Deception Valley Lodge

We, a family of 4 (Two Children aged 10 & +13 years) stayed at Deception Valley Lodge at the beginning of October for 3 nights, and we had an absolutely amazing time there!|We got picked up by Knowledge our guide at the air Strip, and received a very warm welcome. On our way to the lodge, we already saw a lot of animals, like zebra, wildebeest, oryx… |The lodge and the room were lovely so much more then we had expected. The food was also very nice, sometimes the portions where a bit to big, but that is just us, we aren’t big eaters. |The view from the deck was great, as there is a waterhole, and a lot of animals come and drink there during day and night. It was our bush TV!|The cultural walk was very interesting, incredible how the San People were able to live in the Kalahari!|But the very best were the drives with Knowledge and his San tracker (unfortunately I can’t remember his name). It was absolutely amazing to see how they were able to track and see all kinds of animals. We even saw a pack of wild dogs, which was the animals I wanted to see most, lions feeding, a cheeky honey badger, eland, lots of kudu and many, many more! Also, Knowledge was great in answering all our questions about the animals and the nature of the Kalahari. We learned a lot!|A Big Thank you to everybody at Deception Valley for this amazing stay, hopefully we will be back sometimes in the future.

Never in my 25+ years of traveling have I experienced a lodge like this: A beautiful place in a remote area that has it all! Great massages, beautiful rooms, amazing food (sometimes served under the African sky) and dedicated guides who will show you all the wildlife that there is and educate you along the way.||But what made this place special is a heartfelt hospitality that is rarely to be seen in hotels these days. You really meet as strangers and leave as friends there. ||Highly, highly recommended.

Fabulous accompaniment to our 9 day camping trip in Botswana. The lodge was so comfortable. Everybody was so welcoming and kind, professional but relaxed. The food was exceptional. Our guide, Knowledge, went above and beyond the call of duty (please don't do that again!). Knowledge and our tracker, Chota, ensured we had the best game viewing. The new manager, Tembo, was extremely attentive to all of our needs, along with the front of house team, Mario and Kisha. The accommodation was spotless.|Anyone thinking of going to Botswana or who have been before, I would highly recommend including the Kalahari, and in particular Deception Valley Lodge. I have travelled in Africa extensively and this place is something special.

A very special place in the Kalahari. The animal sightings from the deck were incredible, including elephants, lion, leopard, honey badger and porcupine!

A well-named lodge. I'm French. Deception, in French, means disappointment.||||The accommodations are good, a little showy, but nice. The wood, leather and copper decoration make you feel a century back (Doctor Livingstone, I presume?). The rooms are outstanding. The personnel is fine. If you just want to stay in the hotel, you'll be fine.||||Problem is tours.||||Their main guide is - well, not good.||||Too bossy, and, well, downright rude : yep, diner with all the guests, and the guide and his aide spent the whole diner talking to each other, in their own language nobody could understand. Both nights we were there. What am I, furniture ? Rude, no other term.||||Tours : well, for that price, I don't expect to be 8 tourists in one land rover (max possible capacity). Which means you get to see the wildlife, framed by the heads of the two tourists sitting in front of you. And if the lion is on the other side of the car, well, you'll have to rely on hearsay. Damn, for the price we're paying, they could take out two cars. Three abreast looks like coach class in a very busy airplane, when you're seated in the middle of the middle row. After the first tour, I made a request for a second car. Well, I'm just a paying customer, that obviously gives me no say in the matter.||||What most turned me off : he did the two things all our other guides told us they would NEVER do. Reminder, this is not DisneyWorld, the animals live there, you don't. We want to keep disruption at a minimal. So there is two things a decent guide would NEVER do :||- if the animals (whomever they would be) look uncomfortable with your presence and move away, YOU DO NOT FOLLOW THEM. EVER.||- you do not make animal sounds to attract their attention, for a better photo shoot. If they want to look at you, you're lucky, if they don't, well, you'll just have to do with a bum shot. You get the pictures they will give you. We're intruders. Try to make your presence as little perturbation as possible.||||Yep, you get my drift. Those rules don't apply in Deception Lodge.||||In short, the most expensive stay of our two week trek. And, by far, the most disappointing one. There are much better ways to spend much less money.

An amazing experience! Beautiful site. Loved everything . The Lodge was beautiful. Spacious, clean, comfortable bed, beautiful bathroom plus an outdoor shower. Our Game driver was very implicated in showing us the most he could. The staff were truly friendly and accommodating.

Cold when the sun goes down- have a coat and hat.|Beautiful lodge, good food and wonderful amenities. Wildlife at your front porch- I loved watching the watering hole and just finding peace in nature at first dawn.|TT was an amazing guide, attentive and knowledgeable. Georgia & Mario were very hospitable and gracious.

we had been in Deception Valley L odge for 3 nights march 5-7th, 2024 with 8 friends. |This was my 8th Safari (Kenya, Namibia, Tanzania) and the lodge was absolutely fantastic. The total staff in the lodge, was just perfect, Especially Georgina fullfilled any special wish. The kitchen served delicous food and the highlight for the Landcruiser Safaris was the guide DIX ! His knowledge and feeling for "finding" hiding animals, together with the spyer France was incredible. |All 8 of us could only highly recommend this lodge with all facilities proved !!|Wishing the friemdly staff all the best for the future with hopefully more guests.|Best regards|Ellen-M. Ahrens (Germany)