COMMENTS TORO LODGE CHOBE
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Kasane now has plenty of hotels and lodges, catering for every taste and pocket. Andries and myself stayed in Torra Lodge.  Apart from being in a township environment, it is beautifully situated on the bank of the river with a magnificent view over the river as far as the adjacent Zambezi running parallel just before the two rivers meet. It is very private with camping as well as a restaurant that specializes in local food.

Judy Ludwick Sept 2011

At about 3pm I decided to venture in the direction of the main buildings at Toro Lodge for a relaxing late afternoon with a view of the river and all the activities going on. A staff member called me over to the back yard. There it was a young cow elephant on the other side of the wired fence.  We walked closer. So close, it felt I could almost touch her. She was calm and complacent, seemingly unconcerned about us approaching and I had to remind myself that she is actually a wild animal and that the fence was just a very ordinary one. No challenge for this giant of the bush. “Don’t worry,” the man told me. “They are very aware of the boundaries here.” It clearly was this animal’s intelligence and knowledge of her human neighbours’ behaviour, that kept her on her side of the fence. Needless to say but Toro Lodge was a wonderful experience for me.

Shelley Warwick Oct 2011
Ons is terug van vakansie en ek wil net terugvoering gee oor die verblyf. Torro se verblyf is goed en die toilette wat met elke staanplek kom is baie gerieflik.Volgens vriende wat ons daar gekry het het hulle 2 jaar terug daar gekamp en toe was elke staanplek op gras waar dit nou net sand is.My groot probleem met die kamp is dat dit langs n woonbuurt is en die honde en musiek hou laat aan in die nag.
Douw Vermeulen

Dear Keba and Jenny

I remember these clients very well. They were very rude to my staff and
once I was alerted about their request to park his vehicle I explained to
the gentleman (Rodney) that unfortunately we do not allow vehicles to park
infront or along side our chalets as it destroys our grounds. Our staff
our trained to give the same responses. I pointed out a shady area further
up in the carpark area and recommended the campsite as a shady
alternative. It must be noted that midday in October in this part of
Botswana is excessively hot and little shade can be found about. This did
not suit them and they made a blunt decision to cancel their stay with us.

My staff advised me that these guests had already called to cancel and
Oratile assured them (in front of me) that they should receive a full
refund back from Temba Travel.  I later advised Oratile never to promise a
guest a refund as it is the discretion of the tour operator and their
T&C's.
>
> Unfortunately, that day the water/electricity supply had been cut off for
> some hours that day. I apologise that this lady experienced an unexpected
> surprise in the ladies' toilet, again quite unusual. I was not made aware
> of this by the guest / nor my staff at the time.
>
> The door lock to all chalets do work. At the onset of our tenure here all
> the locks were all changed from knob locks to union locks for better
> security, as a result some wood filler does appear around the new locks.
>
> Please be advised, we do not switch off our electricity at any time during
> the night to provide the best possible comfort for our guests.
>
> In this industry, you cannot please everyone. Guest comet to Toro
> expressing their dissatisfaction with other rates in the Kasane area and,
> hence, we accept them as walkins. We both like to visit Senyati from time
> to time... it is a wonderful bush experience although accessible by 4x4
> only and further from the Chobe National Park!
>
> I have worked in the luxury Hospitality industry for more than ten years
> and have continued to excel throughout my career, however, we will always
> protect our staff when guests are blatantly insolent.
>
> Please don't hesitate to contact me should you have any further comments
> to this email address.
>
> Kind regards,
> Jacki

Hi Jenny

Further to my telephone call last Tuesday 5 October please refund the R2 211 I paid for Toro Lodge for the nights of 10 and 11 October which I cancelled with them on that day.

As requested the reasons for the cancellation.

  1. 1.       Hygiene. On arrival the toilet in the reception area had been used and not flushed due to the water system not working. On returning 2 hours later the water was working but toilet still not flushed. This despite asking them to do so 2 hours earlier.
  2. 2.       The rooms are not pleasant and are very hot. I am told, but did not stay to experience this, that the electricity is turned off at 10.00pm so therefore no aircon or water.
  3. 3.       There is no shade parking for vehicles which park in an open area away from the rooms. I had very expensive camera equipment in the car and requested that I park in the shade next to the room. The management couple were asked in front of me and did not even have the manners to address me directly or even say “good day”. When I asked again they were extremely rude, refused outright and did not apologise for the rules and suggested parking in the campsite even further away. I was told it was safe. However, our room door did not lock properly as the lock area had been broken and repaired with wood putty.

 

The management couple heard me cancelling from their office behind reception but did not appear. As far as I am concerned they should not be in the hospitality business (maybe SARS). I would really not recommend this place to my clients.

 

We went to the Chobe Safari Lodge, paid more, and had a really pleasant experience which we will definitely make our overnight stop in future. But before that Senyati awaits in 3 weeks time. Hope it’s good. Have you been there?

 

Kind regards

Rodney