Caprivi Hotels

Rainbow River Lodge: hm and not in a good way

From the website we thought we had found a wonderful place to stay and certainly upon arrival it is absolutely idealic in its setting. The huts are stylishly sympathetic to their surroundings and it was certainly very tranquil as we sat watching the setting sun, overlooking the Zambezi.

However I did not care one little bit for the way in which I perceived the staff to be treated. I found the Mrs proprietor watery and with absolutely nothing to say for herself. It was evident that Mr proprietor was in charge around here and he did not even have the courtesy to acknowledge us (as the only guests there) when he walked past. He seemed obnoxious and the staff appeared to be rather afraid of upsetting him... they were literally jumping to the orders that he barked at them and ran rather than walked.

Dinner was overpriced. I cannot remember what we ate but it was a solemn affair with the 2 waiters standing nervously to our attention at all times. Smiles to try to get them to relax only seemed to make them more nervous as they looked towards Mrs Proprietor who snapped at them in command. It was not a comfortable experience and the boy waiter looked as though he could be suffering with malaria...

The other BIG complaint I have about this place are the dogs. Mr & Mrs Proprietor seemed to like their dogs and when 'Savannah' came galloping down to camp to see us I was struck with two thought - ooh you are handsome and f**k! you are freakin' enormous. Savannah was a puppy and wanted to play but, being a cross between a Ridgeback and (I think she said) Bull Mastiff, he was ENORMOUS, bigger than my children who were nervous of 'playing' with him... and then he bit one of them. Now, had he wanted to hurt he could probably have ripped his leg off... this was a come-on-I-want-to-play bite BUT it was still a bite. We tried to shoo him away but, with nobody else to take any notice of him he was desperate. I was nervous and honestly, as he gets bigger I can see a nasty accident happening with him and a guest. The British Bulldog they had looked grumpy and seemed grumpy but more in a disinterested way... and the Pug was sweet. Anybody who thinks a dog like Savannah is a suitable dog to have loose around a campsite wants their head examined!

If you do stay here, do be careful as hippos come out of the Zambezi and chew the grass all around the huts. You can hear them mooching about at night. There is also an abundance of crocs along here too and a few of them have had nibbles on locals.

The staff were nice people but seemed to definitely be under orders to not get in the way of the guests... I personally would rather have sat down and talked to them than had to endure the pathetic company of the lady who ran this business!

I did not think it was worth the £88 we paid for a family room. I am not sure about the prices but there were some much nicer lodges along the river. Given my experience here I would rather have paid more and stayed elsewhere.

• Opinion of Price: N/A
• Written January 3, 2010

Beautiful BUT The Hound from Hell!!!

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