Hotel berhampiran CARACAL Biodiversity Center, Kasane

This is mainly a restaurant / food review. We were taken to this hotel to have lunch as a part of our Chobe National Park Safari Tour which we took from Victoria Falls town in Zimbabwe. Normally such lunches as a part of a tour group are average to average minus. But this one was a surprise. The food quality was good. The desserts were nice and it even had some tasty vanilla ice cream. Lunch menu had variety and the dishes were reasonably tasty. We were made to eat from a buffet in their main restaurant which faces the Chobe river. Nice view. Service was average. The hotel's grounds looked very nice with warthogs all over the place. The lobby was impressive and it opens up into a big courtyard with a large tree as its centerpiece. This was majestic.

Thebe River Safaris organised all of our activities whilst my Husband and I stayed at Jackalberry Chobe [Sister Co.] and Neighbours, along the Chobe River, Kasane, Botswana. An outstanding duo that made our Honeymoon such a memorable experience. Our activities included 3 Game Drives, a Sunset Cruise and an early morning Sunrise Cruise on the Chobe river. Our Guide Shimisu introduced himself when he collected us from Jackalberry for our first Game Drive and informed us that he would be our Guide for the duration of our stay … with a cool box packed with ice and drinks for our first Safaris loaded onto our open sided 4x4 safari vehicle … off we drove to the Chobe National Park. Shimisu was very knowledgeable and was able to provide, at times, a humorous commentary on the animals we encountered. We were extremely lucky to see 4 of the BIG 5; Lion, Buffalo, Elephant and Leopard. Unfortunately, there are no longer Rhino in the Chobe National Park as they’ve been moved to private sanctuaries for their safety and protection. So much other game was seen during our safaris from Hippo to various species of Antelope, Zebra, Giraffe and Crocodile and all of our game drives were different. This was down to Shimisu’s experience, knowledge of the area and tracks he followed. We couldn’t have chosen a better Company for our African adventure. During our stay at Jackalberry, we also visited the Thebe Safari Lodge, Campsite, Bar and Restaurant where we experienced their first-class hospitality and infamous pizza’s. Whilst we did not stay at the lodge, it looked very comfortable, cozy, clean and well equipped and as this lodge is owned and operated by the same Company that owns Jackalberry, I have no doubt that the level of service would exceed any guests expectations. Thank you so much for complimenting our Honeymoon at Jackalberry Chobe. Wayne and Jan Stroud. [07:10:2023 to 16:10:2023] P.S : your infamous Pizza reputation is spot on ~ they were amazing!

We loved our stay at the Chobe River Lodge!! I came here with my husband as the last stop on our honeymoon after previously staying at 2 lodges that were on private reserves. What I would say is, don't judge a book by it's cover. Driving up to the hotel, we were not expecting to be so close to resident homes and a bit off the beaten path. But it really is a lovely hotel! Really clean, renovated nice rooms, and wonderful staff! They offer breakfast, a late lunch, and dinner every night .The dinner seating is communal so every sits around 7:30 to eat together after their final game drive or river cruise for that night. They went above and beyond one night when the options were pork or lasagna and I don't eat pork or cheese so they made me something else that I was able to eat which was so nice! Then the next day at lunch I found a small pasta dish that was made specially without cheese. It was such a nice detail that was unnecessary but so accommodating. We took a game drive with John and he was by far our favorite guide of our entire trip. We couldn't believe how much he knew!! For example, all of the cars were gathering to see a couple of lions in the field. When the lions walked away, he told our car that we should stay and wait it out because those lions are going to go on a hunt soon. He told us that patience would be rewarded. So we waited about 10 minutes and LO AND BEHOLD the lions started to actually hunt the buffalo!! And then at each step he would tell us what was going to happen before it happened - the lion would try to separate the pack, they wouldn't go for the buffalo on the end because they were too strong so they'd go for the 2nd one that looked weaker (I still don't know how he knew that), etc.) He was exceptional. We can't stop talking about our drive with him. Overall, great lodge with great staff that won't break the bank!