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Thebe River Lodge – reviews, photos

Kasane, Botswana
Hotel amenities
Thebe River Lodge
3.5 of 5 stars 28 Reviews
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28 reviews from our community

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Ottawa, Canada
Senior Contributor
29 reviews 29 reviews
Reviews in 17 cities Reviews in 17 cities
11 helpful votes 11 helpful votes
“ok for one night”
2 of 5 stars Reviewed 11 January 2012

Stayed just before Christmas and the place was ok, no frills, Service was ,,,,,,,,,, no frills. Rooms, spotless and lots of hot water. We accidentally left our room keys in the room ( doors lock automatically when you leave! )and when my partner went to get a spare key to open the door, the woman replied, where is your friend and HIS key? Then handed us a key ring of over 30 keyes on it and said its one of these, I don't know which one. No offers to help. Nice. Good mosquito netting, no large holes. Restaurant? dinner was unremarkable and breakfast, well it seemed they were having more fun in the back and would peek out occasionally as if to check if people had finally got fed up and just left. One person did come out finally to take our order. Good mosquito netting, no large holes. Bar and restaurant a long!!!! distance from rooms. Reception staff.... well I agree with Bushbaby995 comment. was this one of the memorable stops along the way? meh not really, it seems obvious that they are strictly there for the flow through on the way to Zambia crowd and definitely not trying to create repeat guests, the old if you don't like it, oh well, someone else will surely pass through attitude was obvious.

  • Stayed December 2011, travelled with friends
    • 3 of 5 stars Value
    • 3 of 5 stars Location
    • 4 of 5 stars Sleep Quality
    • 4 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 5 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 1 of 5 stars Service
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Dorset, England
Senior Reviewer
7 reviews 7 reviews
Reviews in 5 cities Reviews in 5 cities
6 helpful votes 6 helpful votes
“Don't go in the pool...”
3 of 5 stars Reviewed 30 December 2011
1
person found this review helpful

We stayed for a night as part of a group trip exploring Botswana and Zambia. Our group was camping and it has to be said that this was one of the more dusty campsites we had stayed in. It felt like camping in a car park as there was a lack of grass anywhere. Having said that, the ablution block was spacious and we enjoyed some much appreciated hot showers.
There was a pleasant thatched area where we did our cooking and ate our meals.

The bar area was fairly crowded and we had looked forward to a dip in the pool - welll, you could not see the bottom of the pool and dubious bits of something were suspended in the cloudy water. Sitting on the side and cooling the feet was as far as I was tempted and I'm usually fairly brave at taking the plunge. Hopefully this was a temporary glitch and a case of a blocked filter but it was rather off putting.
The campsite was fine for an overnight stay but I wouldn't want to use it as the base for my trip.

Room Tip: Only used the campsite so I can't help on this one
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  • Stayed October 2011, travelled with friends
    • 3 of 5 stars Value
    • 3 of 5 stars Location
    • 2 of 5 stars Sleep Quality
    • 3 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 3 of 5 stars Service
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Lusaka
1 review
“Thebe needs serious management intervention and staff training before it is suitable for any guest.”
1 of 5 stars Reviewed 2 December 2011

We stayed at this backpackers lodge one night recently and left promptly in the morning. The reception staff preferred to continue their own jovial conversations until conclusion before they decided to interact with their guests, a chore that was done begrudgingly because guests are obviously an irritating distraction in the staff playground.

Thebe had no change in either USD or Pula when paying for accommodation, drinks or meals, the excuse we were given is that the man who handles the money was playing golf and we were made to feel like this was our problem - paying by card resulted in a bigger problem as my card details were immediately sent to three companies including a Kasane based electrical repair company to use as they please.

  • Stayed November 2011, travelled with friends
    • 1 of 5 stars Service
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Chicago, Illinois
Contributor
14 reviews 14 reviews
Reviews in 10 cities Reviews in 10 cities
4 helpful votes 4 helpful votes
“Great base for exploring Chobe”
4 of 5 stars Reviewed 7 November 2011

I stayed here one night on a group tour through Botswana, I found the room to be somewhat cleaner than many of the other lodges we stopped in on the way through the country. Overall the room was comfortable with an adequate shower and sink, plus the first air conditioning I had seen in a week, a defninite plus!
The lounge was nice, almost too subdued as they were not open late at all. Maybe the best feature is the proximity to Chobe National Park which is the big draw in the area, the quantity and variety of wildlife migrating to the river is not to be missed.

  • Stayed September 2011, travelled solo
    • 3 of 5 stars Value
    • 5 of 5 stars Location
    • 3 of 5 stars Sleep Quality
    • 3 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 4 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 3 of 5 stars Service
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Bozeman, Montana
Senior Reviewer
10 reviews 10 reviews
Reviews in 9 cities Reviews in 9 cities
7 helpful votes 7 helpful votes
“Inexpensive but still clean and functional”
4 of 5 stars Reviewed 6 July 2011

My wife, daughter, and I stayed for 4 nights. First night was in their "family room", that is actually 2 bedrooms (one with double bed and the other with 2 twins) plus a bathroom. This worked great and was economical. However, they only have one of these rooms and it was booked for the other days we were there, so the other three nights, we had two separate rooms--each with 2 twins beds and a bath. The rooms and bathrooms were all clean and comfortable. This is not a new property, but that didn't detract from it. They also have a bar and restaurant. The dinners in the restaurant are of average quality. There are dining alternatives in Kasane, so you aren't stuck at Thebe River by any means. However, their meals are among the most reasonably priced in Kasane. You can get a standard "English breakfast" in the morning which is very good. Thebe River also does safaris, but we didn't use them (opted for Steenbok Safaris instead). They don't have wi-fi or other internet access, so you'll have to go into Kasane to an internet cafe for that. Kasane can be a very expensive place to stay. This is an excellent, affordable option.

  • Stayed June 2011, travelled with family
    • 5 of 5 stars Value
    • 5 of 5 stars Sleep Quality
    • 5 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 4 of 5 stars Service
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