Guest Reviews

NOEL RODRIGO’S LEOPARD SAFARIS: "Fantastic experience"

"We had a three-night stay at the camp and we couldn't recommend it more. We saw elephants, crocodiles, mongoose, wild boar, jungle cats and, most importantly, leopards! Saj is an absolutely brilliant guide, who has fantastic knowledge about all of Sri Lanka's animals and birds, and knew exactly where to go to find the leopards. We saw a huge male being charged by a water buffalo and a female relaxing in a tree. All the staff are great and the food is fantastic – my husband was in curry heaven! We loved staying in the tent too and showering outdoors. All in all, a wonderful experience. "

: "Unique experience!"

tugu lombok: "One of best hotels in lombok"

"It's nice to see all top 3 hotels in lombok are actually within 10 m drive from each other . All situated on sire beach or beautiful Medana . The tugu is great ! Sharon the new GM is nice and always around . Staff is great here . Grounds amazing and large "

Noel Rodrigo’s Leopard Safaris: "Brilliant"

Great food, great guides, great accommodation. Thank you for a wonderful trip - Noel is a great host and very knowledgeable. The campsite strikes the perfect combination of relaxed but extremely comfortable and a cut above!

Samanea Beach Resort: "Fabulous getaway!"

Superb villa accommodation for couple or families. The staff were superb as was the salt water swimming pool. Very lovely villas, comfortable beds, outside showers and inside bathrooms, cable TV, wireless, restaurant, man made beach and incredibly beautiful gardens. Be warned though that even though it is right on the sea, the sea comes up to a gown ups knees only! There is a very long jetty that takes you out further but again the tide is normally out - don't get me wrong it is still very pleasant. Mangrove is very clean, lots of wildlife especially birds. The staff could not do enough to help they were just great and overall I must say our experience was excellent. For a getaway from Phnom Penh or to just visit Kep it is the perfect place.

tugu malang: "We loved this gem of a hotel"

"The hotel is stunning in its beauty. Really one of the most attractive- on- the- inside hotels I have ever been in, with light, rock, water, plantings and museum- quality antiques and artistic pieces which bring the history and culture of Java to life. There are non- Java items too, among them a 3,200 year- old Shang Dynasty sculpture. After a very friendly check- in (there is nothing like an Indonesian smile), we were shown to room 222, a large room with a four- post bed adorned with beautiful wood carvings. There was an in- room safe, mini- fridge with Bintang beers and a large work desk with convenient desk- height power outlets. The room was rich with teak wood and the wood floors were nice underfoot. If you don’t like going barefoot they provide nice batik slippers. Plenty of closet / hanger space and room for luggage too, much appreciated. The room was very quiet, except when the day- long procession of banner- waving motor scooters celebrating the local Arema football heroes went constantly past the hotel! It was great fun watching the procession from the coffee house and sipping on Bintangs. The toilet was in a separate room from the shower room. The toilet had a built- in bidet feature, not exactly like the Toto Washlet you might be familiar with-- this was rather a simple affair with a curved water tube and a manual faucet handle on the side. It worked just fine. There is also a small hands- washing sink there. The shower / tub was huge, round, and of hammered metal. You could fit more than two adults in the tub (if you wished.) The sink was also hammered metal and had a ringing sound as the water dribbled in, very nice. The bedding was very comfortable and we slept soundly. The breakfast menu featured American, Indonesian, Chinese, Malang Street Food, Healthy and “Romantic” options. I enjoyed the fried egg covered with melted cheese on top of ham / croissant. The oatmeal included fresh fruit and crispy coconut on top, delicious. The coffee comes from their own Java coffee plantation. Service was great. The restaurant was excellent. It was beautiful, with indoor / outdoor seating and separated from the pool by plants. The menu was extensive: 170 regular food items – not counting drinks - plus a special menu with another 12 or so items. Indonesian, Dutch, Italian, Malang Street Food, Chinese, sandwiches, salads, Aussie and local steaks, from Wagyu to basic. Our food was excellent. The restaurant is open 24 hours, so when we needed to have breakfast at 05:30 on our departure day, there was no issue at all. All the early Mt. Bromo hikers can fill up before the climb. The location is very good, a short 450m from the train station (you can take the Malioboro Express from Jogja in comfort), 320m from the Bird Market / Flower Market and 1.4km from the very impressive and beautiful boulevard of Dutch Colonial houses (and many nice ones leading up to it. Malang is at 450m altitude and situated between mountains gets nice breezes channeled through which are cooler and less humid than central Java. We took a hotel- sponsored bike tour. It was on a Sunday, and they close many of the most attractive boulevards to auto traffic, so we had a very pleasant ride through parts of Malang we would never have made it to on our own. The beautiful Dutch Colonial homes were something to see, nestled amongst palm trees and lush plantings. Our tour guide, Sigit, made sure that we were safe at all times (no small thing in Indo city traffic!) and knew the area very well. The bikes were in good condition and they had loaner helmets. The hotel has my highest recommendation."

Samanea Beach Resort: "Beautiful hotel"

"Samanea is a beautiful hotel in an incredible setting. The grounds are immaculate and the gardens are perfectly kept. The pond is really lovely, and the swimming pool is excellent. The jetty and the boardwalk around the mangroves brings you closer to the sea and to nature. The bungalows are superb, with a separate lounge area and a nice indoor/outdoor bathroom. Not too many mosquitoes, which surprised me being close to so much natural water. Many guests are weekenders from Phnom Penh, so if you visit midweek you may even have the place to yourself. Staff very helpful. I also had no problem reducing the number of nights I'd booked when changed my travel plans. Areas for improvement: 1. Communication between managers and reception staff is poor. I needed to organise transport in several occasions, but constantly found myself having to start from the beginning each time I spoke to someone different. With the language barrier, this caused a problem more than once. 2. People have a habit of forgetting things! eg tuktuk pick-ups to take me to the bus station, forgetting to service the room one day, food items from the restaurant. 3. The restaurant could be better. Items out of stock one day after another, things missing from an order, breakfast not really explained very well (I'm still unsure what exactly is included in the room rate!), quality variable. Maybe it's because much of their business is done at weekends? 4. Wifi is very unpredictable. Similar hotels in many other countries/resorts could easily charge far more than the rates at Samanea and you wouldn't feel shortchanged, so, notwithstanding the things that could be improved on, Samanea gets 5 stars for being great value for money and having a very friendly bunch of staff always willing to help."

Tiger Mountain Pokhara Lodge: "SUPERB"

"It is hard to know where to start with a review of this wonderful establishment. The Nepali food on offer was the best we had in Nepal. The staff and management are wonderful. Caring, kind and hospitable. Nothing is too much trouble. We had room 11 and were extremely happy there. Our comfort was paramount to every member of staff. We had the unfortunate experience of my husband becoming quite ill after our 8 day trek and whilst he was in hospital in Pokhara the compassion and concern of the management and staff towards both my husband’s recovery and my well-being was amazing. As well as organising medical care swiftly, they also drove me up and down the mountain daily at my request with never anything but a happy attitude. The management ensured I never felt alone whilst staying there and in fact I felt that I met some truly wonderful people. I can honestly say the experience at the Tiger Mountain Lodge was just like being with family- so comfortable. Thank you all so much - you are wonderful. Adrian and Katie Hollister"

Inle Heritage Stilt Houses: "Cocoones dans un endroit delicieux"

"Formidable, de grands bungalows décorés avec charme, un petit déjeuner raffiné dans le soleil levant, une excellente cuisine avec un choix exceptionnel et à prix très doux (15 €/personne pour un repas complet) et des produits bio. Et des attentions de chaque instant : le soir non seulement on vous installé la moustiquaire mais vous trouvez aussi votre bouillotte et une rose sur votre oreiller...fruits fais tous les jours et la veille de votre départ, on vous offre un cadeau ! J'ai oublié de vous dure que c'est d'abord une école d'hôtellerie...parfois quelques imperfections mais une telle gentillesse, volonté de bien faire et bienveillance de chaque instant que l'on pardonne tout ! La fondation qui gère ce lieu d'exception travaille aussi et surtout à la préservation du lac et des traditions. En y séjournant vous faites donc une bonne action. Le seul désagrément, le bruit des bateaux qui circulent de manière incessante et ce désagrément est à mettre en perspective du développement du pays... trop de produits bas de gamme, trop de pollution, un développement très anarchique. Stayed February 2017, traveled as a couple"

Maduzi Hotel: "An heavenly boutique hotel in the heart of Bangkok"

Hotel Maduzi is a charming heaven just in Bangkok center. The 40 rooms are all having their own charm from standard room to luxurious suites with antiques and a very special touch combing thai and japanese atmosphere. The boutique hotel style service is customized and adapted to the needs and requirements of every customer. Check in can be as early as 06:30 or 07:00 AM if your room is available with no extra charge. A welcome drink of your choice is offered to you including a glass of wine or a beer. Delicious Coffees and Teas are offered to you should you enjoy one with no extra cost. A lovely heaven in Bangkok for the ones who like to be pampered.