Waterberg Wilderness Lodge
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D2512, Waterberg Wilderness, Otjiwarongo 00100 Namibia
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Prices above are provided by partners for one room, with variable occupancy rules as provided by the property, and do not include all taxes and fees. Please see our partners for full details.
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About
#7 of 19 Specialty lodging in Otjiwarongo
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Value
The buildings of Waterberg Wilderness Lodge shelter in a long valley in the midst of the Waterberg mountain range. Built from red Waterberg sandstone they nestle under enormous old trees. The atmosphere in the mature, well-kept garden with its two pavilions, many cool and shady places and an immured spring water basin lined by giant bamboo is idyllic.
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Property amenities
Free parking
Free internet
Pool
Free breakfast
Hiking
Mosquito net
Non-smoking hotel
Laundry service
Internet
Pool / beach towels
Outdoor pool
Bar / lounge
Restaurant
Breakfast buffet
Ironing service
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Room features
Clothes rack
Bath / shower
Complimentary toiletries
Room types
Non-smoking rooms
Good to know
HOTEL CLASS
HOTEL STYLE
Family
Great View
Languages Spoken
English, Afrikaans
Location
Full view
Contact
D2512, Waterberg Wilderness, Otjiwarongo 00100 Namibia
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267Reviews1Q+A10Room tips
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Unfortunately, we will never go to WATERBERG WILDERNESS. We have booked one night for 270 euros in May 2020. Unfortunately, flights from Germany to Namibia are cancelled and Namibia has in addition closed its borders. Basically, we CAN'T travel to Namibia. 60 days before the date of the booking, I have written to Mr. Rush to ask what would be the cancellation policy as we probably can't. ALL the other accommodations in Namibia have, of course, accepted a flexible cancellation policy : either a minor fee or a delay to let us the possibility to see whether the situation will change and let us the possibility to travel. But, Mr. RUST doesn't want to hear anything. 60 DAYS ahead of the day, he cannot cancel or propose anything except if we delay it only with FIXED date. So, I asked my magic ball : WHEN IS GOING TO END THIS VIRUS SO THAT I CAN ANSWER MR. RUST about MY TRAVELLING DATE to WATERBERG? So far, no answer... LET's hope MR. RUST WATCHES NEWS, THINKS A BIT, that maybe if he accepts the situation, we would be HAPPY to book again at his LODGE in NAMIBIA when flights are flying there and borders let us go through !!! OTHERWISE, we will never see the Waterberg wilderness and never have the nice pleasure to meet Mr. RUST... too bad???…
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Date of stay: March 2020
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Room Tip: None, just avoid booking at this place
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1 Helpful vote
Helpful
Responded Mar 26, 2020
We can understand very well that you are disappointed not to be able to set out on your Namibia trip for the time being. Given the uncertain duration of the travel restrictions, we also understand your decision to cancel your tour. For us and our country, the necessary measures against COVID-19 are also a bitter disappointment, indeed a severe blow. After a long recession and a severe drought, we had hoped for a good travel season, which we urgently need to recover our economy. Instead, many companies are now facing the end, regardless of whether in tourism, retail or other sectors. Our economy cannot count on government bailouts. The state budget, which is already severely restricted due to the recession and drought, is now additionally burdened with costs for measures to prevent a devastating COVID-19 epidemic. Our government cannot expect any additional help from the industrialised countries because their governments have to provide billions in aid for their own economies. We can count ourselves lucky if the existing development aid for Namibia is not cut. We from Waterberg Wilderness do everything we can to keep as many of our employees as possible, being aware that each workplace supports eight- to ten-person families. We also need to invest more in the protection of our rhinos and other game because the problem of poaching will worsen, due to increasing unemployment. Since we have no income overnight, we must now draw on our reserve assets, already diminished by the drought, in order to keep our nature reserve alive. We therefore ask for your understanding that we cannot refund the amount you paid for your booking at the moment. However, as we clearly pointed out, it will remain in our booking system as credit for you, for the time after the travel restrictions have been lifted. We will send you a voucher. Please save it on your computer and send it to us with your new booking. Since the voucher is transferable, you are also welcome to pass it on to someone who is planning to travel to Namibia. Best regards from the whole team of Waterberg Wilderness private nature reserve
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The road in is very poor indeed and needs maintenance. The rooms are rather tired. There is no air conditioning or fan and no netting on the windows which means you can’t open the windows at night. The staff are friendly but seem to spend a lot of time chatting in loud voices outside your room. At one point they were shouting at each other in a very unprofessional way. The food is just about OK but the rhino safari really excellent. Not very good value for money.
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Date of stay: January 2020
1 Helpful vote
Helpful
Responded Feb 21, 2020
As we mention in our information brochure handed to every guest upon arrival, we have solar power. It supports hair dryers, shavers and battery chargers, but not air cons. In the process of our annual renovations the rooms will be equipped with fans and broken mosquito screens will be replaced. Loud chatting in front of the guests is not acceptable. We forwarded your complaint to our lodge manager. In January we received good rains which we really needed after this terrible drought we experienced. However, the rain also causes damage to our roads. However, our maintenance team is making sure that cars can pass without a problem. Great to hear that you enjoyed your encounter with some of the white rhinos in our private nature reserve. Best regards from Waterberg Wilderness
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The campsites (13 and 14) at waterberg wilderness are basic but clean. The waterberg plateau is a beautiful place. The staff however was reluctant to give us any information about hikes in the region. We went hiking on our own and afterwards the staff forced us to pay a guided tour because we hiked on a "forbidden" trail. They closed the gates of the exit road until we paid. This was cleaely not the first time they dit this. They were proud to tell us we were not the only ones that got "fined" that day. Japanese tourists got fined 5000 NAD for using a drone.
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Date of stay: January 2020Trip type: Traveled with friends
1 Helpful vote
Helpful
Responded Feb 21, 2020
Our receptionists give every guest a detailed information brochure when they check in. It contains a list of all activities such as the hikes onto the plateau which are GUIDED and a map showing the walking trails in the valley that the guests can do ON THEIR OWN. You obviously climbed onto the plateau, without guide, ignoring the "strictly no entry" sign on the path. This is a serious offense. You can easily get lost in the rocky and bushy terrain on the plateau, there is an open border to the national park where visitors are not allowed and there are dangerous animals on the plateau (black rhino, buffalo). If you were spotted by a park ranger, you might have been arrested. You were lucky to be spotted by one of our guides, who asked you to climb down immediately and to report at the reception. For your illegal hike our reception manager did not charge a fine, but our rate for a guided plateau hike of N$ 200 (ca. Euro 12.50). You tried to leave the premises with your car without paying, but were stopped at the gate. We had to establish this gate two years ago after experiencing quite a few times that guests left without having settled their bill. As soon as you show your receipt our staff will open the gate. We do not know anything about the fine you mentioned for Japanese tourists. However, using a drone without official permission is strictly forbidden in Namibia, and especially in / near National Parks. We are bordering the Waterberg Plateau Park, being home to rhinos. If people using a drone are caught by park wardens, they will be fined - and quite rightfully so.
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We were recommended by friends to spend some time in Waterberg Plateau as a stopover en route to Windhoek. However feel very strongly that we chose the wrong place to stay. We booked a econo chalet for a night for £96, which included dinner and breakfast. The scenery and location are both fabulous with spectacular views from the chalet and restaurant, but it all ends there. The place is run on a shoestring despite the cost of staying here. Our chalet was a tent with a wooden floor, which is absolutely fine, as we had stayed in a few tented rooms during our stay in Namibia, however the others were quite luxurious and spotlessly clean ( similar cost or cheaper). This tent was extremely basic and dirty. There was nowhere to put anything except a dusty table, the mosquito net had holes in, bed uncomfortable and hard, towels threadbare and no fridge. The advert specifies a fan, there was a fan, however it was a fan standing on the floor and such a short lead, was only effective from one side of the bed. The cold water was so hot in the en suite bathroom, it was not possible to wash your hands. And it gets worse - we decamped to some filthy dirty rickety sun loungers around the swimming pool further up the valley to try and cool down ( it was 36 C) pool was too dirty to swim in. On our arrival back at our tent, there was fire lit at the rear of the tent, to heat up the hot water - we couldn’t believe what it, what with the cold water too hot to wash in.... unfortunately we had left the bathroom window open too and the bathroom and tent were all smoky. The restaurant has fabulous views of the plateau and is a lovely place to watch the sun go down, however it is so hot in there and we were served boiling hot soup as a starter ( no choice). Food was not great but not terrible. The breakfast buffet was sparse with little choice. We were so disappointed with our last nights stay in Namibia after staying in some absolutely fabulous places and would definitely not recommend this place to anyone…
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Date of stay: December 2019
Location
Service
Sleep Quality
2 Helpful votes
Helpful
Responded Jan 13, 2020
We regret that you did not enjoy your stay. May we add that you were staying at the Waterberg Valley Lodge, our budget accommodation. The nine tented chalets are all the same, in size, layout, equipment and price. We recommend to place the fan at the foot end of the bed and switch it to auto-turn. The other complaints we forwarded to our lodge manager. Kindly note that we renovate and exchange all worn towels, mosquito nets etc. on a regular basis. Pity that you did not mention any of our activities, such as the five nature trails incl. "botanical garden", our History Path, the guided Plateau hikes and Rhino drives & trackings... Best regards from the Waterberg Wilderness private nature reserve
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+1
We were traveling in Southern Africa..in a particularly small camper van. After spending far too many nights in this vehicle (1 night) we decided to treat ourselves to a bit of decidence. This lodge did not fail to impress. It offered a truly wild experience without missing out on any of our creature comforts. Our accommodation was visited by cute little rock dassies, and the midnight sounds of the howler monkeys. The views from the plateau were mesmerising, while almost being able to see the curvature of the earth. Topped off nicely with the restaurants finest refreshing rock shandy beverage!
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Date of stay: November 2019Trip type: Traveled as a couple
Helpful
Responded Dec 3, 2019
Thank you very much for the five stars :-) Although we do not see any decadence in our Wilderness Lodge - if it really was the Wilderness Lodge, that is, because the rock dassies seem to prefer to "visit" our Plateau Lodge... Greetings from the whole Waterberg Wilderness private nature reserve team - including its four-legged members ;-)
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PRICE RANGE
$105 - $240 (Based on Average Rates for a Standard Room)
LOCATION
NamibiaOtjozondjupa RegionOtjiwarongo
NUMBER OF ROOMS
20
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Claim Your Listing Frequently Asked Questions about Waterberg Wilderness Lodge
Which popular attractions are close to Waterberg Wilderness Lodge?
Nearby attractions include Nederduitsch Hervormde Kerk van Afrika (0.6 miles).
What are some of the property amenities at Waterberg Wilderness Lodge?
Some of the more popular amenities offered include free breakfast, a pool, and an on-site restaurant.
What food & drink options are available at Waterberg Wilderness Lodge?
Guests can enjoy free breakfast, an on-site restaurant, and a lounge during their stay.
Is parking available at Waterberg Wilderness Lodge?
Yes, free parking is available to guests.
What are some restaurants close to Waterberg Wilderness Lodge?
Conveniently located restaurants include Casa Forno Restaurant, Crocodile Ranch, and Bohemia: Books & Coffee.
Are there opportunities to exercise at Waterberg Wilderness Lodge?
Yes, guests have access to a pool during their stay.
Is Waterberg Wilderness Lodge located near the city center?
Yes, it is 0.6 miles away from the center of Otjiwarongo.
Which languages are spoken by the staff at Waterberg Wilderness Lodge?
The staff speaks multiple languages, including English and Afrikaans.