Twyfelfontein Country Lodge — Hotel in Kunene Region

The Twyfelfontein Country Lodge has so much going for it, but it lacks in some prime areas. ||||Let's start with the good. The natural landscape where the lodge sits is incomparable. It is a very visually stunning place with plenty of activities such as guided safaris to search for desert-adapted Elephants, hiking, and e-Bikes with fat tires. The latter was by far our favorite with well marked trails that you can take self-guided, which is our preference. The upper bar of the main lodge is also very relaxing with great views. These make up most of the photos when you search the site and for good reason.||||OK, the not so good. I want to preface that I have lived in sub-Saharan Africa for well over a decade and I am about as low maintenance as they come, but I do expect quality to match price point. We were traveling during the high season and when we show up there is active construction, loud and dusty, between the far rooms and the large family suite. This was not related to repairs, but constructing a new building that will likely take a couple of months to complete. Why management or owners would choose the high season for new construction is beyond me. And as luck would have it, we were placed in the rooms directly next to and facing it with the front veranda covered in construction dust. After some struggle and persuasion, we were able to change rooms further from the site. The rooms themselves are basic but clean; however, the cleaning products used are industrial strength and it took hours for the rooms to air out. The food was below average to poor. I am accustomed to buffets at lodges that host a lot of people, but the quality was pretty low. The salad served for lunch and left open for the flies was very likely served for dinner with wilted leaves and brown edges. The one spoon used for serving several desserts was also being used for the fruit salad, so bits of soggy cake crumbs and frosting turned the fruit salad into a cloudy mess with curdled cream floating on top. The fish served for dinner the night before looked very much like the fish being served for breakfast(?) the next morning. I eat just about anything and by the last morning I was done with the food selection and was eager to pack up and go. Lastly, although there is a giant parking lot about 100 meters from the rooms, the safari vehicles pick up right in front of the rooms. That means people not partaking in morning activities are woken by...

The room is really small, so be careful when you enter as you'll trip over the bed if you rush in. But that is about the only negative point about the place. Behind the bed is a closet and coffee area, with a decent-sized bathroom. There are enough toiletries and fluffy towels. Would have been nice to have a face cloth so we could properly wash off the dust.

The lodge is beautiful. In the morning you can watch the sun rise over the mountains in the distance. The swimming pool has enough seats, and there is a waterfall cascading water into the pool. Lizards of various sizes can be spotted around the pool and they're fascinating to watch, especially when they chase each other. There are towels available at reception to use at the pool.

The resort has some rock engravings close-by reception, and they offer various activities in the area.

Dinner and breakfast were included in our fare. Dinner was buffet-style with soup, salads, cold meats and samosas as entrees. The main meal consisted of four meats (beef, chicken, pork and kudu) with a selection of side dishes and gravies. Dessert was amazing! They had a delicious chocolate cakeand a baked pudding with custard - huighly recommended! Other items included a white chocolate mousse, jelly, fruit salad and a strawberry yoghurt tart. The breakfast buffet was well stocked with bacon, chicken livers, eggs, creamy mushrooms plus a bunch of other warm dishes. They also had pastries, cereals and yogurts. The coffee station was well stocked with filter coffee, various instant coffees and teas, as well as hot chocolate and milo. There were also juices. The service at the restaurant was really good and staff very friendly.

There is a bar next to the restaurant, and a gift shop downstairs, but we didn't visit either.

It is very quiet at night. Almost feel like you van touch the silence.

We didn't see any wildlife at the resort, but there is a family of dassies living on the grounds.

We didn't battle to reach the lodge. Some people have written that one has to drive to the signs rather than follow Google Maps, but we actually preferred the road Maps took us on. We drove the other one (following the signs for the main road) when leaving and it is a really bad road in comparison.

We would definitely stay at Twyfelfontein Country Lodge again, should we be in the...

Pros: elephant tracking tour is good, do sign up for this in advance. We saw lots of elephants that day and some other animals too. Guide was very good. Wifi was slow, but usable. Only accessible in the main lobby. Great bar area with a good view across the landscape (no animals though), and reasonable prices Bed is comfortable and we got a good nights sleep

Cons: rooms are very dark, and "rustic" style. So best type of room to just come and sleep for the 8 hours. No aircon, just a ceiling fan (speed cannot be changed) If you get a mountain facing view, it is very depressing The room rate might be "cheap", but you're locked in to have dinner there, which is an exorbitant $325 pp buffet. The buffet was not that good either Hygiene for buffets is questionable, as they allow birds to fly into the dining area and land and walk on the salads and other food, and do nothing to chase them out Breakfast quality was average - standard eggs and several hot dishes, and also some fruits and cold meats and cheese Pool is tiny and only good for a dip Lunch is also buffet (but a more "reasonable" $245) but also nothing special No tea/coffee making facilities in the rooms, no fridge either

Overall there seems to be a lack of good value for money accommodation in the area. I would maybe go higher end (Mowani, etc) or maybe skip this leg of the trip, than stay at Twyfelfontein Country Lodge.

OR bring your own lunch and dinner foods (e.g. instant noodles, they have hot water in the...