Waterberg Plateau Lodge
Waterberg Plateau National Park, Otjiwarongo Namibia
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About
#5 of 19 Specialty lodging in Otjiwarongo
Location
4.6
Cleanliness
4.1
Service
3.6
Value
3.4
Nestled on a rock terrace high up on the slope of the Waterberg, the chalets of the Waterberg Plateau Lodge afford grand vistas of the endless Kalahari bush savannah below. Each of the eight double room chalets sits between red sandstone rocks in the midst of green bush, with total privacy guaranteed. Acacias shade the terrace; a plunge pool filled with spring water provides cooling and attracts birds and small game.
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Property amenities
Free parking
Free internet
Pool
Outdoor pool
Free breakfast
Bar / lounge
Non-smoking hotel
Laundry service
Restaurant
Breakfast buffet
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Room types
Non-smoking rooms
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HOTEL CLASS
HOTEL STYLE
Great View
Location
Full view
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Waterberg Plateau National Park, Otjiwarongo Namibia
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180Reviews0Q+A13Room tips
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The individual chalets are stunning, they have a fireplace! The views from your private veranda next to your private little splash pool are incredible. Rock dassies wander around as you sip a sundowner and enjoy the view. The plateau is beautiful, the walks nice, wildlife plentiful. The downsides: The welcome was cold and clinical. One main reception desk for the 3 different places within the resort. At the Plateau Lodge, the restaurant is a big vast tent, with zero atmosphere. They need music or something. We were often the only people in there, with only the sounds of one of the two staff that were sometimes around, more often there would be nobody there. Ordered a sandwich which took 45 minutes as it had to come up from one of the other resorts in the same area! The food was not good. It is strangely disjointed from the other places within the resort. If food was improved, and a little more 'slickness' and organisation was implemented, this place would be amazing. As it was, we were happy, but came away thinking it could have been great.…
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Date of stay: May 2022
Rooms
Service
Sleep Quality
Helpful
Response from Waterberg Wilderness, Sonstige at Waterberg Plateau Lodge
Responded 4 weeks ago
Dear Mark S. Thank you very much for your feedback. We are glad you enjoyed your stay! At Waterberg Wilderness we do operate three lodges and two campsites. The aim of our tourism operation is to diversify and provide the guest with all accommodation options according to their preferences / budget. • Waterberg Plateau Campsite – 16 pitches at the entrance of the valley. • Waterberg Andersson Campsite – 4 pitches on the slope of the valley. • Waterberg Valley Lodge – 9 double room tented chalets. • Waterberg Wilderness Lodge – 10 double rooms and 4 family units. • Waterberg Plateau Lodge – 8 double room chalets. Each lodge is, given the number of rooms, small and thus difficult to efficiently run on its own. Thus, the reserve share one central reception and a central kitchen. We do apologize if the service took long or was perceived cold. Our team will have a look into this. Thank you for staying with us, Your Waterberg Wilderness Team
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We camped for two nights and enjoyed our time. Every campsite has its own ablution facilities with hot water. It is clean and well maintained. Nice swimming pool. Camping site has own verandah with water tap and braai facilities. Lots of birds and things to do. Free wifi at lodge. It can be very hot in summer.
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Date of stay: January 2022Trip type: Traveled with friends
Room Tip: It can be very hot in summer.
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Helpful
Response from Waterberg Wilderness, Other at Waterberg Plateau Lodge
Responded Jan 15, 2022
Thank you for your positive write-up! We are glad you enjoyed your stay. Kind regards from the entire team at Waterberg Wilderness.
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+1
We planned our stay at the Waterberg plateau as a stopover but were greeted with amazing views and a solid accomodation. The room and the bed are spaceous and everything is well equipped. Food and staff are great and doing the rhino tracking on foot was one of the highlingts of our trip. Our guide Wesley did not only successfully track the rhinos but explained so much about the area, the wildlife, history and heritage. We really appreciated this unique experience.
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Date of stay: October 2021
Value
Service
Sleep Quality
Room Tip: Invest the money for the plateau lodge…. The view is worth every penny!
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Helpful
Response from Waterberg Wilderness, Other at Waterberg Plateau Lodge
Responded Jan 5, 2022
Wesley and the whole team were very happy for the positive feedback. What a great review to start 2022. Thank you for staying with us! With best regards, Your Waterberg Wilderness Team.
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We've stayed for two nights in the lodge. It's location is really beautiful. From our bungalow we'd a fantastic view to the kalahari. The staff ist friendly. The dinner was delicious. The breakfast offer was a bit small (for example no meat). This could be better.
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Date of stay: June 2021
Rooms
Cleanliness
Service
Helpful
Response from Waterberg Wilderness, Sonstige at Waterberg Plateau Lodge
Responded Jul 3, 2021
Dear Swissbear07 We are glad that you enjoyed your stay at our Waterberg Plateau Lodge. Our employees were pleased about the positive feedback and we will have a look into the breakfast offer. Our rhinos too were delighted by your feedback - because with your visit you have contributed to the protection of the fauna and flora of the nature reserve. With warm regards from the private nature reserve Waterberg Wilderness
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The Bungalows are clean and slightly above basic but by no means worth the daily rate charged. The food preparation is below standard. There is no management evident and no welcoming reception. Example -our shower water had not been heated resulting in cold showers that evening. The staff are very friendly but poorly trained, particularly in the kitchen. Before writing this review I contacted the owners asking for a 30% refund and they accused me of blackmail when all I was doing was requesting fair value for what was a disappointing two day stay. I did tell them that I was going to write review in any event. Had we not prepaid for two nights we would have left after our morning breakfast which was basic. The views are spectacular and it is a pity that the owners do not put effort into guest comfort. This Lodge could be world class with minimal extra cost. The owners use conservation costs as a reason for their high rates but Onguma the Fort and Kwessi Dune Lodge charge the same rates and offer vastly superior service whilst also being conservation conscious in their local communities. …
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Date of stay: April 2021
Helpful
Response from Waterberg Wilderness, Sonstige at Waterberg Plateau Lodge
Responded May 11, 2021
Dear Adventure13767734043 Thank you for your feedback and detailed overview of your stay. We do recall your e-mail very well. Quote: We, out of decency, are informing you that before we post our experience on Social media we are giving you an opportunity to rectify matters by reimbursing us. (...) I look forward to your response and this will determine what I write next weekend. We believe it best to again state what we wrote in the answer to your e-mail: We took note on your complaint regarding the price. Please provide us with your banking details and we will gladly refund you the remaining 495.35 NAD. Not because we are intimidated, but rather are focusing on guest who understand and support our concept. We consider it fatal to wage the battle for customers by undercutting each other. This is why we ask prices enabling us to sustain ourselves. After all, tourism is about sustainability. Pity that this concept is not supported especially in the corona crisis where nature conservation must go on. We want to continue to preserve wildlife and habitat. Our guests contribute to our efforts by not just paying for the room / food, but the whole upkeep of the nature reserve. We regard this as a win-win-win situation and are grateful for guests who appreciate and support this concept. Kind regards, Your Waterberg Wilderness Team
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Beautiful location, but accommodation average, the restaurant has the charm of a youth hostel dining hall, the place is littered with "it is forbidden to..." signs. Staff unfriendly & demotivated. Food mediocre. Totally overpriced.
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Date of stay: April 2021
Helpful
Response from Caroline Rust, Inhaber at Waterberg Plateau Lodge
Responded Apr 17, 2021
We believe tourism is about sustainability and this is why we ask prices enabling us to sustain ourselves. With their stay, our guests also contribute to our efforts of up-keeping the whole nature reserve and making this beautiful place accessible (e.g. roads; hiking trails; water installations; game-guards; habitat preservation et.al.). Unfortunately, there is also no mention of the nature trails, botanical garden, history path that can all be experienced without any additional charge. Besides: Waterberg Wilderness does offer a price category for every budget – from camping to tented camp and the rock chalets. Normally the Waterberg Wilderness team is regarded as very friendly and helpful. The covid pandemic is however strenuous on the nervous of the tourism industry. Of course guest should not feel this and we apologize if members of the team had a bad day and were perceived as unmotivated.
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+1
We booked months ago to Valley Lodge Ekono Chalet, but once we got there, we learned that they have upgraded us to a Plateau Lodge. It was a lovely place, very beautiful and only few other guests. Breakfast and dinner were included and they were nice and good quality. At breakfast there was a selection of cereals, bread, ham and cheese, vegetables, fruits etc. They also cooked you some eggs, bacon and sausages if you liked. Dinner was set 3 course menu. Soup, main and dessert – always tasty. Lunch was not included and there was only available some Greek salad once we were there. It was plenty and very fresh though. Our chalet was very comfortable and roomy and had a plunge pool with a most spectacular views to the walley. There was a donkey boiler burning every night, so warm water was plenty and water pressure also good in shower. We couldn’t unfortunately attend to any of the activities available. In the morning we were supposed to have our bush walk/rhino tracking, but it just rained that time too much. In the afternoon game drive was cancelled due to road conditions caused by rains. We still enjoyed our stay greatly and had walks nearby. We saw quite a lot wildlife there: paradise flycatchers, two different sunbirds, klipspringers, baboons, impala, hyrax, jackals etc. I would warmly recommend this place for a great relaxation and beautiful nature experience.…
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Date of stay: January 2021
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
1 Helpful vote
Helpful
Response from Caroline Rust, Owner at Waterberg Plateau Lodge
Responded Feb 12, 2021
We are glad that you enjoyed your stay at Waterberg Wilderness. Our employees were happy about the positive feedback. This rainy season was exceptional with 420mm (as per 13.02.2021) so far. We hope that we can welcome you again for a revisit and catch up on all the activities missed. With warm regards from the Waterberg Wilderness private nature reserve
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Had a lovely one night stay in the family lodge. Fabulous walks with lots to see including baboons, dassies, warthogs, many birds, porcupines,mongooses and lots from the antelope family! This really is a fabulous setting beneath the Waterberg Plateau it is much wetter than other parts of Namibia so much more pleasant for walking! The food was great and we enjoyed afternoon tea and cakes. There is the option to go on the Rhino drive which should not be missed!
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Date of stay: October 2019
Helpful
Response from Caroline R, Inhaber at Waterberg Plateau Lodge
Responded Nov 5, 2019
Great to hear that you enjoyed exploring our "paradise" ;-) Please allow us to point out that Waterberg Plateau Lodge is not recommendable for families with small children, because it is built on a rock terrace halfway up the slope of the Waterberg - so there are steep rock cliffs. The family rooms we offer are at Waterberg Wilderness Lodge which is situated in our idyllic valley. Best regards from the Waterberg Wilderness private nature reserve
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I stayed with my clients from Germany on August 11 and 12,2019 at Waterberg Plateau Lodge. My room no.6 had no hot water because staff forgot to light the fire in the outside oven. My clients room no.5 was according to them not cleaned. The meals were the worst we had on the entire tour and simply could almost not eat anything. What they serve as a three course dinner I doubt my dog would not even eat it.We also left hungry on the day of departure the 13th of August. There was no gas at 8h30 to even friend an egg. We left with empty stomachs but were happy to enjoy proper Namibian hospitality and excellent food at our last stop on tour, the Mount Etjo Safari Lodge. Waterberg Plateau Lodge is seriously in need of upgrading their facilities and employing people who can cook decent meals. Overpriced in comparison to other lodges and not worth visiting.…
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Date of stay: August 2019Trip type: Traveled on business
Helpful
Response from Caroline R, Inhaber at Waterberg Plateau Lodge
Responded Aug 16, 2019
Dear tour guide Felix H, your clients and you originally booked for 13 August for Waterberg Valley Lodge which is our budget accommodation at nearly half of the rate of Waterberg Plateau Lodge. You arrived already on 11 August, saying that there were some unforeseen changes in the itinerary of your tour. Unfortunately our Waterberg Valley Lodge was fully booked. Our reception manager then offered two rooms at Waterberg Plateau Lodge and informed you about the rates, because obviously it meant that you would have to pay for the upgrade. He even granted you a reduced rate for tour guides although the original booking for you was for a full paying guest. You agreed and then asked to stay for two nights instead of one. However, when you checked out, you suddenly started to complain about the price. When our reception manager insisted on the full payment as agreed, you added complaints about food and rooms. You threatened to cancel all bookings with us on further tours of yours and to publish bad comments on review platforms. When you realised that our manager would not be intimidated by that, you finally threw your credit card on the counter. Kind regards from private nature reserve Waterberg Wilderness
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Location and view are spectacular but the quality of service was definitely not. Before arrival, based on reviews we made the request not to be allocated to room number 8. Upon arrival we were nevertheless allocated to this room. We were travelling with our two daughters and both rooms were far away from each other. After complaining, they accepted to change our room the day after. The service was incredibly slow at lunchtime, we were waiting for 1,5h for our salads. The dinner was good and the staff in the restaurant was really nice. We visited 8 lodges during our stay in Namibia and this one was unfortunately the only one which we would not recommend.
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Date of stay: July 2019Trip type: Traveled with family
Helpful
Response from Caroline R, Inhaber at Waterberg Plateau Lodge
Responded Aug 7, 2019
We regret the hiccup with the room and the lunch. Your comment was forwarded to our booking office and the lodge manager to be discussed on the weekly team meetings. Great to hear that you enjoyed the location. Hopefully you also had time to experience the Waterberg by joining our guided Plateau Hike and Rhino Drive... Kind regards from the private nature reserve Waterberg Wilderness
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LOCATION
NamibiaOtjozondjupa RegionOtjiwarongo
NUMBER OF ROOMS
8
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Claim Your Listing Frequently Asked Questions about Waterberg Plateau Lodge
What are some of the property amenities at Waterberg Plateau 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 Plateau Lodge?
Guests can enjoy free breakfast, an on-site restaurant, and a lounge during their stay.
Is parking available at Waterberg Plateau Lodge?
Yes, free parking is available to guests.
Are there opportunities to exercise at Waterberg Plateau Lodge?
Yes, guests have access to a pool during their stay.