Roof Of Africa Lodge&Travel Centre, Windhoek

...Namibia, I was recommended the Roof of Africa by the company that organised my trip around the Sossusvlei. I wanted to stay somewhere comfortable, and the Roof of Africa was, they assured me a very comfortable place to stay. And for my needs for the two nights (either end of my safari) it was. I expect I got a discounted rate since it was booked through the tour group and I paid NAD 590 (approx GBP 50) per night including breakfast.

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...to the Roof of Africa - the service was always with a smile, the staff very obliging and the facilities good although slightly more basic than in comparison to the comparable star-rating of hotel in Europe. It would probably be three star in Europe although is four star in Namibia.  ... more

During my recent trip to Southern Africa, which took in a trip to Namibia, I was recommended the Roof of Africa by the company that organised my trip around the Sossusvlei. I wanted to stay somewhere comfortable, and the Roof of Africa was, they assured me a very comfortable place to stay. And for my needs for the two nights (either end of my safari) it was. I expect I got a discounted rate since it was booked through the tour group and I paid NAD 590 (approx GBP 50) per night including breakfast.

I headed to the hotel straight from the airport by taxi - I could have ordered a taxi collection service from them but decided not to. The hotel is a little way out of the centre of Windhoek, although fortunately only a stone's through away from Joe's Beer House. Whilst it is generally not recommended in most of Sub-Saharan Africa to walk around the streets at night - I think that you would be unlikely to have any problems on the 300-400m walk from Joe's back to the hotel.

When I asked for them to call me a taxi or give me a number for a taxi company to get me into the centre of Windhoek, they said that would not be necessary and had a driver drop me in town - who I of course tipped for going out of his way for me. When I arrived, somewhat early they ushered me out to the covered area by the pool and served me drinks from the bar while my room was being made up.

The room was clean, and although some of the plumbing fittings basic (the power shower has not yet reached Windhoek it seems!) it was perfectly adequate, and I had a very pleasant balcony to sit out on as I enjoyed the afternoon sun. Most importantly the room had a combination lock safe, which when I have been travelling in Africa has always been something I have looked for, as it has meant that I can also lock my laptop in the safe and also only travel with the cash I need for the day and use the safe.

They also stored my luggage for me (a large case) while I headed off to the Namib desert at no cost and were helpful and obliging. I had dinner at the hotel one evening - it was their steak night and for NAD 100 I had a very good feed. Similarly, the breakfast I had was always more than acceptable, with a full cooked breakfast and continental options available. The bar was also very reasonably priced (Windhoek Lager for about NAD 12 iirc) and they were open until pretty late (about midnight).

The only thing that was a downside of the stay was the Internet access - apparently broadband speed - which was painfully slow and the top-up cards were only available in very small denominations, having the result that a 23Mb file took 4 hours to upload to my server at NAD10 per 20 minutes (although NAD 120 is still only about GBP 10!). Other people seemed to also have considerable difficulty accessing the Internet using top-up cards and their laptops.

The only other experience that was negative was the "toys out of the pram" hissy fit of a German guest, while I was checking in - I do find a lot of German tourists in Namibia seem to forget the mantra "Welcome to Africa" and can get quite aggressive - invariably they've flown no frills on Namib Air and the lack of oxygen and cramped quarters on the flight affects them. I took exception to his whining (he wanted a fully functional breakfast buffet at 7:00am and not only at 7:05am) and interjected in German, that his tone was embarrassing me and other European guests, and that he should turn round count to ten and think whether those five minutes really were crucial to his enjoyment of the facilities. He retreated red-faced in his Birkenstocks and socks and I noticed that the manageress brought me over a drink on the house with a smile.

If I return to Windhoek, I'll definitely return to the Roof of Africa - the service was always with a smile, the staff very obliging and the facilities good although slightly more basic than in comparison to the comparable star-rating of hotel in Europe. It would probably be three star in Europe although is four star in Namibia. 

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