Etosha Mountain Lodge — Hotel in Kunene Region

We were a group of 7 women self-driving in two cars through Namibia. Etosha was one of our last stops. We knew we would be in good hands right away when one of the workers noticed that one of our cars had a flat and he proceeded to change the tire for us. As it happened, we were the only people in the lodge -- except for the first night when the lodge was also occupied by another group of (female) travelers mostly from the U.S. The lodge was clean, very spacious and exuded great energy, probably from the great staff there. There is a watering hole visible from the lodge, which is perched on a mountain top. Thus, the view is spectacular and one can also see animals that come for water. The staff definitely aims to please -- cheerful, smiling, and seemingly very proud of their lodge. The food is very good -- we had a great welcome outdoor grill/buffet dinner our first night and the entire grounds surrounding the area was lit up with candles. It would be nice -- as a suggestion -- that when they announce the vegetables that are part of the meal, that there are in fact more than 2 or 3 pieces. For example, one night we were told you will have brussel sprouts. And as it turns out, each plate has two brussel sprouts on it. Or the next night, three cauliflower florets on each plate and if you ask for more, there isn't any. Maybe it's because fresh vegetables is hard to come by in the area. As far as game drives are concerned, this lodge is not itself in Etosha but in a private reserve outside Etosha National Park. The good part of it is that it is less visited and as a result, the game experience is intense and personal. We didn't come across other cars chasing the same animals. The animals are also less "habituated" and seem more "wild," in their true natural wild stage. Our guide Cecil was fantastic. He was responsive, understood what we were interested in and accommodated all of us in our group of 7. We saw rhinos, lions scavenging, buffaloes, elephants and many others. We...

After a very long 9 hours’ drive in our hopeless rental car (se previous post) with alarms flashing all the time on the corrugated gravel roads, we finally reach Mountain Lodge, looking forward to 3 nights with full board and all activities included. It´s in the middle of nowhere with few signposts. Therefore, we are very happy to see, that there is actually a lodge after the long drive. We are also very grateful for our never failing Tracks4Africa app. If we are lost – at least we know where ;-) ||We are meet by the staff and kind manager who had upgraded us to a “villa with own plunge pool” on the mountainside (!) What a treat and wonderful surprise after the long drive. ||The lodge itself is typical safari style. An old fashioned, or traditional, safari lodge with dark wooden panels, heavy wooden furniture’s, brass, and large mirrors. Surrounded by an enormous balcony overlooking the area. It´s nicely situated on the mountainside (surprise given the name ;-) overlooking a small nearby, and distant bigger, waterhole. ||The food is what I would call “solid and plentiful”. The biggest asset is the staff. They are absolutely amazing and genuine friendly. It’s not a “posh lodge” like e.g. Ongava Lodge, we stayed in last time (link), but more...

We stayed 2 nights here and had a very lovely personal welcome from all the staff.|The lodge is in a private reserve and has fantastic views onto the park.|The rooms were large and comfortable and bathroom very nice with bath and shower and so very calm!|The bed very comfortable.|There is an outside sitting area with wonderful views on the small waterhole.|Unfortunately the seating was very hard and uncomfortable.|There is a nice sitting area with a bar and fireplace.|But the decor I must say is very very gloomy and dark . Very dark tiles everywhere |The food the first night and lunch was really good but unfortunately the second night was not as good as the chef was different.Breakfast is really good .|There are nice treats in the afternoon and tea and coffee available all day .|There are good guides for the game drives a lots of good viewing.|No WIFI in rooms is a problem as means we have to use mealtimes to check our phone when we should be relaxing!|The staff led by the lovely Lazarus are very attentive to our needs and they make up for all the negatives !|It’s about 1h 30 from Etosha but you get to see lots of...