Xaus Lodge

Great welcome from Anthony and Suzi. Our guide Castro was excellent and has the ability to spot birds and game we would never have seen without him. We were so well taken care of, and thoroughly enjoyed our four days. To see the resident genets was lovely, and we were lucky enough to see the lion around the property on our first morning. Being able to leave the car at their safe shelter, at entrance to their land is such a good idea. And our Toyota SUV was fine on the roads in the park. A constant supply of drinking water was much appreciated.

Although the dune ride to get there is spectacular it is quite far from most of the game, and therefore longer driving hours for the guides, while you sit back, relax and enjoy. The brackish water there is odd but after a shower you feel very refreshed and not at all ‘tacky’ as you might expect!

Die Lodge liegt in exponierter Lage.

Wir freuten uns seit Monaten sehr auf diese Lodge und hatten aufgrund der Werbefilme eine freudige Erwartung. Nach zwei Nächten reisten wir sehr enttäuscht ab! Die Einrichtung ist sehr in die Jahre gekommen, schäbig! Der Preis steht in keiner Relation zur Leistung. Das Frühstück war gut, aber Lunch und Dinner mittelmäßig. Die Game Drives waren total enttäuschend, da der Guide unvorbereitet auf gut Glück durch die Gegend gefahren ist. Wir hörten die Löwen in unserer Nähe sehr deutlich, aber der Guide schaffte keine Sichtung. Als erfahrene Afrika-Reisende können wir die Lodge auf keinen Fall weiterempfehlen!!!

Endroit magique Guide très intéressant ( deux game drive sans beaucoup de succès , une promenade à pied instructive ) Nous avons vu beaucoup plus d oryx et de Hardbeest depuis la terrasse qu en safari Route d accès très sympathique

Souffre d un sous investissement majeur ; tout est dans son jus ; tout est assez obsolète ( avec les panneaux solaires nous pourrions avoir un frigo ) Des bonnes viandes , mais noyées sous une sauce brune . Le meilleur repas est le petit déjeuner . Plomberie pathétique . Un peu de wifi serait bien pratique . Très ( trop ) cher , d ailleurs nous étions seul ( début Novembre ) Ce n est pas l endroit pour voir beaucoup d animaux , nous sommes dans les dunes ( comme nous l avions anticipé)

Nothing

!Xaus in the Kgaligadi is a lodge in a beautiful location on a large salt pan in the middle of the desert and is run by dedicated local staff. So much for the positives in this review. The lodge claims to have a formal 4-star rating, but in practice, it's absolutely nothing like it. The lodge is poorly maintained and dirty; the buildings, rooms, furniture, and bathroom fixtures are completely worn out. The chairs were hand-assembled long ago from old wood. They are dangerously rickety, with bolts and nails sticking out. Hot water is provided by old-fashioned gas heaters located inside the bathroom and smelly. The combined CO2 detectors don't work because the batteries are dead. Extremely dangerous. When we stayed, meals were served in a dark room without natural light. We sat there under yellow, fluorescent lighting. The food was unhealthy, too sweet, too fatty, and of unacceptable quality. Electricity is only available for a limited number of hours per day. Wi-Fi/internet is only available to management and not to guests. This information hasn't been mentioned anywhere before, and the website has been down for months. The manager was grumpy, disinterested, and not a host. The price-quality ratio is absolutely terrible, and the lodge is therefore a definite NO-GO.

Animal sightings were exceptional. Saw lion, cheetah, and leopard. Exceptional meals. All activities are included in the price (game drives, sundowner, guided walks).

No air conditioning. Ceiling fan is available only when generator is running.

Eigentlich war nur der Guide gut. Alles andere wirklich nicht!!!

Sehr viel. Leider total heruntergewirtschaftet und nicht gepflegt. Es gibt Solarpanels fur jedes Chalet, leider funktionieren die Batterien nicht mehr und daher ohne Nutzen. Bei Checkin wurde uns im Gespräch gesagt, dass der Vertrag nur noch 2 Jahre geht und man nicht weiß, ob/wie es weitergeht. So sieht dort auch alles aus. Für die Gebühren leider eine absolute Unverschämtheit. Wir reisen viel, aber so etwas haben wir zu einem solchen Preis noch nie erlebt.

Quiet great views

Nil

Remoteness. Our guide Castro is exceptional. His 20/20 vision identified many new bird species and we saw 9 owls during our 4-night stay.

It takes one hour and 92 dunes to get to the national park and another one hour and 92 dunes to get back to the lodge. The lodge management couple who were really not interested in their guests and we experienced them as unfriendly. They were more interested in their granddaughter creating havoc at the lodge. She insisted to ride on the luggage trolley and jumped onto my camera bags much to the dismay of the staff. This is an area were remoteness and tranquility are part of the success of the lodge. An out-of-control toddler disturbed the peace, ambience and uniqueness of this lodge.

The Xaus Lodge is a beautiful African traditional lodge in a unique location in front of a pan. The way to the lodge is possible with 4x4 (or with the lodge vehicle) through 91 wonderful red sand dunes! The lodge offers pure Khomani San and Mier hospitality, very friendly staff, it includes full board (traditional food, they accommodate vegetarians) and two activities per day together with other guests arriving at the same time (max. one car, what is fine). Very similar concept to the luxury lodges in Botswana, but half the price! Our guide Henrich was very knowledgeable and went beyond expectations to make our experience unforgettable. The manager on duty, Tom, is such a nice man and an excellent host who makes you feel very comfortable. The scenery surrounding the lodge is breathtaking (specially in the rainy season) and exclusive for the Xaus Lodge guests. The best of all: the lodge and land belongs to the Khomani San and Mier communities and the profits go directly to them, what makes you feel super good!!! Excellent concept and Fair Trade Tourism. We stayed 3 nights and it was simply perfect!