Reviews of Pioneer Camp

"Convenient place to stay overnight while waiting for domestic flight the following day.

Pleasant enough.

Don't really remember the meal, hence average rating." See all these reviews: 12n in Zambia

"Same as before" See all these reviews: 12n in Zambia

"A pretty average camp and a bit of a disappointment after the excellence of Waterbury, Nkwali, Nsefu and Luangwa River camps.

The food was pretty poor and was pretty deserted.

Glad that we only had one night here." See all these reviews: 13n in Zambia

"Convenient and close to the airport.

Good pick up and delivery back next day but food took far too long, was cold and some options were unavailable.

Staff were friendly but seemed quite inefficient." See all these reviews: 12n in Zambia

"The ownership of the camp has changed a couple of months before my stay. All the staff and the new manager, Levi, are very friendly but somehow this place seems to miss something. Maybe a hostess or host that is around in the main area all the time would bring back a feeling of warmth." See all these reviews: 16n in Zambia

"Fairly close to lusaka airport so it was a nice way to ease into the Safari holiday experience after a long journey. The staff were polite and friendly, my cabin was v comfortable, the setting was fun and I enjoyed my stay." See all these reviews: 10n in Zambia

"Pioneer Camp was supposed to pick me up from the airport. When I arrived at Lusaka’s international airport in the middle of the night there was no car to pick me up. It turned out the telephone numbers of the camp did not work. After calling ExpertAfrica’s New Zealand office Marushka solved the problem and a car came from Lusaka to bring me to Pioneer Camp.
The location of the camp is beautiful, a rural area, nice and most of the time quiet. The cottages are spacious and comfortable, although they felt a bit cold in June. Food was not very good. Apparantly they were hiring a new chef." See all these reviews: 16n in Zambia

"A better introduction for me to Zambia than a big hotel. The grounds are lovely and the service very friendly.

The food would probably be considered average and the access to the step in bath in the chalet was, in my opinion, a bit of a hazard for older guests. The step down was deep and there was no handhold to help balance. The lights went out during the night and could not be turned on again. Otherwise the room was spacious and comfortable and clean.

Staff were helpful in acquiring the right adaptor for my power plugs as I had brought the wrong kind (doh)." See all these reviews: 14n in Zambia

"A good 'landing' place for an overnight stop near the airport (for an early flight the next morning).

Very friendly and helpful staff. Spacious accommodation. Good food." See all these reviews: 11n in Zambia

"I've stayed at Pioneer many times over the last 10 years, and found the owners increasingly absent - I now understand the camp has changed hands.

My main issue this time was that they failed to pick me up at the airport. I was left standing outside for about 45 mins while I called Expert Africa. Thankfully Claire picked up, and contacted the camp who sent a driver to pick me up. I tried calling the camp directly on the number provided in my information but that number wasn't working.

They then compounded the mistake in the way they dealt with it, by pretending it hadn't happened - neither the driver nor the lady who checked me in at the camp even acknowledged I'd been left waiting, let alone offered any sort of apology. It was only the next morning at breakfast when the manager came over to ask me how my stay was, that I raised it myself. He initially blamed Expert Africa for not providing my arrival details, which I thought was unlikely but could easily be ascertained when I got back. Later, at lunch he came over and admitted he'd found the email with my arrival details and that it was their fault. I was offered 50% off a future stay and I already have 2 further Zambia trips planned using Pioneer, so I will see if things improve.

There were a few additional minor things - when asking about my departure, one staff member first told me I'd need to pay 100 Kwacha per hour to keep my room after 11am, then also told me a departure time that would have me at the airport 3 hours before the flight (I'd said I was flying to Mfuwe).

The hot water in the chalets has never been amazing, but seems to be worse than ever - you have to wait ages for it to get hot, then it's a feeble trickle that's impossible to adjust between freezing and scalding. Hair dryers in the rooms would be welcome, as it's often not that warm in Lusaka and no one likes to sit around in the cold with wet hair. I'm sure the rooms used to have them but I could be mistaken." See all these reviews: 8n in Zambia