route to Sossulsviel, highlighting it on our road map."

"The lodge was superb in every respect.

The room was comfortable without being over-elaborate, the staff were very friendly and helpful and the food was good.

The Sossusviel excursion was excellent, especially the living desert talk.

The guide went out of his way to make it an individual experience to make it memorable, which it certainly was."

"A lovely, modern, hotel in a very good central location.

Well-appointed and staff helpful and friendly. Excellent restaurants, and a superb buffet breakfast.

Our room had a sea view which gave the opportunity to experience a different view of how the residents, as opposed to visitors, enjoyed their fantastic location.

Overall, excellent accommodation for experiencing the town."

"An excellent camp. The tented room was stunning.

We later heard criticism that, for the price, it should have included air conditioning. We did not agree. When we arrived the insect screened windows and high-powered fan provided sufficient cooling air circulation and was entirely appropriate for the situation.

The view from our room was amazing - we didn't need to visit the sunset viewing venue as we could see everything from our balcony.

The small waterfall and pond off the central common area provided a lovely opportunity to watch a large variety of visiting birdlife and lizards, and the self-guided walking tour was well-signed, informative and a fun way to explore the locality."

"Yet another superb stop. Our room overlooked a watering hole, and before we even left it we saw zebra, giraffe and antelope from our balcony.

Following, though, were two amazing game drives around the Etosha Heights reserve, during which we saw, close-up, Rhino, Lion and Elephant, as well as numerous birds, zebra, giraffe and antelope. The absolute highlight, though, was a break at the watering-hole hide whilst an elderly bull elephant visited for his morning bath, following which he came to within 2 feet of the viewing opening to literally look us in the eye!

Afterwards, our excellent guide noted the reaction of antelope watering at the hole and located a resting pride of 2 male and 3 female lions. The bull elephant followed and seeing the interaction of the pride with him was an unforgettable experience.

Overall, we could not praise this location highly enough. The managers and staff and guide were all excellent and worked as hard as they could to make our visit as enjoyable as possible."

"A well-appointed lodge in a very good location close to the eastern gate of Etosha National Park, making it easy to access the park on a self-drive basis."

"A lovely tented lodge and another excellent location for self-driving to and from Etosha National Park.

We preferred it to its sister property, where we had spent our first night, as we found the atmosphere was more relaxed and the welcome warmer. The manageress was very considerate in making an immediate change to the evening menu when we told her that we had had an identical meal the previous evening at the neighbouring lodge!

Our only criticism of the accommodation was the air conditioning, which was inadequate for the room. A high-powered, moveable, fan would have been more useful and probably more energy efficient.

We were fortunate to be situated close to the watering hole and during the afternoon of our arrival a herd of Kudu visited and foraged within touching distance of our room balcony, which was a very special experience."

"A 'roadstead' stop en-route to the Caprivi Strip, providing a break between two very long-distance drives.

We were confused on our arrival by the 'explanation' of the time zone which applied at the lodge. Because of its proximity to the Angolan border, the mobile phone network shows Angolan time, which is one hour behind Namibian time. By the number of people arriving for meals one hour after service began we do not think we were alone in understanding that this meant the lodge was operating meal times on Angolan time!

The rooms and facilities were reasonable and the grounds were lovely and beautifully maintained. We were fortunate on the morning of our departure to meet a groundsman who pointed out two nesting owls in the trees near our room.

The buffet-style meals offered a reasonable choice and standard but overall we would not have wanted to stay longer, and could possibly have been somewhere more welcoming."

"As good as it gets! A superb lodge in an amazing location.

From beginning to end the service provided by all the staff was of the highest quality.

The rooms were luxurious and amazingly located above trees below which antelope, water hogs and baboons roamed. The game drives were excellently guided and we saw lions and herds of elephants as well as numerous birds, antelope and other wildlife.

The food was excellent."

"A truly remote lodge, not easily reached on a self-drive, and impossible at the time we visited with anything less than 4 wheel drive. Heavy rains had fallen on the previous 2 days and the 9 km access road was pitted with water holes - 2 waterhogs emerged from one as we drove up! Somewhat nerve racking but the welcome on arrival was warm and friendly.

The views from the lodge can only be described as amazing, and it was clear from their leavings that elephants had walked around our tent at one time. The game drive was again excellent. We saw lion close up and much bird life and many more smaller creatures. The bush walk with a locally born guide was very interesting and gave a good insight into growing-up in remote rural Namibia.

Overall a different and well worthwhile visit and experience."

"A lovely lodge in central Kasane. Well appointed in a great location on the river front.

Whilst we did not meet the hippos fellow visitors had seen on previous evenings, we did meet visiting waterhogs and baboons. The central communal area and dining table was well designed and a big plus for meeting other visitors and sharing experiences.

The manageress was extremely helpful, especially in assisting us with the return of our car hire to Kasane Airport.

The guided game drives to Chobe National Park were as good as we experienced during our entire 3 weeks. The guide went out of his way to provide the best possible viewings and his knowledge and ability to convey it was informative and enjoyable.

The evening river cruise was different but equally enoyable."

"A beautiful lodge. The gardens and pool are lovely, as is the open communal seating and dining area, with water vapour spray to ease the effects of the extreme heat.

The rooms are large, airy and comfortable. The food was good and the staff efficient, welcoming and very helpful.

The walk to the falls is straight-forward and the slightly off-centre location is not a disadvantage given the very well-appointed facilities of the lodge.

Hard to imagine a better venue for visiting the falls."