Name: Intu Africa / Camelthorn
Address: Intu Afrika Kalahari Game Reserve, District road D1268, Stampriet, Namibia, Kalahari Desert, Kalahari Desert, Kalahari Desert, Namibia
Rating: 8

Air conditioning

General

Safe-deposit box

Services and amenities

Restaurant

Meals

Internet access

Internet

Swimming pool

Pool and beach

At the hotel

Intu Africa / Camelthorn

Kalahari Desert

Wonderful accommodation, very friendly, enthusiastic, service-minded and professional staff. Superb gamedrive (sundawner), very beautiful scenery, cool activity with the San. Many thanks to all the staff for a blissful stay.

Mr & Mrs De Crock Belgium

I fell in love with this place.  So much character.   Lovely, spacious rooms, beautiful communal areas/bar .... everything was perfect.  The highlight was dining outside on the terrace by the pool under the Namibian stars with giraffes, oryxes and other wildlife drinking from the waterhole very close by.   It just blew me away.  We did the sundowner game drive and saw meercats (mother and baby), bat eared fox, giraffes, oryxes, ostriches and many other birds and animals, and then had cocktails/drinks in the most beautiful location.  The sand is so red!!! I loved it!!!

Fell in love with Namibia!!!

This was our first stop as we headed south on a 2 week trip. Friendly welcome and fab setting in the park area. Even zebra's right outside the main building! Our room I'd say was a bit basic, large but getting a bit dated but bed comfortable and all clean. There is a pool but it was a little murky so wasn't comfortable enough to go in but a nearby watering hole attracted springbok so lovely to see the animals in close proximity. The BEST thing here was the sunset game drive, we couldn't believe what we saw; Wildebeest, Oryx, Springbok, Giraffe, White Rhino and Bertus the guide was fab! Out of our 2 weeks this was the only place we got bitten (in our room - we could hear the mosquito all night), about 25-30 bites! so definitely spray deet generously. Evening meal was a 4 course affair and all good. 

Loved the kalahari and sunset drive

On arrival we were met with the words "you're at the wrong lodge" we weren't! The 'receptionist' then went to get our welcome drinks but did not apologise for her initial welcome.
Having booked, through an agency, a twin room as we are just travelling companions we were shown to a double room. The owner/manager (she never introduced herself) told us they had no twin rooms but they could put another bed in a different chalet, the furthest from the facilities. We had to agree as we had little choice. The paths were purely deep, loose, sand. Not easy to walk along, with poor lighting.
Dinner was served on the terrace with inadequate lighting. I had to have my phone torch on to see what I was eating.
We never saw the owner/manager again, she was obviously not concerned with our happiness

Disinterested

This was a beautiful lodge to stay at. The rooms are huge and so clean and comfortable. The staff were so friendly, helpful and welcoming. The game drive through the reserve of an afternoon was fabulous, and stopping for sundowners was stunning! The food was very good and very tasty. The bar area around the fire was lovely! We loved our stay here.

Great Lodge in Reserve

On our first two nights in Namibia we stayed in the dune suite furthest away from the main
building. It was very spacious, comfortable and very peaceful and private with a lovely view of the bush from the terrace. The air conditioning was adequate without being able to make the large space very cool (although the weather was very hot even by local standards when we visited). We slept comfortably. We were met outside our door by a couple of eland both mornings which was a nice surprise.

The main lodge is comfortable and well furnished with a nice pool and good food. The staff are friendly and helpful. There is a watering hole within sight which is visited by springbok and eland.

On the sundowner drive we saw zebra giraffe, kudu, springbok and ostrich but not the lion, unfortunately. I would recommend it.

A lovely place to stay in the Kalahari.


Peaceful, comfortable with good food. Great place to stay in the Kalahari.

May 2022 - One night stay. Stayed here as a ‘transit stop’ on month long self drive in Namibia between Fish River and Etosha. Room was huge, very clean, food was good, barman was friendly. Staying only one night we had no interest in game drive and have did walking safari in Kalahari on past adventure. Lodge has a small waterhole visited by grazers. This was an ‘upgrade’ as the original lodge booked (Camelthorn) on same property was still closed, so we appreciated that as the reserve property is beautiful. Worked for us as a stopover stay. Only downside we kinda got the idea some staff weren’t friendly after we declined the extra paid activities. Otherwise worth it to break up the long drive.

Nice lodge

Beautiful lodge, great location. There had been large amounts of rain in the early part of this year. This gave us the unexpected pleasure of seeing a " green" Kalahari desert. The views of the dunes that weren't covered in grass were spectacular. 

Zebra Kalahari Lodge

+: Our guide for the sunset drink and Bushmen walk was incredibly kind. We tipped him, which he instantly gave to the four young bushmen (poorest people in Namibia)!

-: We were "a priori" upgraded, as we were originally supposed to go to another lodge (Camelthorn). However, we were very disappointed with this lodge (maybe we were not entitled to a quality service because of this change? We had not asked for anything and would have preferred to keep our stay at Camelthorn) 

1. No access to wifi when we should have had it. According to the staff it was because of my phone. However, we were many in this case. Reset the box was too tiring. This is annoying when we rely on it to plan our journey the next day. 

2. Huge room. Dirty floor as if the cleaning had not been done after the previous guests. Bathroom towels probably not changed either (we saw some handprints on one of them). Pool very dirty too. Very poor soundproofing: we experienced our neighbours' party. 

3. Two particularly unpleasant members of staff. The woman at the reception seemed bored with her job (she was annoyed). She also put the tip in her pocket (secretly), even though it was meant for the whole team. Another man (who had stickers on his teeth) was very insistent to make us pay for anything and everything. He explained the principle of the mini bar very well, even though the receptionist had just explained it to us when we arrived ("make a note of everything you take and SAY so"). Then came the moment to order the aperitif. We had not yet been served when he asked us not to forget to sign the bill, mentioning this supplement. He came back a second time in the middle of the meal to remind us. Finally, the next morning, he runs after us as we are leaving, telling us (with a little smile) that we had forgotten to pay for the bottle of water, taken from the mini bar. Unfortunately for him we had not taken anything. If the cleaning had been done properly, they would have realised that the bottle had been taken by the previous guests. 

These 24 hours, obviously "upgraded", were by far the worst of our wonderful stay in Namibia.

A great disappointment ... 

The facilities and staff were wonderful at this lodge. Especially with the constraints and logistics of Covid.  What these people do to make you feel at home is great. Their attitude and friendliness make you feel welcomed and let you enjoy your stay there.

Intu Africa / Camelthorn

Main amenities of the hotel

Available rooms

Location

Description of the hotel

What other amenities are there?

Policies

Check-in terms and conditions

Payment