Guest Feedback
Dear Claudia, I am more than pleased to give you a short feedback.
Accommodation
– Arusha Coffee Lodge is a very nice place. Very good service and lovely surroundings. For the last night we could have sleep a little bit closer to the airport to save the 1h commuting transfer as we have a very early flight
– Acacia Farm Lodge was great and the team really professional and welcoming!
It is nice but you don’t really feel the safari spirit there. It is the only minus though the hotel is well designed!
– Lemala Camp was awesome! Everything was perfect. The tasty food, the team always available to pamper or to support you. Location is fabulous!
Wildlife
-Lake manyara is cute and we could already see a lot there. But I will definitely not put it as the most striking area.
– Ngorongoro crater is amazing from the top view. Inside you feel more like in a big zoo. Accommodation next to the crater would be better to enjoy the sunset and sunrise and to avoid the long drive to access the wildlife reserve.
– north Serengeti was the best of our trip. Beautiful landscape, lot of animals. You really experience the safari spirit there.
Guide
-MP was fantastic! He was really keen on explaining us animal facts and was aware of children’s need. Great!
– the private guide in Lemala was really good too… we were quite amazed how well trained and efficient both guides were!
Airstrip
– a must do! Both flights were well scheduled and offering a different view on the area!
I will definitely recommend your agency for friends planning a trip to Tanzania.
Next time you have to organise our stay in Zanzibar!
Hi Claudia, Please find below my detailed feedback:
Exclusive Safaris / Zanzibar Retreats:
For my honeymoon, I have always wanted to plan a surprise trip. Claudia was my perfect partner in crime in providing me all the right advice and support for making sure my dream became a reality. For my trip to Tanzania (safari + beach) in June, I started to plan as early as Feb to get the best possible places. I am pretty detailed in my planning and also had no clue about travelling in Africa. Claudia provided me with a few great options to choose from based on my requirements and budget. She answered every question I had (trust me there was a lot of mail exchange) with utmost professionalism and in a very timely manner. Everything from the very first mail till the end of my honeymoon was perfect. She provided the best possible price. I had spoken to a couple other agents as well and the price difference was huge. Through her conversation it was very clear that this was her passion and she wanted to ensure we had an amazing honeymoon no matter what. In fact, to prove this was the fact that our flights got delayed from London and thus could not make it to the local transfer flights she had us booked on. Once I informed her, she had already informed and taken care of alternate arrangements. By the time we landed, all was good and flowed through very smoothly. I cannot thank or appreciate Claudia enough for having made this trip a super memorable one. Thanks again Claudia!
Rufiji River Camp
This was our first stop and due to our delay we missed the evening activity. However, they were on time to pick us up from the local air strip and also had planned a romantic alfresco dinner by the river bank in the company of lots of hippos.It is a very beautifully located camp and also well decorated and built. They had a few options for activities too. The bush lunch and breakfast was amazing too. However, the food was below average. I also believe that the Selous game reserve is probably suited only for those who want to be more private and not for those who actually want to spot herds of animals.
Matemwe Retreat
This literally is paradise on Earth. I have travelled to over 35 countries in Asia, America and Europe and nothing comes close to this. Absolutely picturesque, very well built and maintained property, so very close to the beach, amazing views, and absolutely delicious food. Most important of all though is the whole team of Matemwe right from Ross and Gina (who also was our photographer for a couple of hours) who manage the property, the amazing George -our private butler, our private chef John, the F&B manager Rama (who sings really well too), the head concierge Martin, the sports guide Mubarak and of course the bartender. The team ensured a perfect honeymoon, be it their amazing sand bank tour, snorkelling trips, amazing beach dinners and many more surprises to add to the great service they provided. The team’s reply to anything we asked was ‘Hakuna Matata’ (meaning ‘no problem’ for those who do not know). Truly the spirit of Africa. Undoubtedly the best stay in our lives so far and it is almost impossible to probably think that there could be any place in the future that will match up to this.
Do let me know if you need any specific details. Thanks a ton!
Dear Claudia, Happy new year!
Our vacation in Tansania was absolutely fabulous and went by without any difficulties!
In Short: Both the hotels were what they promised. At Sand River Selous we had very lovely lodge managers which took our well being very seriously. The length of our stay (4 nights) was perfect to see all the different game and as we stayed in one lodge only we did not comprise any time on traveling which all of as appreciated a lot.
The journey to Fundu Lagoon was not the most comfortable one, as it was very long with many changes. However I was worth it. The resort was very nice we had great food lots of fun on our diving/snorkeling/fishing trips and could enjoy the the wonderful spa. Especially the sunsets were beautliful. Due to the time of the year the hotel was only filled with families which made the stay very pleasant.
Hi Claudia, we enjoyed very much our stay at the Rufiji River Camp!
- The safari excursions were great
- The accommodation was fine, by the way we were lodged in a nice family lodge (the luxury type), even though we did not pay any supplement. I believe there was a confusion with the prices and I am glad I did not accept to pay a supplement.
- The camp’s staff and the guide and the driver were professional and agreeable
- The only area of improvement I would mention is the food: not bad but can be improved.
Dearest Claudia, our trip in one word: super!
Everything from beginning to end was perfectly orchestrated: no single delay, hassle, …
Ras Kutani: great way to start a holiday; very good food; we were happy with the family unit
Kigelia: Ruaha is fantastic for scenery and beauty; great staff and manager Ken; apparently Nomad just bought the camp last year and they already had made fixed roofs over the tents and dining area which is a big plus; elephants and hyena in the camp between tents; excellent food ! apero at the fire and dining under the open sky at a large table : *****; saw 2 cheetah; saw lions every day
Sand Rivers Selous: super; river is very nice, food is good; the bar is *****; more difficult to find the game but they are certainly there; walking safari is super; totally different scenery again, boottrips are nice as well as the fishing; nice ponds/lakes
Fundu Lagoon: you were 100% right for recommending fundu over Seychelles; it is so nice and you stay indeed in the ‘black’ ‘swahili’ ‘african’ ambience; it is just the right extension ! very good diving ( which I did after all , contrary to my doctor’s advice, ; staff is very nice; superior suite is fanatastic; we were just unlucky with the weather.
Overall:
Perfect order and length for every segment of this trip ;100% happy family to have booked with you
Big kiss and thank you!
Hi Claudia, All the arrangements you made were streamlined and perfect. Khwai is a very nice camp, beautiful setting and the managers and staff are very friendly, guides are knowledgeable, helpful and professional. My only “problem” I had was with the accommodation, the roof of the tents are too low for tall people. If they can lift it higher so you can stand up straight when they build the new expansion, then it will be perfect.
Linyanti stole my heart, beautiful nature, perfect accommodation and perfect guides.
Thank you so much for the fantastic honeymoon that you organized for us! Our safari (staying at Lemala Kuria Hills, Exploreans & Lake Duluti) was perfectly planned and went off without a hitch.
It was clear that you have a great grasp of Tanzania and Zanzibar – and made it very smooth and easy to make arrangements. Should we ever venture back to Africa for another safari, we will certainly be giving you a call!
Our trip was wonderful, we enjoyed everything that you had chosen for us. You provided a good mix with the camps and they were all excellent in their own way. I like the way you mixed it up too. Every camp had wonderful food, service etc. I have been on to trip adviser and written a review for Matemwe Bungalows, it is online now. The whole family loved everything too. At first we thought Serengeti Mara Camp and Entim looked like they were in close proximity, but funny enough the regions were slightly different, we saw very different things in both region. We particularly loved Oliver’s Camp – Jackie and Justine were wonderful hosts and there is a hugh variety of animal in the Tarangire National Park with only being a small swamp area near by, so all the animals hung around that region making it easy to spot.
We only saw 1 Rhino and that was in the Ngorongoro crater and far away. We only missed sighting another at Serengeti Olakira Camp by 1 day, it never appeared again. I guess that was our only disappointment.
Finishing at Matemwe was perfect too, it gave us time to relax before the big journey home. They really need to do something about that road into Matemwe though, it is rough as rough.
Many thanks for organizing a wonderful holiday and helping us get through that difficult time last year of postponing. I will certainly recommend Zanzibar Retreats.
