Kwessi Dunes — Hotel in Hardap

The lodge and tents are stunning, I’ll start with that. The beds are very comfortable, there is AC, and of course the star beds are so wonderful to have. The view from camp is great and we enjoyed watching the oryx pass by. We also enjoyed our sundowner drive with Ensley. The cleaners here are incredible as well, so fast and efficient and the place was constantly made perfect again, without even seeing anyone go in or leave!||There is a surprising amount of light pollution for a supposedly certified dark sky location. Most comes from the lodge itself and guests need to get to their rooms but a dozen flashlights being waved around adds up. I think getting red lights instead could be a better solution? I was also surprised to see a bonfire, for the same reason.||The food is just ok, but the reason I would be unlikely to return is the service. It’s not terrible but at $1750/night for two people, I do expect more. A few examples..||The check in process felt stressful and rushed and also lacked information. We weren’t told what time anything was and didn’t see any signs and the next day, when I went there at 12:40 to ask if they served lunch or not, I felt I was being scolded for being late, as it’s at 12. It was really uncomfortable and there were lots of small occurrences like that that created a general sense of unease. It wasn’t til the day we left we saw there was a pool, as we had no reason to look at that end of camp, since we stayed on the other side. It would have been nice to have been told about it and it left us wondering if there was more we didn't know about.||We were told to message on WhatsApp if we wanted coffee in our room, and so we did on our first day but 25 minutes later hadn’t received a response and no one had come, so we headed to the lodge, not knowing if someone else was bringing some to our room. We didn’t expect anyone to bring us coffee but just an example of awkwardness that made the place feel tense.||On arrival, we felt tired but by the next day realized we were definitely sick. We asked if we could have dinner in our room to avoid getting others sick and have extra time to look at the stars and still get to sleep early, or if we could eat at a different time, but were told it wasn’t possible because they had a big group and were understaffed. From my perspective, all the more reason to have us eat at a different time? So we asked if we could just go to the restaurant and take our food with us and even that required a couple more rounds of negotiation before culminating in a half-solution: we ate our starter at the restaurant then hurried back to our room with our food.||The coffee station was poorly manned: out of coffee or water or milk any time we went to it. There is a drip coffee maker and an espresso machine, and one morning when we arrived to breakfast the drip maker was empty. My husband asked the waiter to please make a new pot, but he said “it would be a waste” (because we were the last people to come for breakfast). We both asked for extra bacon twice but didn’t receive it. This alone is a small thing, and really, all, independently, are very small, but combined and at the rate they charge… it just isn’t warranted, IMO. ||Much better service at Kulala Desert Lodge, which I will review soon. Night and day, honestly, even though the truth is I prefer the physical camp at Kwessi Dunes. Hopefully they’ll get better management in place, and add staff, as there’s regularly no one...

Kwessi Dines was our last stop on a 3 week, 4 country tour of Africa and the one we were really looking forward to. Upon arriving we were overjoyed. The location and property were spectacular! Our jaws literally dropped. Our guide Filip was fantastic. The rest not so much. Sadly I’ve had better service at a Holiday Inn. Most of the time we’d walk into the dining room at prime meal time only half the tables were set and nobody was around. Sometimes we waited for 15 minutes before an employee walked into the building. By day 2 we started going into the fridges and getting our own water and drinks and setting our own tables. The food was very disappointing and a couple of meals over our 4 day stay were inedible ( other guests agreed). There was no clear management which is sad because this place has the potential to be a true 5 star bucket list property in this setting but as of now it is falling very short. On day one we and another family sat by the pool but had to go into the building in the fridge and get our own drinks because nobody ever came to the pool to check on the guests. The next morning all of our towels and empty bottles and glasses were still lying around the pool. We were very surprised but the next day was even worse when we arrived to the pool after breakfast and found a dead bird that nobody had removed. The father of the family we were hanging out with around the pool everyday asked for a pool skimmer to remove the bird. You’d think once he told the staff there was a dead bird in the pool maybe they would rush to remove it? Nope. They happily handed him the pool skimmer and went back to looking at their phone. We were in complete shock. The lack of management clearly trickles down and there is nobody doing much here throughout the day except the guides taking you on your adventures. Our guide Filip truly saved our stay there. This guy works 13-14 hour days with a smile on his face. He should be promoted to manager in my opinion because he truly aims to make your stay as memorable as possible. Such potential but a big...

The tents (rooms) are excellent, big comfortable beds, great shower, and a bed outside under the stars where you cane watch the stars is great. There is plenty of water to drink, many places to sit and relax and enjoy the Kwessi Dunes. ||There is a fantastic display of stars, milkyway, etc. in the night sky; the best I have seen.||There is plenty to eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and the food and drink are delicious. ||It's hot! be sure to bring a wide brim hat, sunscreen, and bathing suit. For sleeping, there is a fan in the room to help move the hot air :- ) but it does cool down in the night. The pool is an excellent place to be cool.||Props / Kudos to Lilian: Manager, Papa G : Guide, Tiberias: lead host, and ALL the staff at Kwessi Dunes||Day 0: From the airstrip, we stopped to visit the Himba.||Day 1: Balloon|Up at 5:00 for coffee and biscuit and then the early for the drive to the hot air balloon. It's expensive, but, if you can afford it, the ride is smooth, high, exciting, and the views are wonderful. The champagne breakfast is an added bonus.||Evening: Game/Scenic Drive||Day 2: Sossousvlei|Up at 5:00|Breakfast 5:30|Depart 6:00|Arrived 7:00 at Sossousvlei|Gate open 7:14|We were car number 33 in queue|Arrived at Big Daddy at 8:15 to start our climb 3.96 miles walked / 6.4 kilometers round trip from to parking lot|Back at the camp in the early afternoon|Went for a dip in the pool|~4:30 went for a walk with Papa G.||Evening: Game/Scenic Walk||Plan to be in the Namib-Naukluft National Park and stay at...