Ndlovu Lodge

We celebrated a wedding at a nearby venue on Saturday, May, 18th. The bridal couple had arranged for the guests to enjoy a buffet, the next morning (Sunday, May 19th) at Ndlovu lodge. This booking was made and paid for well in advance, but it didn't seem as if the lodge was prepared at all for when the guests arrived. Long waiting lines, just to finally get to the front and be told that they had run out of food and we had to wait some more. We also had to repeatedly ask for the juice jars to be refilled and even more cutlery to be provided. Surely, as part of a buffet, staff should keep a close eye on the quantity of food and drinks, especially if they already knew of bookings in advance. When the issue of the inadequate planning and preparation was taken up with management, we were told to be patient and that this was due to guests of our specific booking/table, having second food helpings- which was not the case at all. So much time was spent waiting for our food- there was no time/opportunity to even go back and have seconds! Obviously, we were not the only guests booked for breakfast, but needless to say, they other guests truely made sure to get their money's worth of the buffet breakfast with large potions and second helpings. It was therefore quite infuriating that we were blamed for the shortage of food, when in actual fact, we were waiting quite some time, just to get a first serving. The lack of adequate planning, followed by the dismissive behaviour of management, was really disappointing. We will sadly neither return, nor recommend your establishment to friends and family.

I just spent a night there earlier this week. The lodge itself is beautiful. The receptionist was overly friendly (alcohol smell) and since I was the only one staying they they gave me the best room. I was told, the lodge is usually closed Mondays for renovations, which did not make sense to me. Nice view, beautiful setup, good furniture, big shower... The linen is synthetic, unfortunately. I was told, they will call in the chef who is remarkable and actually on leave but he makes steaks like never heard of from the best butcher in the area. A short while later some elderly lady and what seemed her husband came into my room with the menu. I told them I would come down to the restaurant as it seemed beautiful to eat there. They both then were standing a bit helpless around my table when I ordered. They had never heard of a Rock Shandy before which is a very popular drink in South Africa. They then both were searching the fridges to find out, what they actually could offer me. They seemed to not have done that before. They were even struggling with the difference between Windhoek Lager and Windhoek Draft. The steak then came with a handful of chips. No greens, no veggies as that would have cost me the chips. It was edible but nothing to be remembered. The most interesting was the next morning. Nobody was around. I had made clear what time I needed some breakfast and when I will be picked up. Eventually, I just helped myself in the kitchen. Although clean, I had not seen such an unorganized place before. The cutlery just thrown into drawers, pots, pans, and kitchen tools have no system but I did find some lonely long-life milk in the fridge and a tea bag in a box. After I then called the number for the lodge from Google just for the security code to get out, eventually the same couple appeared to make me some fruits and some instant cappuccino for which I didn't have much time anymore. In short, beautiful place, staff and food, not the greatest, and synthetic linen is a no-go for me.