Caiman, Pantanal — Hotel in Região Geográfica Imediata de Aquidauana - Anastácio

The Lodge is a 3.5 to 4 hour drive from Campo Grande with the last 32km on a dirt road. You have to arrange your own transfers as the Lodge does not provide these. We used Terra Transportes and they were very good but always confirm the pickup time the day before.||The wildlife and guides are the highlight of the Lodge. The Lodge itself is not worth the high prices charged.||The first point to note are the mosquitoes. They are ferocious. Despite covering ourselves in bug spray and wearing trousers and long sleeved shirts we were bitten hundreds of times. Bring the strongest repellent you can find and also wear a T-shirt under a safari shirt. You might swelter but the mozzies struggle to bite through 2 layers. We had cycling gloves with us and they stopped the worst of the bites on the hands.||Firstly we would like to thank Alannah (apologies if the spelling is incorrect) our guide and Wagner our driver. Alannah's knowledge and enthusiasm were fantastic and she made each of the safari's a wonderful experience. During our 6 day stay we saw 1 Tapir, 12 Jaguar, Marsh Deer, Tarantula, Agouti, Peccary, Capybara, Caiman, many amazing Giant Anteaters and too many birds to list here. Wagner made sure we got the best angle for each photo shot.||We were supposed to have a canoe ride and horse ride included in our itinerary. The canoe was cancelled 3 times due to weed in the lake and the horse ride seemed to have been forgotten until near the end of our stay by which time we had already seen so much we decided to pass on it.||As this Lodge charges over $750 a night we expected it to be much better. Unlike the Anavilhanas Lodge in the Amazon where we stayed before arriving in the Pantanal, the Caiman does not provide a written itinerary of activities on arrival or restaurant quality seating and food. The food is buffet style of average quality for the rates charged. The same buffet was repeated twice during our stay. The cowboy barbecue was as very good with delicious Il led meats and fish but the mozzies also dined on us at the same time.||Unfortunately the desserts were truly awful and looked like school dinners. Jelly, custard or some 'mousse' made with condensed milk and a gooey pie. The vegetarian hot offering was pasta from a packet with tomato sauce. At breakfast there is cake and it would make more sense to have the cake at lunch or dinner.||There were no dedicated tables for meals and we were asked to share a table for dinner one night or sit outside. It was 41 degrees and the area is mosquito ridden. For $750 a night, seriously?||The rooms were tired. The hot tap fell off the shower. The shower head was covered in limescale and the aircon was not powerful enough to cool the room when the temperature during the day is over 35 degrees. The beds should have been covered with mosquito nets. We were bitten on the face neck, ears, arms and hands during the night making sleeping a miserable experience and causing our faces to swell up.||The worst part of the Lodge is the swimming pool. We thought the tiles were worn as they were different colours. The green areas everywhere were infact a green sludge that came off when rubbed. Yuck. We did not swim due to the unhygenic state of the pool.||The gym however was very good and the equipment modern.||The Lodge offers satisfactory accommodation and food for the location||Is it luxury, not by a long shot. Is it worth the price, no. A lot if improvements would be needed to the pool, food and accommodation to justify the rates charged. Is it worth visiting for the wildlife,...

We stayed for four nights in March and were reluctant to leave - the lodge was just perfect for us.||||The setting is idyllic - be prepared for the drive off the main road which although in good condition, is bumpy and takes nearly an hour, but once there the reward is amazing.||||The staff are so welcoming and helpful, nothing was too much trouble - providing cream for mosquito bites and tape to mend my suitcase which had taken a hit near the wheel when it was thrown onto a broken conveyor belt.||||There are many different, beautifully styled communal siting areas both inside (with air con) and outside, where open fires are made for the evening when it gets dark, a gym , a swimming pool and a small gift shop. Our bedroom was large and spacious, the bed very comfortable and the bedding of the highest quality.||||Everything about our bedroom was explained on arrival - there were two thermos flasks which were re-filled every day with filtered water. There were two portable flasks (one each) which were a gift to us, which we used all the time on holiday, a branded material shoulder bag each which were also a gift to us, together with two beautifully carved small wooden birds (also a gift to take home as a memory) which had been placed either side of the bed.||||We went out early each morning in the dark for a safari and came back for breakfast and went out late afternoon in the warmth of the day with a breeze from the open air safari vehicles, coming back when it was dark for an evening meal. Lunch was also provided, together with hot drinks, fresh juice and soft drinks. Chargeable wine, spirits and cocktails are also served. All the meals are served in a dining room, the food is waiting for you to make your own selection and at every meal a member of staff explained what every food item was - as a person who is not particularly adventurous with food I don't recognise, I found this very helpful and enabled me to eat different foods!||||One evening after our safari there was a bbq which was held into an open, hacienda type building which had been set up for us, the tables looked beautiful. Meats were being cooked on an open fire and there was local musical entertainment all evening. The staff brought over our different wine bottles from the main Casa for our table, there was a welcome drink and hot flannels to wipe our face and hands. The evening was magical and when we were ready to go back, one of the safari jeeps took us on the short journey back to the main Casa Caiman lodge.||||The area is a wetland area and very hot too when we visited in March, so a high factor sun cream and a really good mosquito spray is absolutely necessary. Long leg trousers with a cuff on the bottom of the leg for the safari and consider yourself fortunate if you manage not to get bitten (it goes with the...

Unfortunately the weather was that sort of cold and we were not prepared for that. It never warmed up. Could have done with thermals. Our room was average, but the heating did work on the air con unit. Food was served in the restaurant with sit where you could get a table. Larger groups were designated their own tables. There is no information given to you. We even had to ask when lunch was served! Our guide Paula was good and on the first mornings drive, we were taken to a known kill with Jaguar tearing it apart. The evening ride was pretty special, seeing a couple more Jaguar, a mane wolf, and Ocelot. However the cold was penetrating and we had to ask for the fleeces that had been in the vehicle. There were no hot water bottles.|The next day our itinerary from our tour guide said we were doing the Onçafari. We walked down to reception to go on it and told we were not down, until the following day. This was not true. We ended up doing another safari with Paula, not our choice, and on the last day I would have preferred a more relaxed day. To get the canoe trip in one of our group had to request it. It was not going to be offered. As it was it was brilliant, and cannot understand why we were not offered it. The BBQ in the stables was very average, and by that time we were frozen. On the last day we did the Onçafari, which is extra. We seemed to spend hours chasing after collared jaguars. At least on that day we were offered hot water bottles and fleece, in the morning. It was not offered in the evening. Onçafari spent the evening safari driving miles in the cold to see a Jaguar that was hidden in the undergrowth. A waste of time, and money. On our return I was so cold I couldn’t eat the special meal prepared, which obviously the staff had worked hard for. We were returned to the lodge with a plate of cold food. The bathroom stops we had to ask for and hot chocolate was only served once. Tea and coffee was hard work. Suggest you take your own mug and tea bags. There is also a Bee trip, we were not offered that either. I am not sure the effort we put in to get there was worth it. So unorganised, with no...