Hoodia Desert Lodge

Stunning out of the way lodge, 44kms from main road , with great accommodation, wonderful food and very friendly staff. Its a beautiful drive in , and if like us , you are coming up from the south take the D707 road . It lives up to its name of the most beautiful road in Namibia. Located by some cliffs and alongside a stream which was full of bird life. Welcomed at the lodge by a member of staff with warm towels, very welcome after a long duty drive. Over an iced tea we were given information on the lodge and its activities and taken on a guided tour : with its restaurant, bar, outside lounge areas and a swimming pool . The guest chalets are located either side of the main lodge and only a short walk away . Lovely large lodge with a great terrace to admire the view. En suite and a large outside bath , unfortunately during our stay the water was only luke warm ( not a problem as it was hot) and the water pressure was not great so couldn't really make use of a deep bath, Main restaurant offers a single choice of starter and dessert and a choice of meat or game for the main ( although they do offer vegetarian and chicken too) Wasn't fancy food basically meat and two veg but cooked well and tasted great. All staff we met were so friendly and helpful. In the evening our guide for the Sossusvlei Excursion came and introduced himself and explained the plan for the next day. We met for breakfast at 6am ( a good choice of hot and cold options) leaving at 6.30am reaching the gate at 7am. There was a short queue to get in , but you then drive to the main dune area. We had a wonderful guide Dion, who happily stopped to allow guests to take photos of the dunes or to point out wildlife on the way. First stop was at the dunes where we got a lesson in identifying tracks and pointing out the animals found there , we then had a lesson about Namibia, its history and tribes . Then some guests walked the big dunes , took them about 2 hours ending with a run down the dunes to the petrified forest, whilst we were dropped straight off at Deadvlei which is 1.5 kms walk from the car park. We had a couple of hours to wander around this incredible place , and took some stunning photographs. We were then picked up by our driver who took us to a beautiful location in the dunes where an Out Of Africa style lunch had been set up for us . the setting was perfect, and the lunch and wine delicious. From there we moved to the Seserim Canyon to walk around in the cool shade of the rocks , although some parts were still flooded after recent rains, but still amazing and a welcome break from the hot sun. Highly recommend you take this excursion it is so special, as is the lodge and especially the staff so warm and welcoming .It was nice to see so many females taken a lead role in managing the day to day running of the facilities. Made us smile on our final morning we had a discussion with one of the female members of staff about the tribes of Namibia, and she went running off to

Excellent resort close to Sossusvlei with great food and accomodation and ultra solicitous staff. We had an excellent lunch in the desert after a sweaty walk in the dunes. Paulus organised a wonderful sundowner for us. It was an unforgettable experience!

We booked 3 nights and two of the only 11 tented chalets for us 4 through Expert Africa and did enjoy every single minute of our stay at Hoodia. The owners Henreza & Thomas with their dedicated team and attention to details have created the ultimate desert lodge experience. Special mention to the food. Under the professional & expert direction of our guide Paulus, we enjoyed the sundowner and learnt a lot about the desert ecosystem during the excursion to the dunes and petrified trees. Instead of staying inside the park or closer to the park, It is definitely worth the money and the about 30’ to 45’ max additional driving distance to the park entrance. You get so much more privacy, quality service, luxury and attention. We can highly recommend.