Zambezi Mubala Lodge

This was the second Gondwana Collection hotel we had stayed in on our month long second trip to Namibia. It came back-to-back after the Hakusembe at Rundu for which I have also written a review. We have noticed some fundamental issues with this group of hotels, which I will highlight in this review and I also eluded to in my review of the previous hotel, so this is a brutally honest view of what we experienced. In the lead up to the holiday I had received communications from many of the independent hotels that we were staying at, all of which gave me the information I needed both with regards to booking, paying and getting to them (some of the lodges on this trip were quite challenging to find and get to!). I had booked Zambezi Mubala Lodge via a well known 3rd party hotel website as the price they were charging through the site was better than booking direct. The only way you can get to the lodge is via boat from the Zambezi Mubala Campsite. The information which was provided by the hotel was pretty poor and only said that you had to get to the camp before sunset as they can’t navigate the river after dark. Other than that, no other information - were there set times? Was a boat always waiting for you? What would happen if you had a flat tyre on the way and couldn’t make it? So I tried asking these questions via the 3rd party message service and was only really provided with general information and was never given the hotel phone number at any point, in case something went wrong. When we did arrive at the Campsite the welcome there was warm, hospitable and friendly- a cold drink and towel was most welcome and our luggage and we were loaded onto the waiting boat. We were about to depart when another couple of gentlemen appeared and we loaded them and their luggage and set off. After a fabulous 15 minute boat trip we arrived at the Lodge which, at this time of the year, is set high above the river. The welcome here was completely different; we discovered that the two gentlemen were from Gondwana and the staff cooed and pandered to them and pretty much ignored us…the paying clients. We received a welcome drink, but no cold towel. When we checked in we were almost just a side issue to deal with and we were simply handed our key and pointed in the direction of our room……..whilst our baggage went in the opposite direction with the Gondwana staff! My husband went looking for our luggage after about 10 minutes only to find the poor porter coming struggling back along the boardwalk looking for someone to ask which room we were in! My husband had had gastroenteritis at the previous hotel and the manager had kindly called the Zambezi Mubala to let them know we were coming and to ensure we were looked after. However, after we had settled in to the room I went to find a manager to check whether they had received the message. The duty manager didn’t know anything about it and in fact, during our entire stay seemed not to believe he had been so unwell; not

The lodge/camp site is 17km on the D3508 from the B8. The road is newly tarred and in good condition. We camped here in June for 3 nights. Our site No B3 was on the river bank which was very nice. It is however situated right next to a fence. Which made one feel a little uneasy regarding safety. Monkeys are a problem. Small swimming pool. This is only a problem when one encounters guests who likes their voices to be heard and take over the whole area. Especially those people who ensures a lounger in the sun and a lounger in the shade for one person. Each camp site had its own shower, toilet and kitchen sink. Facilities were new and in good condition. No shop on site. Ice and water were available at reception. Nearest shopping is at Kasane. Reception staff were very friendly. One could order from an a la carte menu for evening meal. Choices were limited.