We wish you a very warm welcome! Karibu!
Paradise & Wilderness
- Offices In:
-
Netherlands
- Size:
- 250+ employees (Founded in 2006)
- Member Of:
- TATO, TALA & ZATI
- Tour Types:
- Mid-range & luxury tours that, when possible, use accommodations owned and operated by them
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $3,443 to $17,215 per person per day (MXN, excl. int'l flights)
Your request will be sent directly to the operator
If preferred, you can contact the operator directly
Reviews
CA
Email Cindy | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Disappointing and no follow up
7 months ago
TRAVELLERS BEWARE OF BOOKING
Where do I start? So we went on an amazing African Safari that we booked with another tour group . It was amazing. The flights the transfers the food the value. Everything was beyond our wildest dreams . My husband wanted a 5* Beach experience for 6 nights on a beautiful white sandy walking beach where we could be spoiled a little after the early mornings and long days on safari. As we hadn’t had a honeymoon after our recent wedding my husband Booked Dream of Zanzibar. Location was perfect for the excursions we wanted to go on , the beach was also what we were looking for ,premium food and drinks and service. After finishing our safari in Arusha we stayed the night before catching flight to Zanzibar. This is the email I received from Paradise & Wilderness -
*Trust this email finds you well,
Please be advised that we have just have just received word that some of our rooms are under maintenance this week at Dream of Zanzibar and have been closed, so we are unable to accommodate your booking at Dream of Zanzibar from the 12th - 18th Feb 2025, however we do nit want to leave our guest stranded so we have secured accommodation for you at our sister property - Reef and Beach resort, in our New Ocean Front Rooms for the duration of your stay.*
We booked it May 2024 and paid in full Jan 27 at which time I would think they would have had an idea the room was not available.
Upon googling the new accommodation the Reef & Beach was a 3*- we were less than happy. I spent the day researching other accommodations to no avail. We did appreciate they put us somewhere but it was no where compared to what we booked and paid $$$ for.
The resort was 20 min further from the airport and stone town. Upon arrival at reception it was old and worn we were not greeted with enthusiasm and that’s what began the downhill experience . There was no white sandy walking beach . It was a seaweed farm for a beach and upon the tide going out was all rocks. The room upon entering had a foul smell. They moved us to a recently cleaned room and after 6 hours it too had a nasty odour. Something with the new rooms. We met the manager Deborah -who I can give a raving review about she went above and beyond to help better our experience but at the end of the day you cannot make a 3* resort into. 5 * I can go on and on about all the things that transpired but there is no need.We spent more money elsewhere on the nicer beach, taxis back and forth and for meals at other restaurants as the food at the buffet was less then enjoyable ,after 11 days of safari 5 * food.
At the end of the day we were not compensated for the price paid and what we received and the terrible experience.. We both own companies and understand things happen however the person we were communicating with basically humoured us with some communication and made many excuses as to why the company had not gotten back to us, until she ghosted us completely. Not sure if the company even knew about our complaints. I did try different ways to write emails but have never heard back from anyone else in this Company. We were never rude or nasty in any of of emails but a-matter of fact that we expected some kind of compensation. Nothing. She even asked for our direct deposit info. This happened in Feb and we communicated until May 1 it is now July. We are very well travelled and have never dealt with a company that would treat it clients like it doesn’t matter. I have never written a negative review or had the need to, but decided I would let the company and future clients know of our experience . Needless to say our experience in Zanzibar was very disappointing.. Again I want to commend the Manager Deborah for going above and beyond she was the ray of Sunshine!
Horrible Hosting Experience
If there was a negative one rating, that is what I would give. All of the accommodations except for Reef and Beach were filthy and smelled terrible. The lunches were packed around 7am every morning and left to sit in the sun on the passenger seat until lunch time. We stayed in Arusha for 3 nights. On the first night, the water kept cutting off . On the second, large ants spread all over the bathroom floor and on the third, there was no hot water in the tent. The agreed -upon payment method was changed last minute. We were initially told that we can pay upon arrival however, about 2 weeks before our departure we were told to pay nearly half the amount.
Each time we had a domestic flight we had to practically beg for the tickets to be sent. Even though when the payment method was changed the excuse was that they needed to book our flights in advance.
On our flight from Arusha to Zanzibar, they sent us one ticket and sent our guide another(different Airline). We were extremely confused. Poor poor management. There is no emergency contact number or personal. We arrived at about 5:30am . It was dark in Zanzibar and our pick up was a bit late . He arrived without a sign , a uniform or anything that indicated that he was from Paradise and Wilderness( not even a sticker on his bus). We quite reluctantly got into the bus and were taken to a hotel in Stone Town. We were told we would have to wait until check in time i.e.2pm. which was completely ridiculous because management had our flight details and knew we would be arriving earlier. I tried contacting them via WhatsApp. When they responded, all they had to say was "Kindly be informed that normally check in is 2pm, if you request early check in is subject to availability and we charge 15 USD per room" (copied from WhatsApp) . We were willing to pay that amount but there weren't any available rooms. We ended up having to wait for an extra 6 hours to get our room (which smelled like bowel). They later apologized and offered a complimentary massage but this was not nearly enough. By the time our Safari was over , we were fed up and we decided to leave early. Our original booking accounted for 3 nights in Reef and Beach but we only stayed for 1(we were not refunded). We arrived at Reef and Beach around 8pm and left at 7:30am which brought our trip to an end. HORRIBLE HOSTING EXPERIENCE
NL
Email Merel | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
High expectations for a high price, outcome was disappointing
We booked a two-day private safari for Tarangire & Ngorongoro Crater. The first day Tarangire was fine, everything was well arranged and the lodge we stayed in for one night was beautiful.
However, the second day at Ngorongoro Crater was totally different than expected. When we arrived at the gate of the Crater, our guide had trouble entering the Crater…. there was a ‘technical issue’. At the same time, others had no trouble at all entering the Crater.
Eventually we waited up to 3 hours!! During this time, we were not held up to date or what so ever.
After 3 hours, we could finally enter the Crater, but because of this, there was not much time left. We visited the Crater on a very short notice and in a rush. Not what we had expected and paid for.
Eventually I had contact with the Guest relations Tour operator manager, who offered us a refund of $100…. which is not comparable to the time we have lost and the amount we have paid for the trip.
We are very disappointed…
BE
Email Guido | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Generaly bad food, lunch prepared in the morning stay al the way in a hot jeep.
Good driver but we lost a lot of time for all kind of reasons
Accommodation average
Jeep was in poor condition, dinner cold served, Mouses and cockroach in the rooms.
Email Valentina | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Poorly organised & we still haven't been refunded for cancelled activity
- Before the trip even started, communication (regarding payment & our pickup arrangement) with our booking agent was so terrible to a point where we suspected the legitimacy of this company.
- We had to chase our booking agent numerous times (payment has been made at this point) before he finally sent us a pickup driver's contact details
- Before we departed, we sent the pickup driver a message to confirm. He was surprised to hear from us as he wasn't aware of this pickup arrangement and said no-one had contacted him, nevertheless he still agreed to pick us up when we arrive (thank god).
- We we arrived, the pickup driver had no idea where to drop us off as he did not know anything about our itinerary. After many phone calls, he finally found out where we were staying and managed to drop us off at out accommodation. However he did not work for this company and it was still unclear why our booking agent had given us his details.
- the next day we found out one of our activities in Arusha wasn't booked and we had no idea until we arrived (after driving aimlessly for 2 hours).
- We requested for a refund for this cancelled activity as well as our accommodation for the night (as we wouldn't have booked accommodation for that night if it wasn't for the activity mentioned above).
- Staff agreed to refund the activity and suggested they would confirm with their management team and try to refund the accommodation, and promised to sort this out for us before our trip ends. We believe their words.
- After coming back from safari, we returned to Arusha for 1 extra day, We contacted the staff regarding our refund, they said they were still working on it.
- It's been a month since we are back from the trip, we have been contacting the company regarding this matter, and we have been ignored.
- It's been a really dodgy experience overall. Do yourself a favour and avoid this company.
NL
Email Inge and Kirsten | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Well organised, great trip
We had a wonderful and amazing trip!! Apparently good hotels, but dinner and lunch were a big disappointment on every safari day
.. that was a shame. But the country and the safari days made up for that.
(automatic translation from Dutch)
DE
Email Tim & Saskia | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Paradise & Wilderness
Reef & Beach Resort Jambiani:
Food OK, better in the Indian or Italian Restaurants in Site, the Suaheli food was nice though
Rooms tidy and comfortable
Hotel area beautiful (including little Monkeys)
Staff friendly and helpfull
Taxi from Hotel to Jambiani town too expansive, you have to negotiate hard to get a fair price
No real Beach but Jjeety Bar ist perfect
Dolphin tour to the north was good but a lot of boats hunting dolphins...
Lodge in Selous:
Less busy
Decent food
Friendly staff
Great Safari (Lions Not viewable every day, WE Had No luck)
Animals in Site (Monkeys, pigs, Buffalo?!)
Hot water in the rooms
massai very friendly and helpfull. One showes us how to make fire ans smoke Elefant po*
Overall 4 of 5 Stars because WE were forgotten for safari and Had to clarify the night before going to Selous. I absolutely recommend this experience!!!
Email Larry | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very satisfied with their whole crew: guides, drivers, lodging staff!
I was a bit disappointed with customer service, though replies were prompt and helpful. But attention to detail was a bit lacking: My friend's food preferences included No Onions for box lunches, I (on the other hand) love onions, grilled or crunchy. Mike had to cancel (health), so I went alone, and all my box lunches were labelled No Onions. Oh well, the wildlife was awesome, and I had onions each dinner. I was also told that each jeep comes equipped with binoculars, but apparently the guide-drivers have to bring their own on the safari tours, doesn't seem right. My guide, whose name is Hamisi didn't have binoculars so I missed out (Note to safari goers: Your camera has to be equipped with telephoto lens!).
Hamisi was a wonderful safari guide and driver (rough and rocky roads often) and I was happy to get to know him.
By the way, all the lodging on this 12 day tour is owned and operated by the safari operator, so there's a consistency I appreciated (being halfway around the world). Tent and other lodging facilities were very well-maintained, with better than expected plumbing and bedding, decent wi-fi, and good variety of food at dinner.
Most apparent and appreciated: well-trained staff, from the managers to the servers and security staff. Friendly and able to deal with requests. I left my lap top charger plugged in at Karatu (the nicest lodging of the whole 2 weeks) and the drivers were able to tag-team the cords back to me 5 days later, what a relief to re-charge my devices!
By the way, the roads are rough, and challenging (I'm an older guy) but taking short flights to avoid long jeep drives is a mistake. I saw the real Tanzania on the roads, the beautiful, the difficult to watch, and the surprising, the Maasai goat herders, the children assembling for songs before school, baboons walking in formation along the road, so much to see, either sitting in the back or standing up with my cameras.
Three nights and days in the Serengeti, with a night-time jeep drive, great experiences each day. Thank you to Hamisi my guide, and to Paradise & Wilderness, the service and amenities were good, and the parade of wildlife was beyond my expectations.
DE
Email Philipp & Verena | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing safari trip followed by lovely days on Zanzibar
We had booked a 4-day safari in Selous Game Reserve followed by a holiday on Zanzibar at the Reef & Beach Resort. The safari was an extraordinary experience, sleeping in the middle of the wilderness, delicious food, very well-organized excursions with great guides, lots of great animals. The holiday on Zanzibar was lovely, the hotel complex was a bit overcrowded at times, which was noticeable when you sat by the pool. The staff were generally friendly, but we were unhappy with the cleaning staff, as they only cleaned the room if you left them a tip. On the days when we didn't leave a tip, our towels were taken away and not cleaned. Otherwise, we were very happy with our stay at the Reef & Beach. We were also very happy with the food.
DE
Email Mirjam | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Experienced tour operator, good guides, good accommodation.
A friend and I were on safari for 4 days. The guides were good to very good. They were very eager to show us many animals and explain a lot. The accommodation in the camp was very good. The cabins had everything you need and were very clean. Unfortunately, the pool was only half filled with unclean water. We didn't use it.
The price-performance ratio was right for me and we always felt safe in the camp thanks to the Maasai, even when one night the monkeys roared very loudly because a leopard was hunting.
We did the safari 3 times in the 4 days, the boat tour and the hike through the bush which was more of a 2 hour walk. But: we learned a lot about the Maasai.
The people at the reception were very friendly and helpful and in the restaurant and bar you immediately felt at home as everyone was so friendly. All in all a very good stay!